Meta in the MENA region (2023)

15 key Facebook developments + stats from the past 12 months

Image via CBS News

This is an extract from Social Media in the Middle East 2022: A Year in Review, by Damian Radcliffe and Hadil Abuhmaid with Nii Mahliaire and published by the University of Oregon-UNESCO Crossings Institute.

Meta is a social media behemoth. This is part one of two parts dedicated to Meta’s biggest social networks — Facebook and Instagram — and their use in the MENA region. Insights related to two of its other major channels — WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger — will be shared in a dedicated post looking specifically at Messaging Apps.

Part I: Facebook

Key stats:

1. Two of the biggest audiences for Facebook can be found in the MENA region. Egypt is home to 42 million users, making it the 10th biggest national market for the platform. Meanwhile, Turkey, with 32.8 million users is ranked 14th.
2. Libya has the largest reach for the platform globally, with 96.1% of those aged 13+ using the social network. UAE with 88.9% reach is ranked 4th and Qatar at 83.6% is 8th on the list.
3. Cairo is home to the 7th largest audience on Facebook, with 8.9m users, while Istanbul is ranked 11th with 7.7million users. Dhaka (14.8m), Delhi (13m) and Bangkok…