The most-followed Twitter accounts on Earth, ranked
Who has the most-followed Twitter account in the world?
These celebrities and organizations have more followers than anyone else on the planet. Follower data was collected in March 2018.
Niall Horan: 39.7M followers
In 2010, the Irish singer-songwriter appeared on the British reality competition "The X Factor," where he met the other four members of One Direction. He has the most Twitter followers of any former member.
29. CNN
39.9M followers
CNN joined Twitter in February 2007, a month before cable news competitors Fox News and MSNBC.
28. Miley Cyrus
40.3M followers
Miley Cyrus used her very first tweet to advertise her "Gypsy Heart" tour in 2011. Notably, the tour featured no performances in North America.
27. LeBron James
41.1M followers
In February 2018, the NBA star used his Twitter account to rebut conservative host Laura Ingraham, who had said that professional basketball players should refrain from discussing politics. Borrowing a phrase from Ingraham, James adopted the hashtag #wewillnotshutupanddribble.
26. Narendra Modi
41.4M followers
The prime minister of India is a tech-savvy leader. In 2016, he video-conferenced into a Coldplay concert in Mumbai during the Global Citizen Festival India.
25. The New York Times
41.5M followers
The newspaper's print ad revenue has declined, according to recent quarterly earning reports, but digital subscriptions for the Times are at an all-time high. The publication's Twitter account is growing too. It gains an average of more than 10,000 followers daily.
24. Bruno Mars
41.9M followers
The Hawaiian-born performer occasionally posts a spree of responses to fan tweets.
23. Oprah Winfrey
42.2M followers
Oprah Winfrey uses her Twitter popularity to promote her film, TV and other media projects, as well as her philosophy of life.
22. Bill Gates
45.19M followers
The Microsoft founder turned philanthropist is worth an estimated $89.9 billion and tweets often about his foundation's charity work.
21. Jennifer Lopez
45.2M followers
Jennifer Lopez, a successful actress, musician and dancer, is releasing her ninth solo studio album in 2018. Lopez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, tweets in both English and Spanish.
20. Donald Trump
49.6M followers
The president of the United States has more followers than any other active world leader.
19. Jimmy Fallon
50.8M followers
The "Tonight Show" host's Twitter bio identifies him as an astrophysicist.
18. Shakira
51.6M followers
Shakira is best known for her music, but in 2016, she lent her vocal talents to the character of Gazelle in Disney's "Zootopia."
17. CNN Breaking News
54.5M followers
This is the most-followed news account on Twitter.
16. Demi Lovato
55.8M followers
Demi Lovato is one of several former Disney stars who currently dominate Twitter.
15. Selena Gomez
56.1M followers
Like Lovato, Selena Gomez also got her start on the Disney Channel, on the show "Wizards of Waverly Place."
14. Ariana Grande
56.9M followers
As a teen, Ariana Grande starred in two Nickelodeon series: "Victorious" and the subsequent spin-off "Sam & Cat."
13. Britney Spears
57.4M followers
Britney Spears also got her start as a Disney star, as a member of the 1990s revival of "The Mickey Mouse Club." But her big break came in the late '90s, when her debut solo album "...Baby One More Time" made her the face of teen pop.
12. Kim Kardashian West
59.3M followers
Kim Kardashian West tweets a lot — an average of 16 times a day.
11. Twitter
62.6M followers
Ironically, Twitter is not the most popular site on Twitter.
10. Justin Timberlake
65.5M followers
Justin Timberlake is the reigning former Disney star in the Twitterverse. He's also the most popular among former members of NSYNC.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo
71.4M followers
The Real Madrid forward is the top athlete on Twitter. He is also the highest-paid athlete in the world.
8. YouTube
71.5M followers
Google's video platform has a hugely popular Twitter account. YouTube is the most popular website on Twitter.
7. Ellen DeGeneres
77.3M followers
Ellen DeGeneres is Twitter's most popular TV personality. In 2014, her Oscar-selfie tweet broke records for the most retweeted tweet ever, at the time. That tweet has since been dethroned by a Reno, Nevada man seeking free Wendy's chicken nuggets.
6. Lady Gaga
77.7M followers
In addition to tweeting about her music and tours, Lady Gaga has used her Twitter presence to share details of her struggle with fibromyalgia and to champion the rights of LGBT people.
5. Taylor Swift
85.6M followers
Taylor Swift has only tweeted 88 times since joining the platform in 2008, giving her a follower-to-tweet ratio of almost 100,000 to one.
4. Rihanna
86.7M followers
Rihanna is the No. 3 musician on Twitter. Since launching the makeup brand Fenty Beauty in 2017, her Twitter presence has been largely dedicated to promoting her products.
3. Barack Obama
101.2M followers
Though no longer in office, the former president is still among the most popular people in the Twitterverse. He tweets about his philanthropic endeavors, wife Michelle Obama, and, every March, about NCAA basketball tournaments.
2. Justin Bieber
105.8M followers
Justin Bieber once held the top spot for Twitter followers, but his status was overtaken by another pop singer a few years ago. He remains the most popular Canadian on Twitter.
1. Katy Perry
109M followers
Katy Perry has held the top spot on Twitter since she surpassed Justin Bieber in November 2013, when they both had around 46 million followers.