Data
Digital 2026 numbers: Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the world
The numbers I plan digital marketing on in both markets: how many people are online, and how many each platform says its ads can reach. From DataReportal's "Digital 2026" report, exactly as published.
What these numbers mean for your marketing
- 01In Lebanon, Meta is still the base
Facebook reaches 3.45 million (58.9% of the population) and Instagram 2.95 million. A plan for Lebanon usually starts with these two, then adds TikTok when there is capacity to produce video.
- 02In Saudi Arabia, the map is different
YouTube reaches 79.2% of the population and Snapchat 72.9%, against 25.0% for Snapchat in Lebanon. Copying a Lebanese plan to Saudi Arabia unchanged misses a large part of the audience.
- 03X and LinkedIn serve specific audiences
X reaches 43.1% of the population in Saudi Arabia but only 9.5% in Lebanon. LinkedIn (1.40 million members in Lebanon, 12.0 million in Saudi Arabia) suits professional and B2B audiences more than the general public.
- 04Audiences are spread out, and search is changing
Globally, adults use 6.75 social platforms a month, and more than 1 billion people use generative AI tools every month. Showing up in those tools' answers is now part of marketing.
Lebanon
- Internet users
- 5.38 million91.8% of population
- Social media identities
- 4.58 million78.1% of population
- Mobile connections
- 4.76 million81.3% of population
Ad reach by platform
| Platform | Users | Share of population |
|---|---|---|
| 3.45 million | 58.9% | |
| TikTok* | 4.58 million | — |
| YouTube | 3.12 million | 53.2% |
| 2.95 million | 50.3% | |
| Snapchat | 1.46 million | 25.0% |
| LinkedIn* | 1.40 million | — |
| X | 555 thousand | 9.5% |
* TikTok: users aged 18 and above only. LinkedIn: registered "members", not active users.
Source: DataReportal — Digital 2026: Lebanon · published 8 November 2025
Saudi Arabia
- Internet users
- 34.4 million99.0% of population
- Social media identities
- 38.6 million111% of population
- Mobile connections
- 48.7 million140% of population
Ad reach by platform
| Platform | Users | Share of population |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok* | 38.6 million | — |
| YouTube | 27.5 million | 79.2% |
| Snapchat | 25.3 million | 72.9% |
| 18.2 million | 52.4% | |
| 17.7 million | 50.8% | |
| X | 15.0 million | 43.1% |
| LinkedIn* | 12.0 million | — |
* TikTok: users aged 18 and above only. LinkedIn: registered "members", not active users.
Source: DataReportal — Digital 2026: Saudi Arabia · published 8 November 2025
The world
- Internet users
- 6.04 billion73.2% of population
- Social media identities
- 5.66 billion68.7% of population
- Unique mobile users
- 5.78 billion70.1% of population
- Social platforms per adult each month
- 6.75
- More than 1 hour a day on social networks, well over 2½ hours including video platforms.
- More than 1 billion people use LLM and GenAI platforms each month.
Source: DataReportal — Digital 2026 Global Overview Report · October 2025 data
Figures as published in DataReportal's reports (Kepios (Simon Kemp), with We Are Social and Meltwater), checked on 29 September 2026. "Ad reach" is the audience platforms say their ads can reach, not active users. User identities can exceed population because one person may hold several accounts.