New research puts some numbers on Facebook’s massive economic impact.
Facebook’s existence was responsible for an estimated 4.5 million jobs worldwide last year, according to a new report from Deloitte. The research, which was commissioned by the social network, also found that Facebook enabled an estimated $227 billion of economic impact in 2014.
The company sure has come a long way from 2004, the year it began as an exclusive online community for Harvard University students. Today more than 1.35 billion people around the world log into Facebook at least once a month. More than 30 million accounts are held by small and medium-sized businesses.
So how exactly does Facebook use those numbers to make its mark on the economy? According to Deloitte, it does this by:
- Providing marketing tools that enable business growth
- Serving as a platform for app developers
- And creating a demand for connected mobile devices and data
For a look at how this economic impact breaks down by region, take a look at the infographic below.
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