Facebook, the leading social network which boasts over 1.25 billion monthly users around the world, doesn’t seem 
to be losing momentum. Egypt and Jordan are the two countries that are leading Facebook’s growth in the Middle East. A continuing steep rise in the number of internet users in Egypt and Jordan serves to boost Facebook’s user numbers at a faster rate than any other social network. According to eMarketer’s estimations, the number of social network users in these two countries will rise by 22.6% in 2014 to 261 million, with 54.5% using Facebook.
The report also reveals that Egypt and Jordan top the list of countries with the highest FB user/internet user ratio in MENA, with 82% and 79% respectively.
Social network users will represent 63.6% of internet users and only 15.6% of the region’s population, says eMarketer. 185 million residents in the Middle East and Africa are expected to use Facebook in 2014. The figure is 85.6% of the social network audience, 54.5% of internet users and 13.4% of the population.
By comparison, the 2013 ratio of social media usage among global internet users was around 68% and is expected to reach over 70% by the end of 2014.
Facebook’s Q1 earnings report came out last week beating analysts’s expectations as the revenues are up 72% to $2.5 billion (analysts expected $2.36 billion).
eMarketer’s estimations are in line with those of GlobalWebIndex, who found that a similar number (52%) of internet users in the Middle East and Africa logged onto Facebook. According to eMarketer, Facebook user penetration among internet users was even higher in Egypt and Jordan in November 2013, with around eight in 10 internet users in each country using the social network.
