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This research article includes everything you need to know about TikTok.
Over here, you’ll find the company’s financials and different sorts of data (like how many users they have worldwide).
| Key Stat | Key Info |
|---|---|
| Type of Service | Video sharing |
| Developer(s) | ByteDance |
| Release Date | September 2016 |
| Operating system | iOS 11 or later iPad OS Android Android TV vision OS |
| Available in | 40 languages |
| Website | tiktok.com |
In September 2016, TikTok was launched initially as Douyin in China and has since gained worldwide popularity as a leading social media platform. Its international expansion in 2017 marked a significant change in short-form video sharing. Utilizing artificial intelligence, Zhang Yiming founded ByteDance in 2012. The company personalized TikTok’s content feed, increasing user engagement and recommending videos based on individual interactions.
TikTok’s growth and success can largely be attributed to its strategic acquisitions. In November 2017, the company acquired an app for $1 billion, resulting in 80 million new users, mainly from the US. This acquisition was crucial for TikTok’s expansion into global markets, setting the stage for its development as the most popular app in 2019 and 2020, with 693 million and 850 million downloads, respectively. Despite being launched in 2017, TikTok became the seventh-most downloaded app of the 2010s, establishing itself as a strong competitor to Facebook’s leading position in Western social networking.
TikTok’s brand value has grown significantly, reaching $84.2 billion in 2024, a significant increase from $65.7 billion in 2023.
| Year | Brand Value |
| 2024 | $84.2 billion |
| 2023 | $65.7 billion |
| 2022 | $58.98 billion |
| 2021 | $18.75 billion |
Sources: Statista
TikTok’s net advertising revenue has seen a dramatic increase in recent years, rising from $1.14 billion in 2020 to $18.49 billion in 2024.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $18.49 billion |
| 2023 | $14.15 billion |
| 2022 | $9.89 billion |
| 2021 | $3.88 billion |
| 2020 | $1.14 billion |
Source: Statista
TikTok earns revenue through several segments: TikTok Ads, Branded Hashtags, Branded Effects, In-App Purchases, and Commissions from content creators.
For TikTok Ads, companies promote products via:
Branded Hashtags are highly lucrative. Brands pay to have their hashtags more visible to users.
Branded Effects provides augmented-reality filters, branded lenses, and custom stickers. Though costly, this service isn’t TikTok’s main revenue source, implying few customers use it.
In-App Purchases were a major revenue source before TikTok for Business. TikTok earns when followers donate virtual gifts, bought with virtual coins (100 to 10,000 coins, priced from 99 cents to $249.99). These gifts convert to diamonds, which can be exchanged for money.
In 2018, TikTok had 653.75 million users, and this number grew steadily over the years.
As of 2022, the user base was 856.69 million; in 2023, TikTok had approximately 1.057 billion users.
| Year | Number of TikTok Users |
| 2023 | 1.057 billion users |
| 2022 | 984.49 million users |
| 2021 | 856.69 million users |
| 2020 | 721.09 million users |
| 2019 | 703.84 million users |
| 2018 | 653.75 million users |
Source: Statista
In the first quarter of 2024, TikTok removed a total of 171 million fake accounts, 22 million accounts belonging to users under the age of 13, and 2.5 million accounts for other reasons.
The data reveals that TikTok has deleted a staggering 690 million fake accounts between 2020 and the first quarter of 2024.
| Year | Accounts under the age of 13 | Fake accounts | Other accounts |
| 2024 (Q1) | 22 million | 171 million | 2.5 million |
| 2023 | 76 million | 349 million | 15 million |
| 2022 | 78 million | 160 million | 18 million |
| 2021 | 46 million | 12 million | 9 million |
| 2020 | 4 million | – | 2 million |
Source: Statista
In April 2024, Indonesia boasted the largest TikTok users, reaching nearly 127.5 million users.
The United States followed closely behind, with around 121.5 million TikTok users. Brazil secured the third position, with almost 101.8 million users enjoying short video content on TikTok.
| Country | Number of Users |
|---|---|
| Indonesia | 127.5 million users |
| United States | 121.52 million users |
| Brazil | 101.8 million users |
| Mexico | 77.93 million users |
| Vietnam | 69.67 million users |
| Pakistan | 59.63 million users |
| Russian Federation | 58.22 million users |
| Thailand | 53.43 million users |
| Philippines | 48.03 million users |
| Bangladesh | 39.79 million users |
| Turkey | 38.4 million users |
| Saudi Arabia | 35.93 million users |
| Egypt | 35.31 million users |
| Iraq | 33.4 million users |
| Malaysia | 29.14 million users |
| Colombia | 28.42 million users |
| Nigeria | 27.39 million users |
| Japan | 25.67 million users |
| France | 24.59 million users |
| Germany | 22.86 million users |
Source: Statista
TikTok’s download numbers have been steadily rising over the years. The app experienced a remarkable surge in 2023, reaching 1.057 billion downloads.
