Any YouTube video creator aspires to have a million subscribers on their channel. I know that used to be me! That gold play button does look amazing, right? With billions of monthly active users, this is a plausible aspiration. But it isn't as easy as it seems.
You must create content that resonates with your audience's emotions, tap into the latest trends, be consistent, and more. The best way to do this is to pay attention to YouTube statistics and learn more about the platform, including what type of content works, and so on.
Take, for example, your audience. Most of the overall user base is made up of Gen Z individuals; creating short-form content is going to get them to watch your content! In this article, I’ll uncover 70+ YouTube statistics covering user base, usage, market share, popular channels, and more.
YouTube Users and Demographics
YouTube–one of the most popular social media platforms–launched its beta version in May 2005. Then, it was attracting some 30,000 viewers per day. By the time it was officially launched on December 15, 2005, its videos had more than 2 million views per day. In January 2025, YouTube had at least 2.53 billion users worldwide. That’s around 31% of the world’s total population (Datareportal).
As the internet reaches the extreme ends of the globe, multiple new users sign up for the platform every day. As a content creator, I keep a close eye on YouTube user statistics–I have to! Based on these, I can optimize strategies, improve engagement, and gauge the effectiveness of my efforts - it’s a stepping stone to achieving better results.
Here are a few YouTube user statistics you need to keep an eye on:
1. As of February 2025, 54% of YouTube users were male.
According to Statista, men made up 54% of the YouTube demographics in February 2025. By comparison, female users on the platform were around 46% of the total (Statista).
- 12% of the YouTube user base was male, aged between 25 and 34 years, while 9.7% were female users of the same age.
- 10.1% of the male population aged 35-44 are on YouTube, while women had an audience share of 8.4% (Statista).
2. The majority of YouTube’s user base is from India, followed by the United States.
YouTube has users from all over the world, but some countries see a much higher level of YouTube use than others.
- Around 491 million users are from India only, followed by the United States with around 253 million viewers.
- Brazil has the third-highest user base, with 144 million users, while the United Kingdom has 54.8 million users (Statista).
3. 9 out of 10 Gen Z users in the US are on YouTube.
According to a recent study, YouTube is the social media platform that most Gen Zers trust. This is where this generation discovers new products, seeks reviews, and engages with influencers who impact their buying decisions.
- 89.3% of Gen Zers in the US are on YouTube.
- 72.5% of Gen Zers are on Instagram, followed by TikTok (71.2%) and Snapchat (70.3%) (eMarketer).
(Source: eMarketer).
4. Around 90% of users with a college degree or higher are on YouTube.
There is a correlation between YouTube usage in the USA and higher education levels. In other words, highly educated people are more likely to be on the platform.
- 87% of those with a college degree use YouTube.
- 90% of people with higher education are active on the video-sharing platform (Pew Research Center).
5. High earners in the US are more active on YouTube.
Most of the high earners in the US are active on YouTube. 90% of those with an income higher than $100,000 say they visit YouTube.
- Among Americans, 78% of individuals with a household income of less than $30,000 use YouTube.
- 84% of those earning between $30,000 and $69,999 are active on YouTube, while the figure rises to 87% for earners between $70,000 and $99,999 (Pew Research Center).
YouTube Usage Statistics
Over the years, through my content creation experience, I’ve seen people mostly use YouTube to check the latest news, discover new music, and stay up-to-date on new trends. About a third of people use YouTube and Facebook to get news. (Pew Research Center).
But, do you know how much time users spend on YouTube? As of November 2024, users worldwide spent more than 27 hours on YouTube on their phones per month (Statista). That’s around an hour every day. Take a look at some of the YouTube view statistics and the most-watched content type:
1. Music videos are the most preferred video content type among consumers.
Music videos record the highest reach, with 48.8% of internet users watching them every week.
- 35.2% of global YouTube users prefer to watch comedy, meme, or viral video content.
- 28.4% of users stream live video, while 27% watch sports clips or highlights videos.
- Educational video viewers make up around 25.8% of the overall user base (Statista).
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(Statista)
2. Over 100 million people are subscribed to YouTube Premium.
YouTube Premium is the ad-free version of YouTube. It provides access to YouTube Music, and you can play videos in the background even when the app is closed. In February 2024, more than 100 million people worldwide were using YouTube Premium. That’s around a 25% increase in the last 2 years (Statista).
3. YouTube TV subscribers are also on the rise.
As of the second quarter of 2024, YouTube TV has reportedly 17.5 million monthly viewers in the United States. It was one of the most watched vMVPD services in the country. Here’s a table for the most subscribed vMPD services:
| vMPD Service | Number of Monthly Viewers |
|---|---|
| YouTube TV | 17.5 million |
| Hulu + Live TV | 11.8 million |
| Sling TV | 5 million |
(Statista)
YouTube Market Share Statistics
YouTube is second to Facebook in the rankings of the largest social media platforms, with 2.53 billion monthly active users (Statista). Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, and other platforms follow it. Let’s explore some YouTube search statistics and uploads to understand its popularity.
1. Hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every second.
Over 8.33 hours of video content are uploaded to the video-streaming platform every second. This accounts for 500 hours per minute, 30,000 hours of video uploads per hour, and 720,000 hours daily. Creators upload more than 21 million hours of YouTube videos every month, which adds up to 262 million+ hours of videos every year.
As of 2025, there are over 4.3 billion videos on YouTube. Considering an average video length of 12 minutes and 26 seconds, it would take around 1 billion hours, or about 101,000 years of continuous viewing (Photutorial).
2. YouTube.com is the most-visited website.
According to Semrush, YouTube.com is the most visited website, with more than 77 million visitors in March 2025. Google came first, clocking more than 142 billion website visits. Here’s a table displaying YouTube’s rank among different social media platforms in terms of number of visits:
| Social Media Platform | Number of Visits |
|---|---|
| Google.com | 142,240,090,146 |
| YouTube.com | 77,526,622,649 |
| Facebook.com | 12,758,835,724 |
| Instagram.com | 7,421,891,918 |
| Whatsapp.com | 3,844,547,868 |
| TikTok.com | 2,586,979,006 |
| Netflix.com | 2,164,786,805 |
(Semrush)
3. YouTube is a go-to entertainment option amongst streaming viewers.
YouTube has been rising in rankings for some time. According to Nielsen data, YouTube was a top streaming service in 2023. In July 2024, it reached a record of 10% of the overall streaming view time, and it currently stands at 12% (Nielsen). The platform’s increasing popularity now makes it a viable competitor against traditional TV.
(Nielsen)
4. YouTube’s marketing statistics are primarily positive.
Marketers around the world see an excellent opportunity to market their products and services to YouTube’s extensive audience. According to Hootsuite, running YouTube ads allows you to reach around 2.53 billion people (Hootsuite). That’s one-third of the global population.
In 2024, YouTube’s global advertising revenue totaled around $31.51 billion, which is about 8% higher than the previous fiscal year. This makes YouTube a great platform for advertising (Statista).
YouTube Channel Statistics
Lately, I’ve noticed my feed isn’t exciting. It’s just music videos, comedy bits, popular shows–all just media and entertainment stuff. That got me wondering: what do most people watch these days? Here are the most popular YouTube channels, as of January 2025(Statista):
| Channels | Number of Subscribers |
|---|---|
| MrBeast | 343 million |
| T-Series | 284 million |
| Cocomelon- Nursery Rhymes | 188 million |
| YouTube Movies | 186 million |
| SET India | 181 million |
| Vlad and Niki | 132 million |
| Kids Diana Show | 129 million |
| Like Nastya | 125 million |
| Music | 122 million |
| Zee Music Company | 113 million |
With most subscribers, MrBeast generated the most revenue in 2024, amounting to $85 million. It’s followed by Matt Rife, Dhar Mann, and Rhett & Link(Forbes).
| Channels | Revenue (dollars) |
|---|---|
| MrBeast | 85 million |
| Matt Rife | 50 million |
| Dhar Mann | 45 million |
| Rhet & Link | 36 million |
| xQc | 36 million |
| Ryan Kaji | 35 million |
| Markiplier | 32 million |
| Mark Rober | 25 million |
| Alex Cooper | 22 million |
| Stokes Twins | 20 million |
YouTube Shorts Statistics
As a content creator myself, my primary goal is to reach the maximum audience. Although long-form content is still popular, YouTube shorts are catching more eyes. I cut my long form into shorts as a way to advertise them. Best of both worlds! Let’s take a look at a few YouTube Shorts statistics to understand their popularity.
1. YouTube Shorts have an average length between 20 and 40 seconds.
Most shorts used to have a maximum length of 20-40 seconds, which changed after YouTube announced an update on October 15, 2024. Now, any videos with a square or vertical aspect ratio up to three minutes in length will be categorized as Shorts (Google). However, most Gen Zers and others prefer content that is between 30 and 40 seconds long.
2. YouTube Shorts viewers will increase over time.
In 2023, YouTube Shorts had around 153 million monthly viewers in the United States. Since its launch in 2021, Shorts has become a go-to platform for most users and creators. In 2026, the numbers are expected to increase to 184.6 million and 192 million in 2027. It’s a great time to start making short-form videos and increase your follower count (Statista).
3. Short videos record the highest engagement rate.
During the first quarter of 2024, YouTube Shorts recorded the highest engagement rate across all platforms and in-app content. On average, it has an engagement rate of 5.91% compared to 5.75% on TikTok. Meanwhile, Facebook reels have an engagement rate of 2%, making it the least active platform (Statista).
When customers were asked how they would like to learn about a product or service, 78% of them preferred to watch it on a short-form video (Wyzowl).
