Facebook used by 30m people in the UK

Facebook is now used by 30 million people in the UK – around half of the population – according to Joanna Shields, vice president of Facebook Europe.

Speaking at a media conference in London today, Shields announced the latest figures. The last official UK numbers were revealed in July, when the social network had reached 26 million users.

Facebook currently has an audience of 500 million users worldwide, and is soon expected to hit the 600-million-mark.

Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg has said that the site will eventually reach one billion users globally.

Speaking today, Shields said the network is now having a big impact on publisher sites due to functionality such as the ‘Share’ and ‘Like’ buttons. The Mail Online has seen 10% of its traffic come via Facebook, according to Shields.