Following on from other snapshots on Facebook usage in Ireland. It’s August 1st and when we look at Facebook numbers in Ireland by going to the Facebook Ad System, it’s telling us that Facebook has doubled in size in the past 7 months, probably in the past 6 months really given 400k were on it in January.
So right now the stats:
- 905,980 people in Ireland are now on Facebook. In January there were just over 400k.
- 612,380 people are age 25 and older – 67%
- 399,440 people are age 30 and older – 44%
- 134,660 people are age 40 and older – 14%
Remember though that information is optional for most demographics. So while we have 900k, only half have indicated their relationship status:
439,520 people have indicated they are single, in a relationship, engaged or married for example
The older and younger generation:
52,040 people are age 50 and older
55,820 people are under 18
Other stats:
- 260,420 people are between the ages of 18 and 25
- 435,460 people are between the ages of 20 and 30
In 5 year increments:
- 205,860 people are between the ages of 20 and 25
- 258,400 people are between the ages of 25 and 30
- 178,920 people are between the ages of 30 and 35
- 112,920 people are between the ages of 35 and 40
- 58,880 people are between the ages of 40 and 45
- 35,640 people are between the ages of 45 and 50
- 23,280 people are between the ages of 50 and 55
- 15,560 people are between the ages of 55 and 60
- 18,580 people are age 60 and older
2,180 Irish people have Pirate as their language of choice on Facebook
85,620 people are at secondary school
Interesting one. If I get this right, there are roughtly 464,000 FB users betwee 20 and 30, and of them, 435,460 have given relationship status which means a crazy high percentage of one demographic gives relationship data and almost no one outside that demographic does.
My error there in formatting Treasa. Rejigged it now. The 435k is not a subset of the 464k. That’s interesting though. Will play with that for age ranges.
Phenomenal growth, some more stats & insights
Top search query in last 30 days – http://www.google.com/insights/search/#geo=IE&date=today%201-m&cmpt=q
Fastest growing search term this year – http://www.google.com/insights/search/#geo=IE&date=1%2F2009%2012m&cmpt=q
Some interesting stuff from Ad Planner, on usage and site affinity(especially a certain site which blankets ads on FB) – https://www.google.com/adplanner/#siteDetails?identifier=facebook.com&geo=IE&trait_type=1&lp=false
That is a truly stunning statistic. But do you really believe it? I don’t. I don’t believe that Facebook has a higher penetration than say, The Late Late Show, or a subscription base 9 times the circulation of The Irish Times, or 6 times the Indo. The figures simply aren’t credible.
One of the most intriguing trends that will emerge with Facebook’s Irish cohort is the over-50s that will continue flocking to the Facebook community as Ireland endures another migratory pattern during the next four years. Facebook today is what postcards were to Ireland in the 80s.
http://www.insideview.ie/irisheyes/2008/01/facebook-in-ire.html
These are interesting figures, and at first glance, they don’t seem to match the american figures
http://www.istrategylabs.com/2009-facebook-demographics-and-statistics-report-513-growth-in-55-year-old-users-college-high-school-drop-20/
It would be very interesting to see the growth percentage in each age group, though. I think the migration from Bebo is still happening, so no fear of parent figures in our young ones…
So interestingly enough “Interested Party” you think that people 25 – 30 are more influenced by the Late Late show then they are the internet?
It’s difficult to compare Facebook with the Late Late show and Newspapers when they all have completely different functions in an individuals life.
Why shouldn’t this figure be “credible”? Do you have the internet in your own home? Or are you rubbing sticks together to make fires still?
134,660 over 40 is the most interesting figure to me in that it is the age cohort allegedly less comfortable in the online space. Before dissing it as not credible just because it is hard to believe, what exactly is being measured – I assume it is the creation of Facebook pages? Are there stats on the extent to which people follow up on / use Facebook having initiated a page?
Those most likely to be grandparents revisit Facebook to check on photos and cross-talk. More than a billion photos are posted to Facebook every month. In my experience, a large cross-section would have been seen in a family photo album on a coffee table a generation ago. And like Padraig suggests, this Facebook trend suggests gray users aren’t as inhibited about digital connectivity as some studies suggest.
I agree with Bernie on the family photo album phenomenon, but what is interesting is that the younger generation are still joining Facebook, and linking with the older generation – the American numbers seemed to suggest that the appearance of parents etc. was reducing the take-up by a younger group.
Great post Damien.
Pity it is not possible to see the frequency of use between the different age profiles.
Even though it may 900k memebers it does not mean 900k members are active and I’m sure there is a level of drop off. Doubt Facebook will prodide this data however unless it reads positively.
I don’t agree with the comments by “interested party” plus why is it not possible when the Irish Times website has 540,490 Irish readers (source: http://www.irishtimes.com/mediakit/)
I love this stat – 2,180 Irish people have Pirate as their language of choice on Facebook 🙂
These figures don’t add up! You’re overlapping with the 5 year increment figures. How can I get this info from FB myself?
Thanks