The trend leading up to this surge is evident when looking at the download figures for the preceding years: 2022 – 984.49 million, 2021 – 856.69 million, 2020 – 721.09 million, 2019 – 703.84 million, and 2018 – 653.75 million.
| Year | TikTok App Total Downloads |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 1.057 billion downloads |
| 2022 | 984.49 million downloads |
| 2021 | 856.69 million downloads |
| 2020 | 721.09 million downloads |
| 2019 | 703.84 million downloads |
| 2018 | 653.75 million downloads |
Source: Statista
TikTok has earned an impressive 4.4-star rating from 19.9 million reviews on the Google Play Store. With over 500 million downloads.
TikTok downloads among Canadian Android users increased by 156%, making the app the fastest-growing market. The Dominican Republic followed with an 89% increase, and the United States had a 60% increase.
| Country | Growth compared to the previous quarter |
|---|---|
| Canada | 155.92% |
| Dominican Republic | 80.66% |
| United States | 60.24% |
| Kuwait | 17.37% |
| Australia | 15.45% |
| Germany | 14.47% |
| South Korea | 13.32% |
| Austria | 6.9% |
| Russian Federation | 5.26% |
| Greece | 4.58% |
| Switzerland | 2.89% |
TikTok boasts an impressive rating of 4.7 based on 17.3 million reviews.
In the last quarter of 2024, TikTok downloads from the Apple App Store experienced significant growth in various Asian markets.
There was a nearly 40% increase in China, while the app saw a 33% growth in iOS downloads in Japan and a 24 %increase in South Korea. This growth in the Asia-Pacific region continued from the end of 2023.
| Country | Growth compared to the previous quarter |
|---|---|
| China | 39.01% |
| Japan | 33.6% |
| South Korea | 24.62% |
| Australia | 20.14% |
| Singapore | 17.14% |
| Grand Total | 14.21% |
| Taiwan | 12.46% |
| Thailand | 12.19% |
| United Kingdom | 11.24% |
| Ecuador | 8.58% |
Sources: Google Play, Apple Store, Statista 1, Statista 2
In April 2024, 17.3% of TikTok’s users were females aged 18-24, and 18.9% were males of the same age. Women aged 25-34 comprised 14.6%, while men in that age group were 19.3%.
TikTok’s user base is fairly balanced, with 53.62% males and 46.38% females, showing its wide appeal across demographics.
In April 2024, it was discovered that 17.3% of TikTok’s users worldwide were females aged 18-24, with approximately 18.9% being males of the same age.
However, 14.6% of the platform’s online audience were women aged 25-34, while 19.3% were men in that age group.
| Age Group | Male | Female |
| 18-24 | 17.3% | 18.9% |
| 25-34 | 14.6% | 19.3% |
| 34-44 | 6.9% | 8.9% |
| 45-54 | 3.7% | 4.2% |
| 55+ | 3.1% | 3.1% |
Source: Statista
TikTok features a relatively equal distribution of male and female users, with males making up 53.62% and females making up 46.38%.
| Gender | % Users |
| Male | 53.62% |
| Female | 46.38% |
Source: SimilarWeb
In 2021, 8.6 billion videos were uploaded on TikTok, but many were removed due to the platform’s community guidelines.
Hence, approximately 716.67 million videos are uploaded per month, 23.56 million videos per day, 981,735 videos per hour, 16,363 videos per minute, and 273 videos per second.
| Period | Number of videos uploaded on TikTok |
| Year | 8.6 billion videos |
| Month | ≈ 716.67 million videos |
| Day | ≈ 23.56 million videos |
| Hour | ≈ 981,735 videos |
| Minute | ≈ 16,363 videos |
| Second | ≈ 273 videos |
Sources: TikTok 1, TikTok 2, TikTok 3
Every day, TikTok accumulates over 1 billion video views, equalling an average of about 41.67 million views per hour, approximately 694,444 views per minute, and roughly 11,574 views per second.
| Period | Average Number of Views on TikTok |
| Day | 1 billion views |
| Hour | ≈ 41.67 million views |
| Minute | ≈ 694,444 views |
| Second | ≈ 11,574 views |
Source: TikTok
Zach King’s “Magic Ride” had the highest viewership among short videos on TikTok by July 2023, accumulating over 2.3 billion views for illusionist and actor Zack King.
