The growth of active social media users in Kenya slowed down to 15.9 percent in 2024, compared to a 38.2 per cent expansion witnessed in 2023, according to a new report.

The 'Digital 2025: Kenya' published report by DataReportal, a global insights platform, shows in the year ending February 2025, Kenya added 2.1 million new social media users.

According to the new report, the new social media accounts now increase the total number recorded in Kenya to 15.1 million, compared to the 3.6 million new accounts added in 2023.

The revelation points at Kenya’s social growth heading towards a saturation point, even the country’s new internet users grew by 527,000 compared to a growth of 445,000 in 2023.

The new report also revealed that as of February 2025, the total active social media users represented 26.5 per cent of Kenya’s overall population, up from 23.5 per cent during 2023.

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The report based on data from GSMA Intelligence, Ookla and Kepios, shows that Kenya’s population of 57 million has a median age of 20 with 30.3 per cent living in urban areas.

Internet Penetration

According to the new report, there were 27.4 million internet users in Kenya as of January 2025, which represents an internet penetration rate of 48 per cent of the total population.

The number of internet users in Kenya grew by 2 per cent to 527,000 in 2024 even as 29.6 million Kenyans, representing 52 per cent of the country’s total population, kept offline.

Internet Speeds

Kenya’s internet connectivity continued to grow, with speed tests by Ookla showing the median mobile internet download speed clocked 29.97 Mbps, 37.6 per cent increase in a year.

The median fixed internet download speed experienced a growth of 48.7 per cent to 14.54 Mbps.

Mobile Connections

Data from GSMA Intelligence, show that Kenya’s cellular mobile connections at the beginning of 2025 had surpassed the country’s population to stand at 68.8 million.

This is because many individuals use multiple SIM cards for personal and professional purposes, with the mobile connections reaching 121 per cent of the total population.

From January 2024 to January 2025, mobile connections in Kenya grew by 5.4 per cent to 3.5 million, with 94.7 being classified as broadband (operating on 3G, 4G or 5G networks.

Social Media

DataReportal also shows that, as of January 2025, Kenya’s active social media user identities grew by 15.9 per cent to 15.1 million, representing 26.5 per cent of the total population.

40.1 per cent of active social media users were female, and 59.9 per cent male with the connectivity growth hindered by internet inaccessibility by a large part of the population.

Here is Kenya’s social media users distribution:

• Facebook 58%

• WhatsApp 55%

• TikTok 31%

• YouTube 26%

• Instagram 13%

• X(formerly twitter) 12%