How Many People Use PayPal Worldwide? (2010–2024)
As the number of people shopping online increases year after year, the demand for online payment methods is set to rise with it. PayPal is ranked among the most popular online payment gateways in the world. But just how many people use PayPal worldwide?
In this article, we’ll explore PayPal’s user growth from 2010 to 2024.
PayPal users (2010–2024): table
|
Year |
Number of active PayPal accounts (in Q4 of each year unless otherwise indicated) |
Annual change |
|
2010 |
94.4 million |
|
|
2011 |
106.3 million |
+12.6% |
|
2012 |
122.7 million |
+15.4% |
|
2013 |
142.6 million |
+16.2% |
|
2014 |
161.5 million |
+13.3% |
|
2015 |
179.0 million |
+10.8% |
|
2016 |
197.0 million |
+10.1% |
|
2017 |
229.0 million |
+16.2% |
|
2018 |
267.0 million |
+16.6% |
|
2019 |
305.0 million |
+14.2% |
|
2020 |
377.0 million |
+23.6% |
|
2021 |
426.0 million |
+13.0% |
|
2022 |
435.0 million |
+2.1% |
|
2023 |
426.0 million |
-2.1% |
|
2024 (as of Q1) |
427.0 million |
-1.4% (from Q1 2023) |
How many people use PayPal worldwide in 2024?
According to recent data, the number of PayPal users worldwide as of Q1 2024 is 427 million. This is determined by calculating the number of active registered accounts on the payment platform. The number of active PayPal accounts in Q1 2024 marks a 1.4% annual decrease from the previous year and a fractional 0.2% increase from Q4 2023.
The number of PayPal accounts has largely risen since 2010. Numbers taken from the fourth quarter of every year from 2010 to 2023 shows that at the end of 2010, there were 94.4 million active PayPal accounts. From 2010 to 2019, PayPal’s user growth rate averaged 13.9% annually, bringing the number of PayPal accounts to 305 million by the end of 2019. Not only was this the first time the number of PayPal users crossed the 300 million milestone, it was also more than three times its 2010 figure.
In 2020, the number of PayPal users surged by 23.6%, to 377 million. This is the biggest annual increase since at least 2010, which analysts credited to higher adoption of online payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, PayPal’s user growth returned to pre-pandemic levels, registering at 13% to close the year out with 426 million users.
The most recent PayPal usage statistics show that growth has fallen significantly over the past two years. In 2022, the number of PayPal users rose by just 2.1%, to 435 million, before falling by an equal measure the following year, bringing the figure back down to 426 million.
Q1 2024’s dip from Q1 2024 also represents the third successive month the number of active PayPal accounts has fallen year on year. Analysts credit the recent decline to the rising popularity of other online payment methods such as Apple Pay, which has been seeing its user base in the United States rise.