S. Korea ranks 3rd globally in social media penetration rate

South Korea posted a social media penetration rate of 87 percent in the first quarter to rank the third-highest globally based on a report by economic research institute Digieco and DMC media.

The social media penetration rate corresponds to the percentage of a given country's population that uses social media.

The report was based on data collected by We Are Social.

The UAE had the highest penetration rate with 99 percent, followed by Taiwan with 88 percent.

Singapore came in at fourth with 79 percent, followed by Hong Kong with 78 percent, and Argentina with 76 percent.

Rounding up the top 10 were New Zealand with 75 percent, Thailand with 75 percent, and Sweden with 73 percent.

China's rate was 72 percent, while those of the US and Japan were 70 and 65 percent.

The global average was 49 percent.

According to the report, South Korea’s social media users in March reached 35.5 million, increasing 15.2 percent from the previous year.

As of June, Naver Band had the most active monthly users in South Korea with 16.9 million.

Instagram came in second with 11 million, followed by and KakaoStory with 9.9 million. Facebook had 9.8 million users.

The platform preferences were based on age groups.

Teens frequently used Facebook, while those in their 20s and 30s favored Instagram.

South Koreans in their 40s and 50s mostly favored Naver Band and KakaoStory.

In terms of the average amount of time spent by South Korean users, Twitter topped the list with 594 minutes, with Facebook trailing with 567 minutes, and Instagram with 441 minutes.