TikTok and Economic Growth in the EU:
Discovery, Creativity & Entrepreneurship
Public First
January 2026
TikTok in the European Union
A Boost to Europe’s economy
TikTok drives sales and exports for EU businesses
Boosting Europe’s Creativity
TikTok delivers benefits for EU consumers
Methodology
Since launching across Europe in 2018, TikTok has transformed how people discover content, products, and ideas. What began as a platform for short-form video and creativity has grown into a powerful engine for discovery — enabling creators to reach new audiences, helping businesses connect with customers, and expanding choice for more than 200 million users in Europe.
More recently, TikTok Shop is reshaping how people discover and buy products. Since its launch last year in several EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Spain), 80% of businesses that use TikTok shop reported that it has helped grow their sales and revenue.
The platform also helps EU citizens learn new skills — ‘it supports 5.3 billion hours of informal learning, which could generate up to €20 billion in productivity gains across Europe.
Our findings show how TikTok is turning discovery into economic opportunity, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship, and driving growth across Europe.
In 2025, advertising on TikTok’s platform helped to generate €31 billion in direct, indirect, and induced economic output for businesses in the EU.
This EU-wide impact is reflected at the national level:
Germany
France
Italy
Spain
Poland
In 2025, TikTok helped more than 6.5 million EU businesses scale across borders by connecting them with new customers, simplifying discovery, marketing, and sales.
of EU businesses that use TikTok said that it allows independent business to compete with global brands.
of businesses that use TikTok shop reported that it has helped grow their sales and revenue.
boost to EU productivity
By making it quicker and easier to create ads, TikTok’s self-training and self-serve tools help businesses spend less time on marketing and more time running their business — delivering an estimated €400 million boost to productivity across the EU.
Nearly 1 in 5 businesses using TikTok say they have sold out of a product because of sales driven by discovery on TikTok or sales on TikTok Shop.
TikTok-driven exposure to EU brands drove €2 billion in global exports, of which €1.2bn was to other EU countries.
knock on effect for Europe’s SMEs
In 2025, TikTok’s platform enabled €13 billion in additional direct, indirect, and induced economic output for SMEs in the EU.
boost to the EU creative industries
TikTok’s creative economy – from content creators, to influencers and production services – supported €2.6 billion of value-add in 2025.
Equivalent to
The economic activity generated by TikTok’s creative economy is equivalent to around 52,000 jobs across the EU’s creative sector.
for the EU music industry
TikTok-driven exposure generated €1.8 billion from streaming, ticket sales, and merchandise purchases for EU artists in 2025, particularly for emerging acts discovered via viral videos on the platform.
By boosting choice and access, TikTok saves consumers across the EU an estimated €10 billion annually, enabling a further €8.4 billion in total household consumption.
TikTok generates consumer surplus by delivering entertainment, discovery, and social connection that users value.
For the average EU adult, this benefit is worth around €110 per year, adding up to an estimated €50 billion across the EU population.
Learning skills on TikTok
Educational and skills-based content on TikTok generated an estimated 5.3 billion hours of informal learning across the EU, which could generate up to €20 billion in productivity-enhancing knowledge gains.
More than half of 18-24 year olds (54%) on TikTok have learnt a new skill on the platform, with 26% using TikTok to practice learning a new language.