Hemani Kandhari
February 26, 2026: In today’s tech-driven and digitally connected world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a new social media benchmark by crossing 100 million followers on Instagram. With this milestone, he becomes the first world leader and politician to achieve such a massive following on the platform.
Since joining Instagram in 2014, PM Modi’s account has grown into one of the most dynamic and engaging digital platforms among global leaders. He now leads the global chart, with more than double the followers of US President Donald Trump, who stands second with 43.2 million followers.
Other prominent leaders, including Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Argentina’s President Javier Milei, trail significantly behind. In fact, the combined following of the next five major world leaders is still lower than Modi’s individual count.
In India as well, PM Modi maintains a wide digital lead, far ahead of other political figures, reflecting his strong connect with the youth and the power of social media in modern leadership.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the most followed political leader on Instagram, he is not the most followed account on the platform overall. Instagram’s official account continues to rank first globally with approximately 700 million followers.
Among individuals worldwide, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo leads the list with around 671 million followers, making him the most followed person on Instagram. He is followed by Argentine football icon Lionel Messi, who has about 511 million followers.
In India, cricketer Virat Kohli is among the most followed sports personalities on Instagram, with nearly 274 million followers. Several other global celebrities, athletes, and entertainers also command massive followings on the platform.
These numbers highlight how social media today is driven not only by political influence but also by sports, entertainment, and global pop culture icons.
