It’s not a big secret that Elon Musk took over Twitter in October 2022.
The process of purchasing the social media giant was certainly not smooth.
However, by the time the deal was completed, Musk seemed happy and tweeted “The bird is freed”.
Naturally, this meant change was coming, starting with the firing of Parag Agrawal and some other top-level executives.
It was said that only top-level and a few middle-management jobs were at risk.
Fast forward to July 2023 and Musk announced the channel would change its name.
This is when Twitter officially became known as “X”.
Coincidentally, this is also when Twitter introduced the Threads app, one of several changes designed to improve the platform.
Musk has said his aim is to create a “town square” where everyone can meet and chat.
The question is, can he turn X into the social media platform of the future, or has he taken on too much this time?
It’s time to take a look at the X usage statistics and discover what kind of future X appears to have.
Key X Statistics
- Globally, there are over 1.3 billion X accounts
- Just 237.8 million daily active accounts are monetized
- The US has more X users than anywhere else in the world
- In 2022 Twitter had an annual revenue of $4.4 billion
- The average X user is aged between 25-34
- 56.4% of X users are male
- X is the 14th most popular social media platform
- 30% of consumers want to see brands using X more
- 40% of X users will buy a product after seeing it on X
- Users spend 26% more time viewing ads on twitter
- Twitter made a huge loss in 2020
- 72% of X users feel it is the best for live events
- 25.47% of X traffic is from the US
- In 2022, 6,000 tweets were posted every second
- X users are using abbreviations less than before
- Each X account is limited to 1,000 messages daily
- X now offers an ad revenue share program
Top X Usage Statistics in 2025
1. Globally, There Are Over 1.3 Billion X Accounts
There is no doubt that X is a popular social media app.
Despite concerns over the takeover, the number of users has not changed significantly.
According to the latest research, there are approximately 1.3 billion Twitter/X accounts in the world.
However, accounts are not the same as active users.
According to Statista, there were 312.7 million active users in 2019.
This climbed to 347.6 million in 2020 and as high as 368.4 million in 2022.
In 2023, the first year of the takeover, the figure dropped to 353.9 million.
Estimates suggest it will be 335.7 million in 2025.
That’s a 5% decrease within two years of Musk taking over.
(Statista)
2. Just 237.8 Million Daily Active Accounts Are Monetized
This statistic emphasizes perfectly how finding accurate information can be hard.
According to Statista, there are approximately 350 million X users.
However, according to Demand Sage, there are 528.3 million monthly active users with monetized accounts.
That’s more than the number of total users.
Alongside this, Demand Sage shows there are 237.8 million daily active users, a significant proportion of the global user count.
It’s estimated that 41.5 million of the monetized accounts are based in the US.
When talking about users it’s worth noting that Elon Musk has 156.8 million followers on X and is the most followed X user.
(Demand Sage)
3. The US Has More X Users Than Anywhere Else In The World
It is not surprising that more X users are based in the US than in any other country.
The US is, after all, highly digitalized and its citizens are generally interested in the advancement of technology.
According to the latest 2023 figures, there are over 76 million X users in the US.
Japan takes the second spot with a staggering 60 million X users.
What’s particularly interesting about this is that the 76 million in the US is nearly a quarter of the population.
In contrast, Japan’s user numbers represent half the population.
India takes the third spot with 23.6 million X users.
Of course, India has a population of 1.4 billion, meaning there is plenty of room for growth in this market.
Other countries worth noting include Brazil, where there are over 19 million X users.
However, the country which surprises the most is China.
The government has banned the use of X in the country.
Fortunately, the Chinese people know how to use VPNs and there are a significant number of Twitter accounts.
The problem is, because the government has banned Twitter it’s impossible to give an accurate figure for user numbers.
Other countries on the top ten list include the UK with 23.1 million users, Turkey with 18.6 million, and Mexico with 17.2 million.
(World Population Review)
4. In 2022 Twitter Had An Annual Revenue OF $4.4 Billion
The latest figures show that Twitter received $4.4 billion in revenue in 2022.
That’s a significant sum, although the new owners of this social media platform are looking to increase this amount.
The annual revenue, although sizable, is comparatively small compared to the price paid for the business.
It’s one of the reasons that many people feel Musk overpaid for Twitter.
X needs to stay popular as 90% of their revenue comes from advertising.
If user numbers drop significantly it’s likely that revenue will also drop as advertisers go elsewhere.
The 2022 revenue was a drop on 2021, although still higher than in 2020.
In 2012, Twitter’s revenue was just $0.3 billion.
It crossed the billion threshold in 2014 with a $1.4 billion turnover.
By 2015 it had reached $2.2 billion and in 2018 it achieved $3 billion.
In 2019 it continued to increase to $3.4 billion, then $3.7 billion in 2020 followed by $5 billion in 2021.
It remains to be seen whether the revenue figure will improve again in 2025, Musk certainly hopes it will.
(Demand Sage)
5. The Average X User Is Aged Between 25-34
Different generations tend to use different apps.
For example, Snapchat has become the most popular social platform for adolescents.
That’s those born between 1997 and 2006.
Facebook is the preferred platform for millennials, that’s those born between 1981 and 1996.
Generation X, born between 1965 and 1980 also prefer Facebook to any other social platform.
Even Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964 are happiest using Facebook.
But, all platforms are popular with those aged between 18-29 and 38% of them use X.
That helps to explain why the average X user is aged between 25-34.
Impressively, 38.5% of X users fall into this age bracket.
The next biggest group is those aged between 35-49 which make up 20.7% of X users.
Interestingly, 17.1% of users are aged over 50 and a further 17.1% are aged between 18-24.
Just 6.6% of X users are aged between 13-17.
(Demand Sage)
6. 56.4% Of X Users Are Male
According to the latest figures, there are slightly more men than women on X.
Current statistics show 56.4% of users are male, compared to 43.6% being female.
It’s interesting as research shows men are more likely to use social media platforms to get information. Women are more interested in connecting with others.
The almost 50/50 split suggests that X has managed to maintain a reasonable ratio between sharing information and boosting connectivity between people.
What’s most interesting about this is that X investors were initially worried about false information being spread on X, especially as Musk intended to reinstate some of the more dubious accounts in the name of free speech.
(Demand Sage)
7. X Is The 14th Most Popular Social Media Platform
The average X user will spend over 30 minutes per day on the platform.
While this isn’t as high as other platforms, it’s enough to show that X has the power to significantly impact people and their way of thinking.
X is the 14th most popular social media platform in terms of global users.
However, it currently sits at 15th of all the social media platforms in terms of monthly active users.
That’s not where the story ends.
If you look at which social media site is considered the most popular in the world then surveys show Twitter as an impressive 7th.
It’s a good picture for X but still with room for improvement.
(Statista)
8. 30% Of Consumers Want To See Brands Using X More
All social media platforms are designed to make money for their operators.
However, it’s rare for someone to be charged to use a social media account.
That means the platform operators need to earn their money another way.
The obvious answer is via adverts.
Businesses pay X to list their adverts, they gain new customers and everyone is happy.
However, according to consumers, brands aren’t using X enough.
As many as 30% of consumers feel that brands could use X more to connect with their customers.
If brands are in any doubt regarding this, the latest research suggests the right brand adverts can see an 11% increase in brand awareness.
More importantly, consumers are 70% more likely to recall a brand when they are looking to purchase something.
In other words, advertising more on X can boost brand awareness and subsequent sales.
(Twitter Connect Playbook)
9. 40% of X Users Will Buy A Product After Seeing It On X
If you need any further proof that advertising on X will help your business then consider this.
40% of x users have admitted purchasing a product simply because it was advertised on X.
In most cases, the product wasn’t even something they were considering buying.
This illustrates how important it is for all brands to be advertising across all channels.
Don’t forget, the average age of an X user is 25-34, one of the most desirable audiences for most brands to appeal to.
This generation generally has buying power and doesn’t mind spending money.
(Twitter Connect Playbook)
10. Users Spend 26% More Time Viewing Ads On Twitter
It’s not enough just to get an advert on a social media platform, no matter how good the advert is.
To convert the initial view into a sale you need to convince the viewer that your product solves an issue they are facing, even if they didn’t know it was an issue before.
That means, posting a good advert and retaining the attention of your audience for as long as possible.
According to the latest studies, users will generally spend 26% more time viewing an ad on X than they will viewing it on any other social media platform.
It’s also worth noting that launching a three or more advert format campaign is the better option.
According to the Twitter Connect Playbook, campaign awareness increases by 20% and consumers are 7% more likely to buy when you have three different formats of ads on X.
(Demand Sage)
11. Twitter Made A Huge Loss In 2020
It’s normal for a startup to make a loss.
As strange as it may seem it can take years to start generating a profit.
For example, in 2010 Twitter lost $67.32 million.
The following year this increased to $164.12 million.
While 2012 showed an unusually low loss of $79.4 million, 2013 showed a significantly higher one: $645.32 million.
From then on, the loss has been steadily heading downwards.
By 2017 the loss was just $108.06 million and 2018 saw Twitter make its first profit.
An impressive $1.205 million.
2019 was an even better year, showing a profit of $1.465 million.
