Facebook was worth $227bn (£150bn) to the global economy in 2014, and supported 4.5m jobs worldwide, according to a new report by professional services firm Deloitte, commissioned by Facebook.
The United States saw the biggest economic impact from Facebook in 2014, amounting to $100bn (£66bn) and over 1m jobs. Europe saw $51bn (£34bn) worth of economic impact and 783,000 jobs – $11bn (£7bn) and 154,000 of which were attributable to the UK.
The report, entitled Facebook’s Global Economic Impact, reveals that the social network, which has 1.35bn users and an $8bn cost base, stimulates economic impact by providing tools for marketers, a platform for app developers and demand for connectivity.
As a marketing platform, Facebook provides tools such as Pages and targeted advertising, which help businesses grow sales nationally and globally, reduce barriers to marketing and support entrepreneurship, according to Deloitte.
It is estimated that the marketing effect of Facebook in 2014 enabled $148bn (£98bn) of economic impact and 2.3m jobs globally.
As a platform for app developers, Facebook offers development tools that encourage the creation of new features, services and apps, facilitating content distribution and stimulating innovation and new jobs.
It is estimated that the Facebook as an app development platform enabled $29bn (£19bn) of economic impact in 2014 and 660,000 jobs globally.
Finally, as driver of demand for connectivity, Facebook motivates purchases of devices and internet connections in both developed and developing countries. These improvements in connectivity then spill over into the rest of the economy and stimulate economic growth.
It is estimated that the connectivity effects of Facebook in 2014 enabled $50bn (£33bn) of economic impact and 1.6m jobs globally.
“Across the world there is a greater urgency about creating jobs," said Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, commenting on the report.
“The good news is that the tech industry is powering the economy and creating jobs within and beyond its own campuses. Every day, businesses of all sizes, sectors, and skill sets are using the Facebook platform to grow and expand.”
However, some independent economists have questioned the numbers, claiming that Deloitte based its calculations on questionable assumptions and "bad reasoning". For example, the company assigned Facebook credit for roughly one-sixth of smartphone sales worldwide.
"The results are meaningless," Stanford economist Roger Noll said in an email to The Wall Street Journal. "Facebook is an effect, not a cause, of the growth of Internet access and use."
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