The Numbers Behind Facebook

Twenty percent of all Internet page views involve the social networking site Facebook. Females log on to the site far more often than males do, and North American women between the ages of 18 and 24 are the most active Facebook demographic of all, accounting for approximately five percent of all Facebook users or roughly 25 million accounts.

North America is rapidly moving toward Facebook saturation. It's been estimated that over half of all North Americans have Facebook accounts. Europeans are not far behind them: 27.5 percent of all Europeans have Facebook accounts. Yet North Americans and Europeans together account for less than 20 percent of the world's population, leaving the remaining 80 plus percent as a potential base for client expansion. If Facebook wants to keep expanding, it will have to specifically target more populous markets in Asia and South America.

Facebook's main source of revenue is still advertising. Two of its three biggest advertisers are Zynga and Electronic Arts, the companies behind several of Facebook's most popular games. Other top advertisers include Proctor & Gamble, AT&T, American Express, Microsoft, Groupon and Walmart.

What Drives Facebook Participation?

Facebook participation is mainly driven by gender and the demand for recreation.

Women on Facebook:

One of the typical female Facebook user's favorite activities is uploading photographs on to the website. Females upload and are tagged in well over twice ads many photographs as males. In an average year, women upload 347 photos while men only upload 179. The average female Facebook user is tagged in 73 photos while the average male Facebook user is only tagged in 35.

Games on Facebook:

Facebook offers services through which its account holders can buy virtual goods for games and to give as gifts to other users. In 2012, 27 million Facebook users bought virtual goods through the social networking site for a total expenditure of $810 million. All but five million of that amount was spent on virtual goods used in Facebook's most popular games.

Facebook's most active game programmer is Zynga with four out of the top ten most popular games: Cityville, Indiana Jones, Words With Friends, and Empires and Allies. Playdom (Garden of Time), Electronic Arts (The Sims), Double Down (Double Down Casino), Buffalo Studios (Bingo Blitz), Playtika (Slotomania) and Wooga (Diamond Dash) account for the other six.


For Better View: Right Click the below image and open it in new tab.