Thailand is among the global leaders in terms of time spent on social media and number of users of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and e-commerce, according to a digital report.
As of January 2024, daily social media usage by Thais ranked 17th globally at 2.31 hours, with the global average 2.23 hours, according to the Digital 2024 Global Overview Report from DataReportal, published in partnership with Meltwater and We Are Social.
The country ranked in the top 10 for internet usage at eight hours per day.
In terms of social media use, Thailand ranked fifth at 24 hours per month, following Egypt (34 hours), the United Arab Emirates (29), Vietnam (28) and the Philippines (26 hours).
Bangkok was among the top three cities for Facebook advertising audience at 13 million user accounts, while Thailand was ninth for the largest national audience with 49 million users.
Thais spent 41.3 hours per month watching YouTube via its mobile app, just behind global leader South Korea at 45 hours.
Thailand has 18.7 million Instagram users who average 7.4 hours per month on the app. The country ranks sixth for Facebook Messenger users at 35.5 million.
For X, formerly Twitter, Thailand was 12th with 14.6 million users, with Android users spending three hours on the app per month, compared with the global average of four hours.
The nation is ninth globally for TikTok advertising reach with 44.3 million users. The US, Indonesia and Vietnam are the top three.
In terms of time spent on TikTok, Thailand ranked 15th with 38.2 hours per month for Android users.
Thailand was the leader for weekly online shopping with 70% of internet users age 16-64 making purchases online each week.
In terms of weekly online grocery purchases, Thailand is among the top two with 44% of internet users making weekly online grocery purchases, behind South Korea at 45%.
Some 31% of Thai internet users turn to websites or mobile apps to order meals each month, ranking 11th, with Greece, South Africa and China the top three at 48%, 45% and 43% respectively. The global average is 24%.
For ride-hailing services, Thailand was 23rd with $93 in average revenue per user per year. The top three were the United States ($540), Singapore ($337) and Switzerland ($318).
For mobile payment, the country ranked 12th with 31% of internet users aged 16-64 using platforms such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Hong Kong (44%), Taiwan (43%) and Ireland (40%) were the top three.
In terms of mobile commerce, for weekly purchases Thailand ranked in the top 20 with 31% of internet purchases by mobile devices, close to the global average of 30%.