41+ YouTube Statistics That Will Keep You up-to-Date in 2023

Updated · May 20, 2023

The upload of the first video on YouTube took place a while back—in 2005. The platform was advertised for the first time in August 2007. By May 2010, YouTube had more than two billion views per day. By March 2013, it had already reached 1 billion monthly users.

Now in 2022, YouTube is part of our daily life and YouTube statistics are becoming a great deal. And the fact that Google purchased this platform for $1.65 billion back in 2006 shows that they are more than internet trivia—it’s all about business.

So, let’s start crunching the most interesting YouTube stats.

Fascinating Facts About YouTube (Editor’s Choice)

  • YouTube has 2 billion users worldwide.
  • Its algorithm determines what users will watch 70% of the time.
  • Every minute, 500 hours of new content are uploaded on the platform.
  • Over 30 million people visit YouTube every day.
  • There are around 50 million active content creators.
  • Оnly 9% of small businesses use YouTube.
  • Users who stay at least 30 seconds on TrueView ads are 23 times more likely to subscribe to the channel of the brand in question.
  • People watch one billion hours worth of videos on YouTube daily.
  • Mobile devices take up more than 70% of YouTube watch time.

 Introducing the Audience—YouTube Video Statistics

Before we dive into the details, let’s take a look at the bigger picture. Here, we’ll concentrate mostly on viewership, how users browse, what screens they use, average time spent on the platform, etc.

In other words, you’ll get to know your audience.

1. Two billion users log in to YouTube monthly.

(Source: YouTube Official Blog)

Perhaps the most impressive of the YouTube video stats is the average number of people present on the platform. That number has surpassed 2 billion logins per month, and it’s growing every day.

When you compare it to the 1.8 billion in mid-2018, the enormous increase becomes obvious—that’s over 200 million people in less than three years.

2. YouTube has 30 million active users daily.

(Source: BroadbandSearch)

YouTube is not only the biggest video-sharing platform out there, but it’s also in the second place as a search engine, right after Google.

30 million active users per day engage with the platform. That doesn’t change the fact that five billion videos are watched daily, but the average YouTube watch time depends on the nature of engagement.

3. The average number of page views per visitor is 9.96.

(Source: Alexa)

The fact that YouTube is also used as a search engine means that people don’t spend all the time watching videos—they also click around. It’s not only about how many videos on YouTube we watch but also about how many times we visit the website.

At the time of writing this article, the average daily number of page views per visitor is 9.96. But keep in mind that this number changes frequently.

4. Mobile devices take up more than 70% of YouTube views.

(Source: YouTube About, Mashable)

Most of us switch between devices and use our phones to browse for entertainment. So, the next logical question is, what percentage of video views on YouTube come from mobile devices?

The answer is—more than two-thirds. It doesn’t come as a surprise then that YouTube was the most popular Apple app in 2019.

5. Mobile views per day exceed one billion.

(Source: Brandwatch)

The average number of mobile views per day exceeds one billion, while an average mobile viewing session goes beyond 40 minutes.

These YouTube statistics conclusively show that you need to create every video with mobile users in mind.

6. People spend 250 million hours per day watching YouTube from living-room devices.

(Source: Variety)

Traditional TV is losing its importance, but smart TV is on the rise. That’s why big screens are also an essential part of YouTube statistics and data.

People spend 250 million hours per day watching YouTube on TV screens (via game consoles, Apple TV, Roku, Smart TVs, etc.)—that’s a 39% increase from 2018.

7. 500 hours of content are uploaded on YouTube every minute.

(Source: Statista, FortuneLords)

We would have liked to wrap up this segment of general YouTube statistics with data about the total videos on YouTube, but that is just not possible. This number grows by 500 hours every single minute! We can only tell you that people watch over 5 billion videos every day.

Now it’s time to dive deeper.

Different Interests—YouTube Channels Statistics

Buckle up because we’re about to venture deeper into YouTube statistics. Next, we’ll talk about channels: how many there are, which are the most popular ones, how to choose one over the other, etc.

8. At the end of 2020, YouTube had more than 37 million channels.

(Source: Tubics)

It seems that everybody wants their share in the YouTube craze. The number of channels is constantly growing—YouTube channel stats show it has now surpassed 37 million. 

Given that between July and September 2020 YouTube removed almost two million channels because of spam, sexual or hateful content, nudity, or abuse, this number is even larger.

9. The number of channels with more than one million subscribers grew by more than 65% year-over-year.

(Source: YouTubeAbout)

Here’s the silver lining—your chances of reaching this number are growing, and so are the opportunities to earn good money from YouTube.