The holiday video by makeup artist and influencer James Charles secured the second spot with 1.8 billion views, while Zack King reclaimed third place with his video “Unexpected Hiding Spots,” which reached 1.1 billion views.
| Name of Creators’ Videos | Number of Views |
|---|---|
| Zach King’s Magic Ride | 2.3 billion views |
| James Charles’ Christmas Sisters Party | 1.8 billion views |
| Zach King’s Unexpected Hiding Spots | 1.1 billion views |
| Glass and Cake Illusion by Zach King | 966.7 million views |
| “M to the B” lip-syncing by Bella Porch | 690.7 million views |
| Zack King’s Wet Wall Illusion | 659.5 million views |
| Sorrel Horse Dancing to “Say It Right” | 421.3 million views |
| Nyadollie’s beauty tutorial look | 409.1 million views |
| An Adorable Baby Laughing by Daexo | 392.4 million views |
| Billie Eilish’s face warp challenge | 357.4 million views |
Source: Statista
TikTok removed a total of 737 million videos from 2020 to 2022.
Source: TikTok
TikTok videos violating minor safety are most likely removed from TikTok. More than a third of the videos that violated TikTok’s community guidelines concern minor safety.
Apart from that, videos on illegal activities and regulated goods are
Source: Statista
“How You Like That” by Black Pink is the most used song on TikTok, with almost 10 million videos made using it.
Source: TikTok
175 songs that trended on TikTok were included in the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021.
Source: TikTok
There are 450 songs in TikTok that have surpassed 1 billion views.
Source: TikTok
TikTok influencers are rapidly expanding, with projections of over 150,000 influencers in 2021, over 200,000 in 2022, and over 220,000 in 2023.
In 2020, the number of TikTok influencers worldwide exceeded 106,000, marking a substantial increase from 16,400 in 2018 and 35,500 in 2019.
| Year | Number of influencers |
| 2023 | ~220,000+ influencers |
| 2022 | ~200,000+ influencers |
| 2021 | ~150,000+ influencers |
| 2020 | 106,104 influencers |
| 2019 | 35,528 influencers |
| 2018 | 16,394 influencers |
Source: Statista
As of July 2024, Khabane Lame, a TikTok creator and comedian based in Italy, was the most followed content creator on the platform, with 162.6 million subscribers.
Influencer Charlie D’Amelio closely followed in second place with 155.4 million followers. Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast on YouTube, ranked third with 97.6 million followers.
| Top TikTokers | Number of followers |
| Khabane Lame | 162.6 million followers |
| charli d’amelio | 155.4 million followers |
| MrBeast | 97.6 million followers |
| Bella Poarch | 94.2 million followers |
| Addison Rae | 88.8 million followers |
| Zach King | 82.2 million followers |
| Kimberly Loaiza | 81.2 million followers |
| domelipa | 75.1 million followers |
| cznburak | 75.1 million followers |
| WILLIE SALIM | 58 million followers |
There are multiple ways that influencers earn money through TikTok.
Source: Business Insider, Forbes
Influencers earn $800-$7,000+ on TikTok. Many factors affect this, but the most crucial one is the number of followers each influencer has. The more followers, the higher the earnings.
Source: IZEA
Charlie D’Amelio has achieved remarkable success as the highest-earning TikTok star, with annual earnings of $23 million.
Following closely behind is Khaby Lame, the second highest-earning TikTok star, with earnings of approximately $16.5 million.
| Content Creators | Annual Earning |
|---|---|
| Charli D’Amelio | $23 million |
| Khabane (Khaby) Lame | $16.5 million |
| Zach King | $13 million |
| Dixie D’Amelio | $11.5 million |
| Christina Najjar (Tinx) | $7 million |
| Mikayla Nogueira | $7 million |
| Addison Rae Easterling | $6 million |
| Alix Earle | $5 million |
| Michael Le (JustMaiko) | $4.4 million |
| Bella Poarch | $3.3 million |
Source: TikTok
In October 2023, Doug the Pug, a beloved celebrity, had accumulated over six million followers on TikTok.
Meanwhile, Noodle the Pug, known for encouraging fans to focus on their mental well-being, had approximately 4.4 million followers on the platform.
Nala Cat, a well-known pet influencer on Instagram, has garnered 224,000 followers on TikTok.
| Pet TikTokers | Number of followers |
|---|---|
| Doug the Pug | 6,100,000 |
| Noodle The Pug | 4,400,000 |
| Nala Cat | 224,000 |
| Living With Pickles | 68,000 |
| Loki The Wolf Dog | 51,000 |
| Minnie Penny | 11,200 |
| That Pup Stanley | 8,000 |
| Liam The Everyday Cat | 6,000 |
Source: Statista
In April 2021, it was found that 6%of TikTok users spent more than 10 hours per week on the platform.
