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There are now over 3 billion people logging onto social media accounts around the world, meaning
that almost half of the world's population spends at least part of their day updating their status, story
or scrolling through.

A report published by The Next Web found that there are 3.028 billion active social media users around
the world. That is about a million new users a day. It is understood that mobile users make up a large
chunk of the social media base, with 2.780 billion active users.

Facebook is, unsurprisingly, the king of the social media platforms, with an estimated 2.047 billion
monthly active users, while its other properties, WhatsApp and Messenger were over the billion MAU
mark as well in the third and fourth position, respectively, and Instagram followed closely behind with
roughly 700 million regular users

China & Social Media

Over the last 14 years China's social media users have gone from 2 million users to nearly 700 million
users. Its e-commerce consumer base grew from 150 million shoppers to 550 million shoppers. China
has a number of unique social media platforms that don't operate outside of China. It requires a very
specific strategy to tackle this market and Ascot Group has sort to engage a digital marketing agency
that specialises in this unique monster market.

According to a World Economic Forum survey, the trend for Millennials to live and work overseas
continues to grow; with 50% proactively seeking overseas opportunities. China is the top emerging
market destination young people would like to move to, to advance their career. This is the second
year in a row that China was the favourite emerging market for career progression among Millennials
who took part in the Forum’s annual Global Shapers survey. China was followed by the UAE, then Brazil
was next, followed by South Africa and Argentina.