Facebook Overtakes Orkut for No. 1 in Brazil

Facebook spent 2011 running roughshod over Orkut and is now the No. 1 social networking site in Brazil, according to new comScore data.

The Palo Alto, CA-based digital giant increased its Brazilian users by 192 percent year over year, comScore says, nearly tripling its raw number from approximately 12.3 million to 36 million. Google-owned Orkut, on the other hand, went from 32.6 million to 34.4 million when comparing comScore data from the last two Decembers.

Facebook opened it first ad sales office in Brazil seven months ago and promises to become an important digital marketing platform there just as it has in the U.S. Digital marketing pundits largely consider Brazil to be a key frontier in their space as the Latin American country’s economy has been growing while other international markets have struggled. WPP and Publicis Groupe have invested in Brazilian digital shops during the last two years.

Meanwhile, Twitter also had a positive 2011 in Brazil, increasing users by 40 percent and exceeding 12 million, according to Reston, VA-based comScore. The web site for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) says Brazil’s population during July 2011 was more than 203 million.