Global Twitter Users, 2012-2018 [CHART]

Twitter’s user base will increase 24.4% in 2014, according to eMarketer’s first-ever forecast of Twitter users worldwide. The social media property’s user growth will continue with double-digit gains through 2018, eMarketer estimates, and there are significant opportunities for Twitter to increase its audience across emerging markets.

From a regional standpoint, eMarketer estimates that the number of Twitter users in Asia-Pacific has already eclipsed those in North America and Western Europe by a wide margin—even considering that our figures exclude China due to the country’s ban on the site. In 2014, the Asia-Pacific region will account for 32.8% of all Twitter users, compared with 23.7% in North America, eMarketer estimates, and by 2018, Asia-Pacific will more than double North America’s share, breaking the 40% mark in terms of worldwide market share. If China is on the Twitter map by that point, that share is likely to be significantly higher. In 2018, we project, Twitter will grow 10.7% to reach nearly 400 million users globally. Read the rest at eMarketer.