At 400 million members, Facebook is a global force – as mainstream as it gets. And it’s poised to get a whole lot bigger. Why? Because Facebook is growing fastest in the very parts of the world that are growing, population-wise, the fastest: the Middle East and Asia.

Ben Lorica at O’Reilly Media looks closer at the Facebook growth phenomenon and shows that Asia is quickly gaining on North America and Europe. And, since May, the share of Facebook users from the Middle East is also gaining, though at a slower pace. The chart here tells more:

It should come as no surprise that Facebook is showing its biggest expansion potential in the relatively youngest and fastest-growing corners of the earth. And which countries are providing the growth? Iraq, Thailand, India, and, venturing back to Europe now, Romania.

It’s a long way from Harvard Yard.