World Leaders on Instagram: Influence Ranking 2022 vs 2025

Tracking political leaders Instagram influence shows how the photo app became a real‑time stage where heads‑of‑state broadcast policy, personality and power. InfluencerDB’s historic projection, quoted by Merca20, placed Narendra Modi, Joko Widodo and Barack Obama as the three most influential political figures on the platform, followed by Donald J. Trump and Dubai’s Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.

Three years—and several global crises—later the leaderboard has shuffled. Below you’ll find the original 2022 snapshot and an approximate 2025 refresh, plus what the shifts teach brands about political leaders Instagram influence.


1. 2022 Snapshot – Political Leaders Instagram Influence

RankLeader@HandleApprox. IG Followers (2022)Engagement vibe
1Narendra Modi@narendramodi~ 73 MDaily speeches, festival messages, strong domestic rallying.
2Joko Widodo@jokowi~ 50 MBehind‑the‑scenes construction tours and youth‑friendly memes.
3Barack Obama@barackobama~ 34 MLegacy updates, policy advocacy, occasional dad humour.
4Donald J. Trump@realdonaldtrump*~ 0 M (account inactive)Still drove conversation via news coverage of posts pre‑2021.
5Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum@faz3~ 14 MExtreme‑sports reels meet philanthropic highlights.

Follower numbers gathered July 2022; slight rounding for clarity.

Government official on phone with laptop, seated before international flags, symbolising global political Instagram influence
Influence isn’t local: world leaders craft messages for audiences far beyond their own borders.

Why Instagram mattered in 2022

  • Visual storytelling cut through algorithmic clutter during lockdown recovery.
  • Younger electorates validated authenticity via Stories & Reels, not press conferences.
  • Earned media (reposts & memes) multiplied reach—crucial for leaders working with tight comms budgets.

2. 2025 Refresh – What’s Changed?

RankLeader@HandleApprox. IG Followers (2025)Notable 2023‑25 Moves
1Narendra Modi@narendramodi~ 89 MAdded weekly “Mann Ki Digital” Reels; cross‑posted G20 diaries.
2Joko Widodo@jokowi~ 59 MLeveraged drone footage of Indonesia’s new capital build; high shareability.
3Barack Obama@barackobama~ 38 MClimate‑action collabs with Gen‑Z creators lifted engagement.
4Donald J. Trump@realdonaldtrump~ 24 MAccount reinstated mid‑2023; short‑form clips from rallies spike EMV.
5Volodymyr Zelenskyy@zelenskyy_official~ 21 MWar‑time updates + human‑interest stories earned global solidarity.
Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum@faz3~ 17 MSlips to #6 yet remains the Middle‑East engagement leader.

Numbers captured June 2025; sources include platform counters, press releases and third‑party trackers—exact tallies fluctuate daily.

Key shifts

  1. Consistency wins – Modi and Widodo posted daily micro‑narratives; momentum snowballed.
  2. Video dominance – Reels deliver up to 30 % higher reach than photos for political accounts.
  3. Crisis visibility – Zelenskyy’s rise proves authentic, rapid updates can outpace long‑established followings.
  4. Return from suspension – Trump’s reinstatement shows a dormant account can rekindle influence if offline buzz stays high.

3. What Brands & Campaign Managers Can Steal

  • Narrative batching: Leaders queue thematic mini‑series (infrastructure tour, climate week). Brands can do the same to pre‑teach algorithms.
  • Geo‑targeted subtitling: Joko Widodo’s multi‑language captions lifted non‑Indonesian shares. Smart localisation = low‑hanging reach.
  • Moment hijacking vs. Moment making: Zelenskyy didn’t wait for scheduled events—he reported reality. Consider real‑time content rooms during product launches.

For a historical look at how corporate accounts pulled blockbuster ROI from social, see our deep dive Best‑Performing Influencer Marketing Campaigns 2017 & 2025.


4. Takeaways

  • Political leaders Instagram influence is a barometer for public sentiment and platform mechanics; watch it to predict algorithmic nudges.
  • Daily short‑form video isn’t optional—audiences expect raw, phone‑first updates.
  • Consistency plus authenticity still beats sporadic spectacle.

Article compiled with publicly available follower counts, press briefings and InfluencerDB trend extrapolations (July 2025). Figures are approximate but directionally accurate.