Social media usage in the Netherlands - Statistics & Facts

Nowadays, social networks represent the most significant communication channel in the world. As a result, users can exchange messages, post photos, and many other social features. Western Europe had a social network usage penetration of 79 percent at the beginning of 2021. Accordingly, it is no surprise that the Netherlands has a steadily growing number of social media users. In 2021, the Netherlands has 11.77 million social network users, translating to approximately 88 percent of penetration among the Dutch population. According to experts, this number is expected to increase at a moderate pace to 12.1 million users by 2025.

Social media usage trends

The Dutch population enjoys a wide variety of activities on the internet, most of which are related to social networking. However, Dutch individuals also use the internet to watch YouTube videos, streaming services, or to play video games. Most of the population will visit social media at least one to three times a day. Teens are particularly present online; nearly 27 percent of them visit social media more than 20 times a day. The most popular social network activities are sending private messages and liking other users' posts. In the Netherlands, both desktop computers and mobile devices are popular devices for social media access. Currently, the country has a mobile social media use reach of 96.6 percent.

What Is the leading social media app in the Netherlands?

As of 2021, Facebook was by far the leader in terms of social media market share, accounting for about 68 percent of social media traffic. Compared to other European countries, the Netherlands ranked eleventh in terms of Facebook audience size. Facebook’s core platform is not the only popular Facebook product in the Netherlands: the online reach of Instagram (also owned by Facebook) was 8.18 million users in February 2021. Most Dutch users of the photo and video-sharing social network app were 25- to 34-year-olds. Recently, short video platform TikTok made its mark on the Dutch social media scene. From 2020 to 2021, TikTok underwent a significant user growth, especially among Generation Z.

Social media marketing in the Netherlands

Due to the near constant social network usage and online exchanges by consumers, social media marketing has become an indispensable tool for brands. Recent industry data suggest that social media advertising spending in the Netherlands amounted to 779 million U.S. dollars in 2020. Desktop is projected to remain the biggest channel for social media advertising, outperforming mobile expenditure by a significant margin.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by S. Dixon, Feb 8, 2022

Key insights

Millennial WhatsApp usage (2020)
89%
Millennial Facebook usage (2020)
82%
Millennial Instagram usage (2020)
57%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Number of individuals using the leading social media platforms in the Netherlands in 2021, by social network (in million users)

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Social media audiences in the Netherlands 2021, by social network

Distribution of Instagram users in the Netherlands as of December 2022, by age group and gender

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Netherlands Instagram users 2022, by age and gender

WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter usage of 14 to 22 year olds in the Netherlands in 2021

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Most popular social media platforms amongst 14-22 year olds in the Netherlands 2021

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Internet usage in the Benelux
Internet usage in the Benelux
Internet usage in the Netherlands
Internet usage in the Netherlands
Mobile devices in the Netherlands
Mobile devices in the Netherlands
Social media advertising in the Netherlands
Social media advertising in the Netherlands
Facebook and Instagram in Benelux
Facebook and Instagram in Benelux
YouTube in the Netherlands
YouTube in the Netherlands
Messaging apps in the Benelux region
Messaging apps in the Benelux region

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