Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) reported today that it now has 56 million active users in North Africa and the Middle East. That’s according to AFP (via Fox News).
Facebook reports latest user numbers
Activists in the region have been using Facebook to organize the Arab Spring demonstrations. According to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) regional head Jonathan Labin, half of the social network’s users visit the website every day. He also noted that they were seeing a significant increase in how many people in the area are using Facebook on their mobile devices.
Labin reported that about 33 million people in the Middle East and North Africa use tablets or phones to access the social network every month. He also said that they have reached 15 million daily active mobile users in the region. He noted that residents of the Gulf Cooperation Council nations are especially using Facebook on their mobile devices, marking a 196 percent increase in mobile use, which is an average of two SIM cards per person.
Facebook offers advertising opportunities
He also said that in addition to the rising number of users in the Middle East and North Africa region, they are also seeing a rise in how many advertisers they have. Shares of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) took off like a shot earlier this year when the social network reported better than expected mobile ad revenue. The company’s revenues from mobile advertising have surged from zero in the first half of last year to 41 percent of all of its advertising revenues in the second quarter of this year.
Facebook announced in May that it was opening a sales office for the Middle East and North Africa region. The office opened in Dubai, and the company reported that Emirates Airlines, which is located in Dubai, and Al-Jazeera television, which is located in Doha, had already signed up to advertise on Facebook.