Below are some YouTube subscriber stats to prove this:

The number of people earning five figures per year from YouTube increased by 50% year-to-year. Six figure earnings are also more common—with a 40% increase year-to-year.

Sounds promising, right? But with great opportunity comes great competition.

10. The most liked YouTube video is Despacito.

(Source: Seawallalife, Digitaltrends)

The popular song “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee holds first place for this category with more than 42 million likes. But the most likes doesn’t mean the most views—the winner of this category is the children's song Baby Shark Dance with 7.84 billion views.

YouTube stats like this one might not be very useful, but they can be fun. 

On that note, the clip “Can this video get 1 million dislikes?” by the famous YouTuber PewDiePie is in the top 10 disliked videos with 5.14 million dislikes. Ironically, the winner of this category is the YouTube Rewind 2018 video with 18.67 million dislikes.

11. T-Series holds first place in the number of subscribers.

(Source: InfluencerMarketingHub)

The most popular branded channel is undoubtedly T-Series, with a YouTube live subscriber count of almost 170 million. PewDiePie comes second with nearly 109 million. 

These two have very different content, so the chances are that you follow either one or the other. That brings us to the biggest secret behind YouTuber statistics:

12. The recommendation algorithm determines 70% of what we watch on the platform.

(Source: Hootsuite)

We’ve all been there—opening YouTube to watch one video and ending up in a completely different place by simply clicking through the recommended videos. This system determines 70% of the videos we watch.

That being said, this algorithm is not responsible for the high traffic rate across the above-mentioned T-Series and PewDiePie channels. So what else has an impact on the YouTuber subscriber count?

13. Of the top ten most-viewed clips, eight are music videos.

(Source: Statista)

This fact clearly shows that music videos are at the very peak of popularity on YouTube. This category has been at the top of YouTube statistics since 2010.

The main strength of music videos is their audience’s engagement, which can produce an incredible amount of traffic in the first 24 hours after the release. The most notable example of this is “Dynamite” by BTS, which generated 101.1 million views in just a day.

(Source: Think With Google)

“How-to” videos have a great presence in YouTuber stats and viewership numbers. A 70% increase in such searches was measured in 2015 as many content creators realized their potential.

Additionally, data from the same study showed that 91% of smartphone users search for guidelines on their devices while completing a task. Just in North America, people watched more than 100 million hours of how-to videos that year.

15. 80% of shoppers watch product reviews on YouTube before buying a product.

(Source: Think With Google)

Google data from 2018 showed that channels with product reviews also play an important role in the YouTube subscriber count graph. 80% of shoppers who watch product reviews do that at the very beginning of the shopping process.

YouTube users are also three times more likely to look for a tutorial video instead of reading the manual after purchase. Google data has shown that 50,000 years worth of product reviews were watched in just two years.

16. There are 18 million channels with 100+ subscribers.

(Source: Tubics)

Some channels are massive, others are tiny, and those with fewer than five subscribers are not counted in most statistics. That’s why it’s hard to tell how many YouTubers are there precisely, but numbers are rapidly growing. 

There are now around 18 million channels with 100+ subscribers and 6 million with 1,000+ subscribers.

17. The number of channels with 1 million subscribers is between 23,000 and 24,000.

(Source: Medium)

Although we don’t know exactly how much YouTubers are making, big YouTube players’ channel worth is measured in millions every year, and that comes just from ad revenue.

So how many people are earning that much money just from YouTube?

Rough estimates show that the total number of channels with 1 million subscribers is between 23k and 24k.

18. The YouTube yearly revenue for 2019 was more than $15 billion.

(Source: Guardian)

Early in 2020, YouTube made its first public earnings release, showing that monthly advertising revenues exceeded one billion in 2019 and they’ve topped $15 billion for the whole year. Out of that, $4.7 billion was made only in the last quarter, and the year-over-year increase is 32%.

Joe Rogan, the undisputed leader in podcasting, made over $30 million in 2019 from YouTube alone.

19. YouTube Premium has more than 20 million subscribers.

(Source: TheVerge)

YouTube’s Premium plans have brought in more than 20 million subscribers, and the platform's paid TV service has added another two million by the beginning of 2020. This is an important part of the YouTube money stats as these services (together in a bundle with hardware like Google Home speakers and Pixel phone) made $5.3 billion in the last quarter of 2019 alone.

This brings us to the next chapter of our YouTube stats:

To Each His Own—YouTube Market Share

Now let's see how YouTube compares to other big internet names.