YouTube Website Traffic Statistics
Most of the YouTube visitor traffic in 2024 is from mobile devices. The first YouTube video I watched was on my personal computer in 2007. Back then, it was a viewing option for most. However, the digital landscape has hugely changed since 2005. Smartphones have altered the way people interact with the world, and with YouTube specifically.
The YouTube app has been downloaded over 10 billion times on the Google Play Store. In December 2024, around 70% of global traffic came from mobile devices, and 30% from desktop devices. The rising popularity of YouTube Shorts has increased mobile share (Statista).
YouTube Products Statistics
YouTube offers a range of products and features beyond its core video platform. These include YouTube Music, YouTube TV, YouTube Kids, and YouTube Shopping.
1. YouTube Music joins the 5 billion club.
As far as YouTube Music statistics go, the numbers are on the rise. In the five years since its launch, YouTube Music has surpassed 5 billion downloads on the Google Play Store (Google Play Store). This is the 21st app on the App Store to achieve the milestone.
For reference, Spotify is the world’s largest music streaming platform, and it only has 1 billion downloads. The increasing number of premium subscribers has led to a spike in downloads.
2. YouTube Kids has seen a surge in downloads.
In 2024, the YouTube Kids mobile app has amassed 145 million downloads worldwide, up from 123 million in the previous year. The app saw an increase in downloads between 2016 and 2024 (Statista). Millions of children watch children’s content, such as animations, games, educational videos, and more. Parents also see it as a helpful tool for entertaining and educating their children.
YouTube vs Other Apps Statistics
As you have come this far, it’s no surprise that YouTube is one of the most popular apps out there. But how does it compare to other social apps and similar apps? Let’s understand.
1. YouTube vs social apps
In cooperation with Kepios, Statista released a list of the most popular social media networks, ranked by the number of monthly active users.
| Social Media Platform | Monthly Active Users (in millions) |
|---|---|
| 3,070 | |
| YouTube | 2,530 |
| 2,000 | |
| 2,000 | |
| 1,590 | |
| Telegram | 1,380 |
| Facebook Messenger | 950 |
| Snapchat | 947 |
| 606 | |
| X | 586 |
2. YouTube vs TikTok
YouTube and TikTok both allow users to stream and upload videos, but TikTok is less popular. In 2024, TikTok counted approximately 1.14 billion users worldwide (Statista). That’s less than half compared to YouTube. The platform is forecasted to reach approximately 1.9 billion users in 2029. It also has more female users (55%) than males, which is the opposite of YouTube demographics (YouGov).
YouTube for Creators Statistics
With YouTube’s recent announcements, creators now have a lot to celebrate. Its monetizing policies and updated guidelines provide opportunities and accessibility like never before! Let’s take a closer look at monetization policies and updated guidelines.
1. Monetization Policies provide creators with a wave of opportunities
The good news is that you no longer need 1,000 subscribers to monetize your channel. The threshold has now been reduced to 500. Other requirements include:
- Consistency is crucial when running a YouTube channel. According to YouTube’s policies, creators need at least three public uploads within 90 days.
- Engagement is essential, so creators must clock 3,000 watch hours to qualify for monetization.
- To monetize through Shorts, you need to amass at least 3 million public views within 90 days (YouTube).
2. YouTube’s partner program offers more
A few years back, YouTube made some changes in its YouTube Partner Program (YPP), which you, as a creator, must be mindful of. The program primarily provides access to YouTube resources and monetization features. Also, you can share revenues from ads served on your content.
However, to qualify for that, you must have 1,000 subscribers, 4,000 valid public watch hours, or 10 million public Shorts views. Your channel will go through a standard review process to see if it meets YouTube’s policies and guidelines.
FAQs
How much does 1000 views pay on YouTube?
For every 1,000 views, a YouTuber earns $18, but the amount varies depending on factors such as subscriber count. For many YouTubers, the amount is little or nothing.
Who is the #1 YouTuber?
As of January 2025, MrBeast is the #1 subscribed YouTube creator. He has a total of around 386 subscribers.
How much time does an average person spend on YouTube?
As of November 2024, an average person spends around 27 hours on YouTube mobile per month. In the United States, the number stands at around 27.43 hours.
How do I grow my YouTube channel fast?
To grow your YouTube channel quickly, focus on creating high-quality and engaging content that resonates with your audience. According to YouTube, 90% of the best-performing videos have custom thumbnails (YouTube). It’s usually the first thing viewers see when they find your video. So, ensure to use compelling thumbnails. Also, including titles and keywords in video metadata is crucial
Conclusion
YouTube, if used right, can transform into a lead generation machine. You must tap into the right YouTube statistics to get discovered and grow your audience. Remember, with hundreds of videos posted on YouTube every day, having the right strategy and content is essential.
If you want to create a trending video without much effort, you can use the VidMage face swap app. This tool uses AI to create high-quality face swap videos that you can upload to your channel and get your audience to start talking about it. So, use it now for free!