10 Countries Where Twitter (TWTR) is Growing Faster than Facebook (FB)

The world is growing more and more connected thanks to expansive Internet access, but not all places react the same to what’s popular and what’s not in other countries. That’s proven by this list of the 10 countries where Twitter is growing faster than Facebook, as Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) has seen stagnant growth in many markets, while Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) appears unstoppable.

With Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) being the poster child for social networks and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) being the site that has more downs than ups, and that’s been having some tough times and grappling with an identity crisis of late, it’s a bit weird to think that Zuckerberg’s network may not be outpacing Twitter in some countries.

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It’s the truth, however. Out of the 3.4 billion Internet users in the world, close to 1.8 billion are on Facebook, with 1.18 billion logging in every day, as Facebook’s third-quarter data shows. This is extraordinary, and no other social network comes even close to those numbers and probably won’t for a very long time. There was 16% growth year-over-year in the number of Facebook monthly active users (MAUs), and while its MAUs will likely continue to rise, the speed with which it grows will inevitably slow down in time.

In fact, in some areas, visits to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) are slipping a bit, while visits to other sites are growing, including to Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR). For our list today, we checked out data from October 2015 and October 2016 on StatCounter Global Stats, which analyzes page views referred by a social media site. We compared the data for both Facebook and Twitter from these months in all countries around the globe, calculated the differences in the numbers between the two chosen months, and then went and compared Facebook and Twitter, to find those countries where Twitter grew more than Facebook did. Incidentally, it happens that all countries on our list are growth areas for Twitter while Facebook is facing declines there.

Without further ado, here are the 10 countries where Twitter is growing faster than Facebook.

10. Saint Martin

Difference: 14.52%

Facebook YOY: -14.51%

Twitter YOY: 0.01%

The Caribbean island has some 75,000 residents living in what could only be described as a geographic paradise. Since there are so many beautiful things to see, the Internet reach isn’t great, as there are only about 1,100 Internet users in Saint Martin, indicating a very low penetration rate. Out of these people, over 77% use Facebook, but the number has slipped in the past year, by over 14.5%. On the other hand, while the number of Twitter users is quite low, with under 3% of Internet users frequenting that particular network, the number has grown a bit year-over-year.

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9. Czech Republic

Difference: 14.68%

Facebook YOY: -9.07%

Twitter YOY: 5.61%

The Czech Republic ranks 9th in our list of countries where Twitter is growing faster than Facebook. It is home to over 10.5 million people, out of which over 75% have Internet access. Out of all the Internet users in the European country, over 65% frequently log into Facebook, while only 10.4% do the same at Twitter’s domain.

When it comes to trends, however, things are looking better for Twitter, since it posted year-over-year growth of 5.61%. In the same period of time, Facebook’s usage dropped by over 9%, indicating that people might be a little bit bored with what the social network has to offer.

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8. Montserrat

Difference: 15.29%

Facebook YOY: -11.76%

Twitter YOY: 3.53%

This beautiful Caribbean island has some 5,000 residents, which isn’t many. When it comes to Internet users, the numbers are also low, as you’d expect, with only about 1,200 people using the Internet regularly.

Out of these people, nearly 80% have a Facebook account while only 4.6% frequently log into Twitter. While this may sound great, you should know that Facebook’s usage rates have dropped over the past year, by 11.7%, while Twitter’s have grown by 3.5%, making for a rather large gap between the two.

This is, of course, a small island we’re talking about, just like several others that have reached our list, but they’re still important as far as painting an interesting picture about worldwide trends goes.

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7. San Marino

Difference: 15.32%

Facebook YOY: -14.22%

Twitter YOY: 1.1%

This microstate in the middle of Italy ranks 7th in our list of countries where Twitter is growing faster than Facebook. It is home to over 33,000 people. While this may not be a great number, which is to be expected considering it only covers about 24 square miles, over half of its residents have an Internet connection. Out of this number, about 63% regularly log onto Facebook, although that number has dropped by 14% over the last year.

When it comes to Twitter, only 6.4% of San Marino’s Internet users (or about 24 people; ok, we’re kidding, it’s actually more like 2,100 people) visit it frequently. The number is growing, however, with the year-over-year difference standing at over 1%. Overall, it makes for quite a difference between how Facebook and Twitter are doing in the small state.