Another 6% use the social video app for five to ten hours a week, while 30% of respondents spend less than one hour weekly on the platform.
Around 336 million people spend less than 1 hour on TikTok weekly, while over 67 million spend more than 10 hours weekly using it.
| Characteristic | Share |
| Less than 1 hour | 30% |
| 1 hour | 19% |
| 1-2 hours | 19% |
| 2-5 hours | 15% |
| 5-10 hours | 11% |
| 10 hours or more | 6% |
Source: Statista
The amount of time spent on TikTok per month by users worldwide was around 34 hours in 2023.
On average, users in the United Kingdom dedicated over 49 hours to using the well-liked social video and live-streaming app, while users in the United States spent 45 hours and 37 minutes monthly on the application.
| Location | Time Spent/User |
|---|---|
| Worldwide | 34 hours |
| United Kingdom | 49.29 hours |
| Russia | 31.47 hours |
| United States | 45.37 hours |
| Germany | 37.38 hours |
| Australia | 42.13 hours |
| Mexico | 45.01 hours |
| Indonesia | 38.26 hours |
| Canada | 38.47 hours |
| France | 38.38 hours |
| Brazil | 30.1 hours |
| Turkey | 29.25 hours |
| South Korea | 25.06 hours |
| Singapore | 33.23 hours |
| Argentina | 38.33 hours |
Source: Statista
TikTok is available in 155 countries and supports 75 languages. However, TikTok has faced bans or restrictions in several countries and organizations.
Some of the reasons for these actions include concerns about security and privacy, online censorship, and religious beliefs.
For instance, Afghanistan, India, and Nepal have banned TikTok for various reasons, while Denmark’s Defense Ministry has prohibited its use on official units to mitigate cybersecurity risks.
Additionally, the European Union has banned TikTok from employees’ work phones and recommended its removal from personal devices to safeguard against cybersecurity threats.
TikTok currently has a global workforce of 38,578 employees. In the U.S., the company has over 11,400 employees, and in 2020, an interview with CNBC revealed that TikTok has at least 1,294 employees in Europe.
| Year | Headcount of TikTok Employees |
| 2023 | 38,578 employees |
| 2022 | 30,000+ employees |
| 2021 | 20,000+ employees |
| 2020 | 12,694 employees |
| 2019 | 10,000+ employees |
TikTok has acquired three organizations. Their most recent acquisition was Tokopedia on Dec 11, 2023. They acquired Tokopedia for $840 million.
| Acquiree Name | Announced Date | Price | Transaction Name |
| Tokopedia | Dec 11, 2023 | $840M | Tokopedia acquired by TikTok |
| Jukedeck | Jul 23, 2019 | NA | Jukedeck acquired by TikTok |
| GeoGif | Mar 23, 2019 | NA | GeoGif acquired by TikTok |
Source: Crunchbase
Zhang Yiming, the founder of ByteDance, resigned as CEO in 2021 and as chairman in November of the same year reportedly due to pressure from the Chinese government. ByteDance’s valuation has been affected by concerns over a potential ban of TikTok in the U.S. market. The company has diversified interests in news, education, and video gaming. Zhang founded ByteDance in 2012 and was recognized in the 2013 Forbes China 30 Under 30 List.
The net worth of Zhang Yiming, the founder of TikTok, has fluctuated over the past few years. In 2018, his net worth was $4 billion, and it increased to $16.2 billion in 2019. In 2020, it remained the same. However, in 2021, it dropped to $35.6 billion before rising to $50 billion in 2022. In 2023, it went down to $45 billion, and in 2024, it further decreased to $43.4 billion.
| Year | Zhang Yiming’s Networth |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $43.4 billion |
| 2023 | $45 billion |
| 2022 | $50 billion |
| 2021 | $35.6 billion |
| 2020 | $16.2 billion |
| 2019 | $16.2 billion |
| 2018 | $4 billion |
Sources: Forbes
There are over 1.8 billion fake likes on TikTok from June 2021 to September 2022.
Meanwhile, 75.84 billion fake likes were prevented from even being registered into existence.
Source: TikTok
You can earn as much as $0.04 per 1,000 views on TikTok through its creator fund program. It is significantly smaller compared to other platforms.
Source: Tube Filter, TikTok
TikTok creator fund is only available to creators in:
Source: TikTok
#fyp is the most popular hashtag in TikTok with 36.31 trillion views.
This number of views expands from videos using hashtags, mentions, and searches.
Thanks a lot for reading this,
David Ch
Head of the Editing Team at SendShort
David leads the editing team at SendShort. With this help, the team delivers the latest guides on using your favorite social media apps and creating short-form content.
