Instagram Growth Outpaces Facebook 10X in EU

Snapshot: Even as X continues to shed users in Europe, Meta’s latest EU disclosures point to a shifting social landscape across the bloc.

Between January and June 2025, Instagram reached 281.8 million monthly active users in the EU compared with Facebook’s 263.6 million. Since March 2024, Instagram’s EU audience rose 6.17 percent, while Facebook grew 0.65 percent, widening a gap that has been building over successive reporting cycles.

Facebook also lost users in the Netherlands, Greece, and Germany during the period, underscoring a gradual reordering of platform preference. Meta’s filings note that its human moderation workforce remains at roughly 40,000, even as automated systems expand. The company reported fewer spam removals on both Facebook and Instagram, alongside a notable rise in removals tied to bullying and harassment on Facebook. A 20 percent reduction in hate speech removals was also recorded, though Meta said criteria changes limit direct comparisons across periods.

Instagram’s acceleration and Facebook’s flatter growth mirror earlier transparency snapshots and reflect divergent user momentum across major markets. Taken together with continued declines at X, the latest figures capture an evolving hierarchy of social platforms in Europe.

Full story: Social Media Today