It's no secret that Instagram is popular in the Arab world, leading many regional leaders to join the platform. And they've garnered massive followings as a result.
Queen Rania is the 6th most followed leader in the world on the photo sharing platform, with more than 3 million followers. Dubai's Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid comes in at 8th, with some 2.35 million followers, according to a report released Wednesday by Burson-Marsteller.
Within the Middle East, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan comes in 9th with just over 2 million followers and Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes in at 10th, with some 1.36 million.
Globally, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes in at No. 1, followed by U.S. President Donald Trump at No. 2 and Pope Francis at No. 3.
The study analyzed the activity of the 325 Instagram accounts of heads of state and government. This means Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed (aka Faz3) was not included. If he had been, he would have beaten out both Queen Rania and his father, with his 5.2 million followers.
When it comes to interaction, Middle Eastern leaders rank highly as well. Queen Rania and Sheikh Mohammed maintain their respective positions as No. 6 and No. 8 on the Most Interactive World Leaders' ranking.
However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rises to No. 2, following Donald Trump at No. 1. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Turkey's President both rank among the top 10 for interaction.
As of April 1, 2017, the accounts analyzed by the study have a combined total of 48.7 million followers and published 61,281 posts in the past 12 months. Their posts have garnered a total of 371.7 million interactions (comments and likes).
“Burson-Marsteller’s second installment of the World Leaders on Instagram study demonstrates the popularity and effectiveness of visual communications in the public sector,” Don Baer, Worldwide Chair and CEO, Burson-Marsteller, said in a press release.
“Leaders around the world are creating online communications that convey global social and political context while also sharing a sense of personality and creativity. Leaders of business and all other sectors can learn from governments’ use of Instagram," he said.
Burson-Marsteller was established in 1953 and is a leading global strategic communications and public relations firm.