Then, the pandemic hit and 2020 showed a loss of $1.135 million.
Fortunately, Twitter bounced back before the sale and registered a loss of $221 million in 2021.
The question is, how long before Musk gets X to make a profit again?
(Business of Apps)
12. 72% Of X Users Feel It Is The Best For Live Events
According to the latest survey by Twitter Connect Playbook, a staggering 72% of X users believe that X is the best place to get information pertaining to live events.
This percentage of users felt that X provides the most up-to-date commentaries and highlights.
Of course, this figure is slightly biased in that it surveyed X users.
It would be interesting to see how non-Twitter users see the platform.
It is worth noting that 70% of X users use this social media site specifically to keep themselves aware of what is happening in relation to specific events.
Brands should also take note of this survey as 67% of respondents felt brands who align with the live events mentioned on the platform are more likely to be culturally relevant and responsible.
That’s important to consumers.
(Twitter Connect Playbook)
13. 25.47% Of X Traffic Is From The US
We’ve already mentioned that the US is the biggest audience for X.
The 74 million daily US users power 25.47% of all X traffic.
In fact, 97% of all the tweets sent by US users are sent by just 25% of the users.
In short, some people are significantly more active on Twitter than others.
Either way, if you’re marketing your brand and you’re doing it on X, you need to know that a large proportion of traffic comes from the US and you should address your marketing campaign accordingly.
14. In 2022, 6,000 Tweets Were Posted Every Second
At present, there are no figures relating to tweet numbers in 2023.
In other words, we can’t yet tell if numbers have improved or fallen since Musk took over.
As of 2022, there were an average of 6,000 tweets posted every second.
That’s the same as 360,000 tweets every minute and over 200 billion every year!
A tweet, or Twitter post, was just 140 characters long.
In 2017 this was increased to 280 characters but only 1% of tweets ever hit the limit.
In fact, 88% of tweets are still under 140 characters.
Extending the potential length of a tweet actually reduced the average character count of a tweet, from 34 to 33!
(Techcrunch)
15. X Users Are Using Abbreviations Less Than Before
Abbreviations have become commonplace on social media platforms and in SMS messages.
It’s faster and can help you stay within any designated character count.
However, modern mobile devices generally suggest the right word for you.
This seems to be encouraging people to use whole words instead of abbreviations.
As of 2022, the most common abbreviations are being used less.
For example, ‘gr8’ usage is down by 36%.
Equally, ‘b4’ is being used in 13% less of cases, while the use of ‘before’ is up by a staggering 70%.
Sorry is also making a comeback.
The whole word has been used 31% more, while the abbreviation ‘sry’ has been used 5% less than before.
Pleasingly, the use of ‘please’ is up by 54%, and ‘thank you’ is up by 22%.
The survey doesn’t show why full words are being used more often again but it certainly makes it easier for everyone to understand.
(Techcrunch)
16. Each X Account Is Limited To 1,000 Messages Daily
Twitter was designed to allow easy communication between people.
Of course, to avoid the system overloading and ensure the communication is effective, the length and number of tweets and messages need to be controlled.
Alongside the 280-character limit for tweets, there are other limits.
The primary one is that any Twitter account can only send 2,400 tweets a day.
This is actually broken down into hourly limits to help prevent strain on the system.
A retweet is counted as one of your tweets.
In addition, they can only send 1,000 messages, also referred to as DMs, each day.
It’s worth noting that X restricts the number of accounts you can follow daily to 400.
It’s possible to build your following much larger than this but takes time as you can only follow up to 5,000 accounts.
After that, specific following/followed ratios are set.
This is to help ensure all X users are genuine.
(Twitter)
It’s not surprising that things are changing at X.
There has been plenty of talk that Muxk wants to create a super platform, offering users a place to easily and instantly access all and any services and products.
One step toward this is to increase the number of creators on the platform.
That’s the ones creating the original posts and marketing their brands.
X is handling this in the same way that other social platforms do, by offering an ad revenue share program.
In other words, reach the right number of followers and you’ll get a share of the revenue generated by any advert displayed to followers of your account.
It’s a simple premise but, according to the chairperson of X, it’s already showing success.
The number of creators on the platform has increased ten times since July 2023.
(Social Media Today)
Summing Up
The X usage statistics show a troubling time for X.
There are plenty of positive signs that this platform can be turned around and perhaps even rival Facebook as the most popular social media site in the world.
However, at present it faces an uphill battle, made worse by the inflated purchase price, the difficulty in confirming the official X figures, and the controversy that appears to constantly surround Elon Musk.
This is one social media platform that needs to be watched to see if it’s got a bright future or not.
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