Which Chinese Use Weibo – Weibo Demographics?

There are 368 million registered Weibo users, more people as the population of the United States.  Yet with more than 1.34 billion people in China, that still leaves almost 1 billion on the other side of the Weibo-divide.  So just who are the 368 million Weibo-haves?  

Sina Weibo users represent a vast cross section of China’s rising middle and upper classes including professionals, Government, sports stars, celebrities and leading voices in every category.  They tend to be in higher income brackets than users of other social media, with 30% earning more than 8,000 yuan ($1,270) a month ($15,240 / year).  The household income of the average user is 8,364 yuan/month ($15,828 p.a.) .  They are also much more likely to live in Tier 1 cities according to McKinsey. 

Gender is evenly split between females (52%) and males (48%) although the general reasons for using Weibo is quite different between the sexes.

Weibo users are young, 27% of all users aged between 18-24, and another 42% aged 25-34.  31% are aged over 34 years old.

Weibo users make up a highly educated section of society, with 54% of users having a bachelor’s degree or higher and 7% having a postgraduate degree.

They are big mobile users, sending more than half of all Sina Weibo posts from a mobile (compared to 20% on Twitter).

Whereas in many western countries, older demographic have the highest spending power, in China things are different.  The young, educated and mobile segment of China’s population who are using Weibo are also the most biggest consumers and most likely to purchase western products.  So having an insight into Weibo also gives an insight into your customers.

Here's an infographic of how Sina Weibo user demographics compare with other social media in China.

Weibo Facts

• 368 million Weibo users registered

• 30% of users earn more than $15,000 a year

• Weibo users are 48% Male and 52% female

• 54% bachelors degree or higher

• 69% aged 18-34