Facebook Usage Up 29 Percent In Middle East, North Africa [Infographic]

Facebook usage is on the rise in the Middle East and North Africa with the amount of users increasing by 29 percent since the beginning of 2012. This and more information comes from an infographic put together by Socialbakers which examines the growth of Facebook in those two regions.

On average, 21 people sign up for a new account every minute from the Middle East and Africa. Political issues and uprisings have helped increase Facebook usage in such countries as Libya, Iraq and Qatar. Usage in Qatar has increased 115 percent in 2012, Iraq increased 81 percent and Libya up 86 percent.

Since January 2012, 2.5 million people from Egypt have joined. Egypt has the largest Facebook population in the region with a total of 17 million users. Here is a complete breakdown of active users in Middle East and North African countries:

• Egypt – 11.9 million
• Saudi Arabia – 5.9 million
• Morocco – 5 million
• Algeria – 4 million
• Tunisia and UAE – 3.3 million
• Jordan – 2.5 million
• Iraq – 2.4 million
• Lebanon – 1.6 million
• Kuwait and Palestine – 0.9 million
• Qatar and Libya – 0.7 million
• Oman – 0.6 million
• Yemen – 0.5 million

Four percent of total Facebook users reside in those countries. The male to female ratio is 65 percent of males to 35 percent of females. Looking further at Facebook usage, here is the age breakdown:

• 16 to 17 – 9 percent
• 18 to 24 – 36 percent
• 25 to 34 – 32 percent
• 35 to 44 - 11 percent
• Other – 12 percent

Socialbakers also analyzed the top brands and posts in the Middle East and North Africa. Here are the top 10 fastest moving brands:

• Mobinil
• Almarai
• Samsung Egypt
• Vodafone Egypt
• Emirates
• Nokia Egypt
• 7-Up Egypt
• Rotana
• Hardee’s Arabia
• Nas Air

The most liked post is from Almarai with 77,000 likes and the most engaging post is from Oman Air with an engagement rate of 18.7 percent. This infographic goes to show that Facebook usage isn’t just up in the US. Check it out below: