ANKARA

Official figures show that 45 million Iranians are using the messaging Telegram application despite being blocked by the Iranian authorities.

The Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) said Sunday that 65% of Iranians over the age of 15 have accounts on the main social media platforms, crossing 55 million out of the country’s 85 million population.

Iranians are sending 15 billion messages everyday through the blocked Telegram application and that 88.5% of Iranians use Whatsapp and 68% use Instagram, SCI said.

According to official figures, Iranian memberships on the social media applications increased 22% in recent years.

Iranian authorities blocked the use of Facebook and Twitter during the protests that erupted in the northwestern Mashhad province in December 2017 over the country’s poor economic conditions.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar