Messenger Momentum Marks Post-Uprising Social Media Shift
In the aftermath of the July uprising, Bangladesh has witnessed a notable shift in social media usage, with Messenger overtaking Facebook in popularity, much like the trend observed after the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, LinkedIn has seen greater growth than Instagram. By August, nearly five million new users had joined Facebook and Messenger combined. Observers note that Generation Z dominates all major social platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and LinkedIn—with users aged 18 to 24 comprising nearly half of the total user base, and in some cases, more than half.
From August last year to this August, a total of 4,860,100 new accounts were created across these platforms. When calculated from July, the figure rises to 5,192,400.
During this period, Messenger usage grew at an even faster pace. From July to October alone, the platform added 5,816,000 new users, while over a 12-month span, 5,683,000 new users joined.
Over the past year following the uprising, Meta-owned Instagram gained 1,721,900 new users, while LinkedIn attracted an additional 1,868,000 users.
These statistics were reported by Poland-based social media management platform NapoleonCat.
According to its August data, Bangladesh now has over 73,336,000 Facebook users, representing about 41 percent of the population. Messenger’s user base stood at 67,467,800, while Instagram had 9,337,900 users, and LinkedIn reached 10,964,000—up from just over 9,096,000 in August 2024.
A year earlier, in August 2024, Bangladesh had a little more than 68,475,000 Facebook users. This indicates an increase of more than 4,861,000 users in just one year. Among Facebook users, 63.2 percent are male and 36.8 percent female.
On Instagram and Messenger, female participation is slightly higher than on Facebook, though men still outnumber women by nearly two to one. In August 2024, Messenger had approximately 61,784,000 users, compared with 67,468,000 in August 2025. Currently, 63.6 percent of Messenger users are male, while women account for 36.4 percent. On Instagram, women represent just 34.1 percent, with men making up 65.9 percent. NapoleonCat did not provide a gender breakdown for LinkedIn.
Looking back to April 2021, in the post-COVID period, Facebook users increased by nearly 10 million in just one year, reaching 48,230,000 by May—28 percent of the population. At that time, women accounted for 30.9 percent of users, while men represented 69.1 percent. The largest demographic was the 18–24 age group, totaling 21.2 million users. Messenger, meanwhile, grew more than fourfold, reaching 42,150,000 users, with 69.3 percent male and 30.7 percent female. Instagram had 4,071,000 users, while LinkedIn stood at 4,117,000.
