By 2014, the ranking of regions by social network users will reflect regional shares of the global population. According to a new eMarketer report, one in four people worldwide use social networks currently. The numer of social network users around the world will rise from 1.47 billion in 2012 to 1.73 billion this year – at that rate, the global social network audience will total 2.55 billion by 2017. This reflects the expansion of emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern regions of the world, who will necessarily be drivers of innovation. eMarketer expects the fastest national increases to be clocked in countries like India, Indonesia, Mexico, China, and Brazil.