20. 48,486 videos have been posted just in the first seven days of 2019

(Source: Pew Research)

A crucial question arises—how big is YouTube exactly? While we can’t give you the total number of videos (due to the insanely rapid YouTube growth rate,) we can share the data collected by the Pew Research Center in 2019.

This data showed that nearly 250,000 videos (about 50,000 hours of content) were posted in the first seven days of 2019 only by popular channels (+250k subscribers).

21. If you would watch 8 hours per day, you’d need 16 years to see all YouTube videos uploaded in a single week.

(Source: Pew Research)

Here’s a little context for the numbers mentioned above. To see all the content uploaded by the most popular channels in one week, you would need 16 years—if you’re staring at the screen 8 hours per day with no breaks!

Considering the fact that videos posted by these channels got 58,358 views on average during the first week says a lot about YouTube’s popularity (remember that YouTube views per day exceed 1 billion!) 

22. 79% of internet users have a YouTube account.

(Source: Oberlo)

The first thing we mentioned in our list of YouTube stats was that the platform has 2 billion users globally. That makes Facebook the only social network with more active users.

But this is not the definite answer to the question of how many people use YouTube. Two billion is the number of users that log in to YouTube at least once a month. But many others watch videos without having an account, and they’re not counted in that statistic.

So if you want to know how popular YouTube is—always think beyond the available stats.

23. 62% of businesses post video content on YouTube.

(Source: Buffer)

As the platform’s popularity opens up many marketing opportunities, some of the YouTube active users are businesses taking advantage of the platform. A marketing study showed that YouTube holds second place right after Facebook, with 62% of companies in the survey using YouTube for commercial purposes.

24. YouTube is worth $170 billion.

(Source: Howie Mann)

We’ve already said how much content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, but what does that say about the platform’s worth?

Well, it’s estimated that YouTube’s worth reached $170 billion in 2020. Acquired for $1.6 billion from Google in 2006, YouTube delivered a +100x return in less than 15 years.

25. Content makers get around $8.5 billion of YouTube’s profit per year.

(Source: Tubics)

Now, surely most of you want to know if there’s a way to make a profit as a YouTuber. While the majority of ad revenues ($15 billion so far) goes to YouTube creators, they did specify that around $8.5 billion of that sum goes for content acquisition costs.

Of course, that is just a fancy word for content creators’ payouts, so the answer is yes—you can earn as a YouTuber, based on your YouTube total views.

26. YouTubers receive $18 for 1,000 ad views on average.

(Source: InfluencerMarketingHub)

To make things more specific, we’ll say that a YouTube channel will receive $18 for 1,000 ad views on average. This is because the percentage of AdSense revenue that goes to the ad’s publisher is 68%. The average rate that an advertiser pays is $0.18 per ad view.

But keep in mind that YouTube traffic stats are not the only way to make money on YouTube. Many YouTubers leverage their popularity to make additional money—they sell merchandise, fans pay for their messages to be highlighted in chats, etc.

27. YouTube is available in 80 different languages.

(Source: YouTube About)

Another thing that makes this platform so lucrative is that it is available in more than a hundred countries in 80 different languages. What else is there to know about its users?

This brings us to the final part of our YouTube statistics list:

Targeting Audience—YouTube Demographics 2022

28. US adults watch YouTube more than Facebook and Instagram.

(Source: Emarketer.com)

Kicking off with YouTube audience demographics, we first need to ask which country watches the most YouTube videos? The answer isn’t surprising—74.2% of the adult internet users in the US watch the content on this platform, which is 214.9 million people. That’s an even bigger percentage than that of Facebook and Instagram users! Predictions show that the number will grow even more, reaching 228.1 million people in 2024.

29. YouTube is in the second place as a source of news in the US.

(Source: Journalism.org)

If we look at YouTube user demographics of people using the platform as a news channel, YouTube loses the battle to Facebook in the US. While more than a third of Americans turn to Facebook for their daily news source, YouTube comes in second with 23% of the population.

30. Only 16.5% of YouTube’s traffic comes from the US.

(Source: Alexa)

While YouTube is the largest video content platform in the US, YouTube usage statistics show that only a small portion of its traffic comes from there. In numbers, the traffic from the US forms up 16.5%. But keep in mind that stats in this source are regularly updated, showing data based on the last 30 days.

31. In the US, 67% of people above the age of 56 watch YouTube.

(Source: Statista)

Another interesting fact is that the US’s YouTube population shows quite a different age pattern compared to that of other social platforms. While on most platforms usage drops significantly when it comes to older age groups, YouTube is only slightly more popular among users below 35.

