The EmojiEmoji
A Japanese word (็ตตๆๅญ) meaning 'picture character' โ small graphical symbols used in digital communication to express ideas, emotions, and objects. That Dominate Our Conversations
With over 3,900 emoji in the Unicode StandardUnicode Standard
The complete character encoding system maintained by the Unicode Consortium, defining characters, properties, algorithms, and encoding forms., only a handful dominate everyday communication. The Unicode ConsortiumUnicode Consortium
The non-profit organization that develops and maintains the Unicode Standard, including the process for adding new emoji.'s emoji frequencyEmoji Frequency
How often specific emojis are used in digital communication, tracked through usage data from platforms and research studies. data, combined with platform analytics, reveals a consistent top tier that hasn't changed much in years.
Top 10 Most Used Emoji
Based on aggregated data from UnicodeUnicode
Universal character encoding standard that assigns a unique number to every character across all writing systems and symbol sets, including emoji. frequency rankings, social media analysis, and platform reports:
| Rank | Emoji | Name | Why It's Popular |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ๐ | Face with Tears of Joy | The universal reaction to anything funny |
| 2 | โค๏ธ | Red Heart | Simple, direct expression of love |
| 3 | ๐คฃ | Rolling on the Floor Laughing | Amplified version of ๐ |
| 4 | ๐ | Thumbs Up | Quick acknowledgment or approval |
| 5 | ๐ญ | Loudly Crying Face | Used for both sadness AND overwhelming joy |
| 6 | ๐ | Folded Hands | Thank you, please, or prayer |
| 7 | ๐ | Face Blowing a Kiss | Affectionate farewell or flirtation |
| 8 | ๐ฅฐ | Smiling Face with Hearts | Feeling loved or adoring something |
| 9 | ๐ | Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes | Expressing love for people, food, or anything |
| 10 | ๐ | Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes | Warm, genuine happiness |
The Power Law of Emoji Usage
Emoji usage follows a steep power law distribution. The top 100 emoji account for roughly 82% of all emoji usage, while the remaining 3,800+ emoji share the other 18%. Thousands of emoji are used extremely rarely.
This has implications for designers and developers: optimizing for the most common emoji covers the vast majority of real-world usage.
Regional Differences
Emoji popularity varies significantly by country and culture:
- France ๐ซ๐ท uses โค๏ธ at a much higher rate than other countries
- Japan ๐ฏ๐ต favors unique emoji like ๐ (bowing) and ๐ฆ (sweat drops)
- Brazil ๐ง๐ท uses ๐ and ๐คฃ at notably high rates
- Middle East uses ๐ and โค๏ธ consistently as top choices
- South Korea ๐ฐ๐ท shows high usage of ใ ใ ใ (text laughter) alongside ๐
Trends Shaping Emoji Use
1. Skin Tone Adoption
Skin tone modifierSkin Tone Modifier
Five Unicode modifier characters based on the Fitzpatrick scale that change the skin color of human emoji (U+1F3FB to U+1F3FF). usage has grown steadily since their introduction in 2015. The default yellow remains most common, but modified versions now represent a significant share.
2. The Rise of ๐ฅน
The "Face Holding Back Tears" emoji (๐ฅน), added in Emoji 14.0, has rapidly climbed the popularity rankings, filling an emotional gap between happy crying and sad crying.
3. Emoji as Reactions
Platform features like message reactions (Slack, iMessage, Discord) have changed how emoji are used โ single emoji as quick responses rather than inline in text.
4. Professional Emoji Usage
Workplace messaging has driven the popularity of ๐, โ , ๐, and other "professional" emoji that convey acknowledgment without being overly casual.
What the Long Tail Reveals
The least-used emoji include many flags (๐ฆ๐ฝ Aland Islands), specialized symbols (๐ฃ), and some component emoji (๐ป skin tone modifiers used alone). But even rarely-used emoji matter โ they represent diversity, completeness, and the principle that every user's needs are valid.
Explore the Data
Visit our Emoji Stats dashboard to see emoji counts by category, type, and version โ and explore which emoji fill each corner of the Unicode standard.