PH social media identities up 9M, hit 95.8M — report

Social media user identities in the Philippines grew by 9 million in just a year, reaching 95.8 million as of October 2025, according to the Digital 2026 Philippines report by DataReportal.

Presented by Meltwater on Wednesday, the report showed a 10.3% year-on-year rise in social media user identities, the fastest growth among the country’s key digital indicators. The figure is equivalent to 81.9% of the estimated population of 117 million.

The increase outpaced growth in both internet users and mobile connections during the same period. Internet users in the Philippines reached 98 million, up by 789,000 or 0.8% from a year earlier, while cellular mobile connections rose by 4 million or 3% to 137 million.

The findings suggest that social media continues to play a central role in the daily lives of Filipinos, serving as a platform for communication, entertainment, business, news consumption and community engagement.

However, the report cautioned that social media user identities do not necessarily represent unique individuals.

Many users maintain multiple accounts across or within platforms, while some accounts belong to businesses, organizations, brands or other non-human entities. As such, the figure should not be interpreted as the number of individual social media users in the country.

Meanwhile, internet adoption in the Philippines remained above the global average.

The report estimated that 83.8% of Filipinos were online as of October 2025, compared with the global average of 73.2%.

The country also recorded 137 million cellular mobile connections, equivalent to 117% of the total population, indicating that many users maintain more than one mobile subscription or SIM card.

Overall, the Philippines’ population was estimated at 117 million in October 2025, with 49.1% living in urban areas.

The report also showed population growth of around 942,000 people, or 0.8%, over the previous year.

DataReportal compiles digital adoption and usage data from multiple sources, including government agencies, telecommunications firms, internet platforms, research organizations and analytics companies.—MCG, GMA News