Harry Styles, Katy Perry and Caitlyn Jenner the most influential people on Twitter in 2015

Five of the most re-tweeted tweets of the year came from each One Direction bandmate

Styles' tweet was re-tweeted over 700,000 times (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Katy Perry, Harry Styles and Caitlyn Jenner have been ranked among the most popular people on Twitter in 2015.

Twitter has released its annual data containing the most popular accounts, tweets, hashtags and new users of the year.

The most followed person continues to be Katy Perry with 78.3 million. The Roar singer overtook second placed Justin Bieber in November 2013. Bieber currently has 70.5million followers.

Taylor Swift, who posted four of the most liked Instagram posts of the year, has the third largest amount of followers at 66.7million.

President Barack Obama (66.5 million) and Rihanna (53.1 million) complete the top five.

One Direction’s influence on social media, often attributable to their loyal fanbase the ‘Directioners’, is proven by the fact that all band members had tweets in the 10 most re-tweeted tweets of the year.

Topping the list was Harry Styles who, in the wake of Zayn Malik's departure of the band, reassured fans with a simple, yet clearly effective, message which was re-tweeted over 700,000 times. Styles is also the most followed British person, with 26 million.

Malik had the second most-retweeted tweet in August when he congratulated his former bandmates on the release of their latest single.

Barack Obama, who joined Twitter this year, had the fourth most re-tweeted tweet of the year when, in June, he showed his support for gay and lesbian couples, using the viral hashtag #LoveWins after the Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was legal in the country.

The President previously held the record for gaining the most followers in the fastest amount of time, however this was surpassed by Caitlyn Jenner in June after she amassed one million followers in four hours and gained an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.

The joining of Jenner – which coincided with a Vanity Fair cover unveiling the former Bruce Jenner’s transitioned identity – was also the tenth most talked about moment on the social networking site.

The fact that Jenner’s 20-year-old daughter Kendall was the owner of the most popular Instagram picture of the year is a testament to the social media reach of the Kardashian-Jenner family, who's lives are chronicled in the reality television series Keeping up with the Kardashians.

Another notable who joined the social networking site this year was Edward Snowden, who amassed over a million followers in 24 hours.

In September, 14-year-old Muslim schoolboy Ahmed Mohamed was arrested and questioned by police after they mistook his homemade digital clock as a bomb. After public outcries and condemnation, the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed went viral and was the fifth most popular trend of the year. Ahmed later joined Twitter and now has 113,000 followers.