Our datasets include individual market data for the top 200 markets from around the world. Click here for a detailed overview of all markets. Top 30 Viber markets by spend (2022) include:

Albania / Algeria / Bangladesh / Belarus / Bosnia & Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Cambodia / Croatia / Czechia / Egypt / Germany / Greece / Hungary / India / Iraq / Kazakhstan / Malaysia / Moldova / Myanmar / North Macedonia / Philippines / Poland / Romania / Russia / Serbia / Slovenia / Switzerland / Ukraine / Vietnam.

For each of the 200 markets we cover, our Viber user data contains:

• Unique Viber users – by Country, Device, Gender & Age

User data is further split out by gender and age, by:  0-17 / 18-24 / 25-34 / 35-44 / 45-54 / 55-64 / 65+

Where applicable, we split our Viber messaging data out by 18 sectors + “Other”. This ensures we cover all the main market verticals in every market, but also can accommodate for national and regional variations. The verticals are:

Automotive / Broadcasters / Charity / Education / Enterprise software / Finance / Gambling / Healthcare / Internet streaming / Leisure & entertainment / Public services / Restaurants & fast-food / Retail & eCommerce / Social media & chat / Telecoms / Transport & logistics / Travel & tourism / Utilities / Other

For Viber traffic types we apply 3 use cases:

Conversational / Promotional / Transactional

To ensure you have all the relevant data required to make key business decisions, we split our traffic data out by the following:

• A2P event
• A2P sessions
• P2A sessions

Viber introduced specific pricing for conversational sessions in 2022. Data shows pricing per message, although from 2022 onwards we have migrated some brands from per message pricing to session pricing.

Traffic data is then segmented further:

• Annual traffic – split by country and region
• Annual traffic per user – split by country and region

Our spend data is based on our traffic data. To achieve spend figures for each market, we apply the relevant Viber rates per market that we receive through our extensive on-going research (see Methodology below). From our data you will be able to access brand spend by value chain:

• Viber
• Aggregators
• Total

This is how spend appears in our datasets:

• Annual spend – split by region, country, value chain and value
• Annual spend per user – split by region, country, value chain and value

To create our messaging forecasts, we have to generate a lot of background data, based on population, mobile subscriptions, unique mobile users, and device type (based on smartphone OS and non-smartphone), all of which is projected over our latest forecast period. To help provide you with a more holistic view of the market we now include all this data complementary to our core datasets.

• Unique Population Access – by Country, User, Device, Gender & Age
• Unique Mobile Users – by Country, Device, Gender & Age
• Mobile Subscriptions – by Country

Our Viber data is the most accurate available in the marketplace because of our presence and active participation within the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF) Future of Messaging Working Groups, where a large number of Viber Partners convene. We are constantly speaking to companies operating in the business messaging ecosystem and Viber Partners, and meeting these companies when we speak at major messaging events (such as MWC 20XX, Messaging World, ITW, Business Messaging 20XX).

In 2021, when updating our messaging data we received data and insight from 290 companies, including:

160 mobile operators

130 aggregators, CSPs, vendors, hub providers, interconnect providers, regulators, firewall providers, and independent consultants.

Of the 290, companies from the Viber ecosystem include:

A1 Telekom / CM.com / GMS / Infobip / JXIntelink / Kaleido / LINK Mobility / Mavenir / Mitto / Route Mobile / Sinch / Syniverse / Tata / Telesign / Tyntec / Viber / Vonage / Yuboto

The data and assumptions contained in this Databook were compiled from exhaustive research, interviews and surveys conducted from September 2021 to June 2022.

The addressable market is based on monthly active users – not unique IDs as reported by Rakuten, Viber’s parent company. Monthly active users (MAUs) were modelled on public statements from Viber over the past five years.

We have assumed a significant reduction in the volume of 2022 business messaging traffic in the Ukraine (one of Viber’s largest markets) as a result of the Russian invasion and ensuing war.

The subsequent refugee crisis has also resulted in a reduction in the number of MAUs in the Ukraine.

Rakuten itself reported a ¥1.4 billion (US$10.23 million) reduction in Q2-2022 profit for Viber reflecting the situation in Ukraine. However, this incorporates all Viber business activity – including advertising and sale of stickers, as well as traditional business messaging.

The total market size for Viber business messaging traffic volumes, and regional split of business messaging, is based on public statements from Viber.

Traffic volumes are the result of multiple inputs across the main regions for Viber business messaging, showing actual business messages delivered up to 2021, and resultant growth trends throughout the forecast period.

We have primarily attributed business messaging to the individual regional markets where Viber has at least, approximately, 20% penetration of the total smartphone user base.

Pricing data for each market is based on the latest wholesale rates from Viber (for September 2022), with projections for a small annual increase moving forwards, and an approximate 125% mark-up on the wholesale cost added by Viber partners – the midway point between the research range of 50-200% mark up.

Our model assumes that all messages are delivered at the rate for Viber messaging, although the reality is that a large proportion are still fulfilled via SMS fallback.

We have also assumed a split for promotional/ transactional message rates rising to 80/20 in 2022, and moving forwards until we have more visibility of any changes in the volume of message types and, therefore, message rates, due to the introduction of new session pricing by Viber in 1H22.

We will include a breakout for new session pricing in the next update when we are able to study changes in traffic due to the introduction of P2A conversations and session pricing which allows for up to 60 messages to be sent by brands at a single rate over a 24-hour time period.

Does your data have a KPI?

It does. To ensure the risk of double counting is removed from our numbers, the key performance indicator for Mobilesquared is the number of messages received per unique mobile user.

Is the traffic Mobile Originated or Mobile Terminated?

Because our KPI is based on messages delivered, our data focuses on Mobile Terminated.

Where is the data from?

Mobilesquared is omnipresent within the business messaging ecosystem, constantly talking to companies, attending events, and playing a very active role within the Future of Messaging Working Group in the Mobile Ecosystem Forum. In 2021, the data and forecasts were based on information and data shared by approximately 30 companies providing Viber directly and indirectly.