Universities on Facebook

2024 Facebook University Rankings and Adoption Rate ^New

Introduction

What are the most popular Universities on Facebook? uniRank answers this question by publishing the 2024 Facebook University Rankings of higher-education institutions in the world meeting the following uniRank selection criteria:

being chartered, licensed or accredited by the appropriate higher education-related organization in each country
offering at least three-year bachelor's degrees or postgraduate master's or doctoral degrees
delivering courses predominantly in a traditional, non-distance education format

This uniRank page offers the most extensive list of universities by country with an official presence on Facebook (choose a country below). It also provides below valuable data and information regarding the adoption of the social platform Facebook among higher education institutions. Read also our article about the importance of Social Media for Universities and prospective students.

Facebook University Rankings by country

Overview

uniRank Facebook Adoption Rate

The uniRank Facebook Adoption Rate is defined as the percentage of universities worldwide included in the uniRank database that have officially adopted an institutional Facebook page. It represents the rate at which universities across the globe have embraced Facebook as a communication and engagement platform, as documented by uniRank.

The table below illustrates the trend of the uniRank Facebook Adoption Rate from 2018:

uniRank Facebook Adoption Rate^™
	Aug 2018	Feb 2019	Aug 2019	Feb 2020	Aug 2020	Feb 2021	Nov 2022	Oct 2023	Feb 2024
Total number of Universities in uniRank	13,590	13,598	13,612	13,723	13,813	13,798	13,865	13,909	13,888
Number of Universities on Facebook	9,302	9,528	9,740	9,920	10,121	10,076	10,611	10,641	10,531
uniRank Facebook Adoption Rate	68.44%	70.07%	71.55%	72.29%	73.27%	73.02%	76.53%	76.5%	75.8%

In February 2024, out of a total of 13,888 universities and other higher education institutions worldwide that meet the uniRank selection criteria and are included in the uniRank database, 10,531 (75.8%) have officially adopted an institutional Facebook page.

World average and highest number of Facebook likes/followers

Below, uniRank publishes the average number of Facebook likes or followers, depending on the year, for all university Facebook pages included in the uniRank database. Additionally, the highest number of Facebook likes or followers achieved by a single university is currently held by Harvard University with approximately 6,610,021 followers.

World average and highest # of Facebook followers*
	Aug 2018	Feb 2019	Aug 2019	Feb 2020	Aug 2020	Feb 2021	Nov 2022*	Oct 2023*	Feb 2024*
World Average # of Facebook followers*:	35,747	36,856	38,097	39,036	39,917	41,768	46,475	48,907	50,143
World Highest # of Facebook followers*:	5,255,828	5,332,531	5,441,044	5,514,335	5,669,364	6,148,338	6,500,000	6,500,000	6,610,021

Notice: as of November 2022*, we transitioned from tracking likes to followers in response to changes in the Facebook API policy and the optional public disclosure of like counts for each page. It is important to mention that the total number of likes and followers for each university's Facebook page are typically closely correlated and exhibit minimal differences.

Factors Affecting Facebook Adoption, Popularity and Engagement

The adoption, popularity and engagement levels of university Facebook pages are influenced by a variety of factors, including:

Micro Factors

The university's reputation and size.
The university's overall online presence, web popularity and adoption of distance education.
The university's level of adoption and utilization of Facebook as an additional channel to the institutional website.

Macro Factors

The size of the tertiary education sector in the country.
The level of Internet usage and connection speeds in the country.
The level of adoption and utilization of Facebook as a social media platform in the country.

uniRank Facebook University Rankings aim and methodology

The aim of the uniRank Facebook University Ranking is to offer an approximate popularity index for each university on the Facebook social media platform, based on the total number of followers (as of November 2022); it does not seek to assess higher education institutions or their programs based on the quality of education or level of academic services provided.

Some larger universities may have multiple associated Facebook pages, such as those for each faculty or administrative area (e.g., Admissions, Marketing and Communications, Alumni, etc.). uniRank has selected the most general and popular institutional Facebook page for each university in order to compile its uniRank Facebook University Ranking^™ for each country and the top 200 Universities on Facebook listings.