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6. Singapore

Difference: 15.52%

Facebook YOY: -9.58%

Twitter YOY: 5.94%

Singapore is a city-state in southern Malaysia, and a financial center for the area. It has over 5.6 million residents squeezed together in a 278-square-mile territory, making for the third-highest population density in the world. Over 73% of the people living here have an Internet connection, data shows.

Data also indicates that some 76% of those people frequently log into Facebook, while over 9.5% do so on Twitter. When it comes to year-over-year activity, there are some pretty big differences, with Facebook traffic dropping by nearly 9.6%, while Twitter’s active users grew by nearly 6% during the same period of time between October 2015 and October 2016.

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5. Cook Islands

Difference: 20.56%

Facebook YOY: -19.36%

Twitter YOY: 1.2%

The Cook Islands are just off the coast of New Zealand, and they’re actually some 15 islands with a total land area of nearly 93-square-miles and about 15,000 residents. About 61% of these people have an active Internet connection that they frequently use, including for visiting social media sites.

Nearly 69% of Internet users in the Cook Islands are Facebook users, while only 1.2% visit Twitter. On the other hand, the number of people visiting Facebook dropped by almost 20% over the October 2015-to-October 2016 period, indicating a loss of interest in the world’s largest social network. Twitter usage meanwhile grew by a modest 1.2%, which isn’t exactly impressive, but it’s better than nothing.

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4. Seychelles

Difference: 21.35%

Facebook YOY: -14.54%

Twitter YOY: 6.81%

The island nation of Seychelles ranks 4th in our list of countries where Twitter is growing faster than Facebook. It may be better known as a fiscal paradise, but it’s also one of the countries where Twitter’s user base is growing. Out of the 92,000 residents, over half have an Internet connection according to the latest data.

Among those Seychellian (that should totally be their moniker if it isn’t) Internet users, some 66.6% regularly visit Facebook, while 10.2% are frequent users of Twitter. The numbers have changed quite a bit over the past year, however, with Facebook users dropping by 14.5% since October 2015, while Twitter usage has grown by nearly 7% during the same period of time.

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3. Lebanon

Difference: 24.55%

Facebook YOY: -18.62%

Twitter YOY: 5.93%

With a rich history, Lebanon which ranks 3rd in our list of countries where Twitter is growing faster than Facebook, is home to over 6 million people, out of which over 70% have an Internet connection that they use most of the time. Nearly 65% of those Internet surfers are Facebook users, while 13.5% are of the Twitter persuasion.

The habits of Lebanon’s Internet users have changed over time, however, something that’s to be expected. Facebook’s popularity has dropped by some 18.6% over the specified one-year period, while, on the other side of the fence, Twitter has grown by nearly 6% in the same stretch.

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2. Venezuela

Difference: 28.07%

Facebook YOY: -12.63%

Twitter YOY: 15.44%

We are continuing our list of countries where Twitter is growing faster than Facebook with Venezuela, that is one of the largest nations in South America and is called home by over 31.4 million people. The Internet reach currently stands at nearly 55% in this area, making for a rather large number of users.

Out of the 17 million Internet users in Venezuela, over 72% frequently use Facebook. The number of Twitter users is also quite high, with nearly 25% of those with an Internet connection using it to send 140-character messages. Facebook usage, however, has dropped by over 12.6% in the one-year period ended October 31, 2016. During the same period, Twitter usage has grown 15.4% among Venezuela’s citizens.

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1. Yemen

Difference: 42.97%

Facebook YOY: -20.69%

Twitter YOY: 22.28%

At the top of our list, with the largest gap in growth between Facebook and Twitter, we find Yemen. With over 25 million citizens, the country has an Internet reach of only about 20%, in part due to the ongoing crisis taking place there in the form of a war between forces loyal to the government, and the rebel movement.

Among those that do have an Internet connection, over 61.4% frequently check in on Facebook, while 31.2% are firing off 140-character messages on Twitter and/or catching up on the news there. Over the past year, however, Facebook usage has dropped by over 20%, while Twitter usage has climbed by over 22% in the same timeframe. While it still has a long ways to go, Twitter is closer to catching Facebook in Venezuela than in any other country on this list.

So there you have it, the 10 countries where Twitter is growing faster than Facebook, for a variety of reasons. Will it ever catch Facebook in any of those countries? Let us know in the comments.

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Disclosure: None