The percentage of people between 15 and 25 who watch YouTube is 77% and above 56—67%. Differences are even smaller for people closer in age—73% of 36-45 year-olds and 70% of 46-55 year-olds.

32. 53% of children in the US below the age of 11 watch YouTube videos daily.

(Source: Pew Research Center)

YouTube viewer demographics in the US are also very peculiar when it comes to children. 80% of 11-year-olds or younger watch YouTube content. Of them, 53% do it daily and 35% even several times a day. When you consider that many other social networks require a minimum of 13 years of age, this is also a stark contrast.

33. Men and women in the US use YouTube equally often.

(Source: Statista)

There’s no gender difference when it comes to the demographics of YouTube users in the US. A survey conducted in the third quarter of 2020 showed that the portion of male and female internet users who frequent the platform is the same—72%.

34. The US is in the lead with 916 billion total YouTube views.

(Source: Medium)

Once again, the US is in the lead in YouTube channel demographics as the country with the most viewed channels. In March 2019, the US reached nearly one trillion views. India comes second with 503 billion views, then the United Kingdom with 391 billion, and Brazil takes fourth place with 274 billion.

35. The US has more than 2 billion subscribers across the 100 top channels.

(Source: Medium)

The US remains in the lead when it comes to YouTube subscriber demographics, with 2.1 billion subscribers across the top 100 channels. Again, India follows in second place with a little over one billion, Brazil is third with 1 billion, and the United Kingdom—fourth with 817 million.

36. 95% of the internet’s population is using YouTube.

(Source: Medium)

It’s time to wrap up this section with a fact about YouTube’s worldwide popularity—of all internet users, 95% visit YouTube. Considering all the YouTube user statistics we went through so far, it’s safe to say that this percentage reflects some global diversity.

Earlier, we said how crucial it is to stay up to date with YouTube stats. So in this extra section, we’ll mention some trends that have risen during 2021.

37. In the first ten days of June, the views of Black Lives Matter videos quadrupled compared to the entire of 2019.

(Source: Think With Google)

The Black Lives Matter movement gained traction in 2020 worldwide and YouTube is not an exception. While we can’t say how many videos on YouTube are directly related to this movement, we do know that such videos generated four times more views in just ten days than in the entire of 2019.

38. Videos containing variations of the word “beginner” in the title reached 7 billion views in 2020.

(Source: Think With Google)

COVID-19 measures left a great deal of time in our hands, so many have decided to develop new skills. Just check how many hours of YouTube videos are there for beginners and you’ll see that YouTube is a great part of this new trend. Such videos reached 7 billion daily views—a 50% increase since March 2020 compared to the rest of that year.

It is extremely likely that this trend will continue as the global pandemic rages on into 2022.

39. 58% of people watch videos produced by creators of any age.

(Source: YouTube)

Another rising trend reflected in YouTube stats is that the age of creators doesn’t have much to do with their popularity. Trapped in their homes, people are willing more than ever to discover new things, so the percentage of those who watch the content produced by creators of any age went up to 58%.

40. Upload of videos containing the words “at home” in the title increased by 700% in 2020.

(Source: YouTube Culture & Trends)

If you take a look at how many YouTube videos are uploaded a day containing the words “at home,” you’ll realize that’s another rising trend sparked by the pandemic. Since March 2020, there was a 700% increase in daily uploads and a 210% growth of daily views of such videos. In March 2020 alone, the number of views with the words “quarantine” and “routine” in the title has reached 10.5 million.

So far, 2022 seems destined to facilitate similar growth.

41. Daily live streams on YouTube increased 45% in the first half of 2020.

(Source: YouTube Culture & Trends)

Another change in YouTube stats that happened in 2020 is how many hours of content is on YouTube in the form of live streams. In times when most live events across the globe are canceled, it doesn’t come as a surprise that during the first half of 2020, the number of daily live streams increased by 45%. Not only that, but 56% of people claim that watching live streams is just as good as attending an event in person.

Accordingly, live stream software grows rapidly.

The Underscore—Wrapping it Up

This list of YouTube statistics can help you stay up to date with the platform in 2022. The key takeaway of all this is that it’s more than just data.

Crunching those numbers is a way to see the bigger picture, get to know your audience, target the right viewers, and recognize the plethora of opportunities in all this.

Because of the global pandemic, a great part of our everyday life has migrated online. So now is the perfect time to seize the day and start your YouTube career.

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Branko Krstic
Branko Krstic

Branko is a round-the-clock tech geek and loving it. His ideal vacation destination is the Akihabara District (or really any place he can take his computer). If there’s a server out there, count on him to find out what it’s made of… and tell you all about it.