The number of Facebook users in Egypt reached 10.7 million in May 2012, according to the latest figures from a report produced by the Ministry of Information. This number translates to around 13.4 per cent penetration of a population of around 80 million, placing Egypt 20th worldwide in terms of Facebook usage. Produced after a workshop held on 8-9 June, the ministry's report indicates a significant growth in the use of social networking sites since last year's popular uprising that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. By the end of 2010, the number of users in the country stood at just 4.2 million. The report indicates that the more than two fold increase in Facebook users is directly related to the political developments in Egypt. Twitter, another popular social networking website, saw 129,000 Egyptian users in 2011, a 65 per cent increase on the previous year. The latest official figures show that Egypt has 31 million internet users in March 2012, a rise of 28 per cent in a year. Internet penetration is now at 38 per cent of the population. The data suggests that more than a third of users have internet at home, while half of users access the web via mobile phones or USB sticks.
