In this article, we present 37 key statistics about YouTube’s user base, engagement, trends, and more as we explore one of the most influential social media and content platforms in the world.
Key Takeaways:
- Users turn to the platform to solve problems and learn new things
- 90%+ ad recall rates give businesses the best opportunity to drive brand awareness
- 80% of users trust the YouTubers they follow, so influencer marketing is very effective
General YouTube Statistics
Over 2.5 Billion Active Users
The most recent data shows that roughly one-third of the global population logs into YouTube at least once a month. That makes it the second-largest social media platform in the world.
Available in 100 Countries
Internet users from more than 100 countries can access the platform to find their favorite videos and content in more than 80 languages.
Up to 90% of Site Traffic Comes from Mobile Devices
Prior to November 2022, most traffic arriving at YouTube came via desktop devices, but November saw that change quite dramatically with 90% of the site’s traffic that month arriving through mobile devices.
Average Video Length Is 11.7 Minutes
The average length of a YouTube video varies pretty widely depending on the category the video falls under. Gaming has the highest average (24.7 minutes) while music has the lowest (6.8 minutes). The average across all content categories is 11.7 minutes.
YouTube Demographic Statistics
54% – 60% of YouTube User Base Is Male
The platform is preferred by males more than females, with between 4% and 16% more males registered than females. Males also tend to spend longer on the platform than their female counterparts.
25 – 34 Age Group Is the Largest
This is the younger millennial age bracket and is the largest on the platform. 11.9% of registered males and 8.8% of registered females fall in the age group. The second-largest age bracket is older millennials aged 35 – 44 years.
India Has the Most Users
The U.S. held the top spot for many years, but today the number one spot is firmly held by India. That’s unlikely to change any time in the near future since India has an estimated 467 million users compared with the U.S.’s 246 million.
Highest YouTube Penetration Rate Is in U.A.E.
Maybe the U.A.E. isn’t your first guess at which country has the highest YouTube penetration rate, but its relatively small population size means that 98.7% of the country’s internet users are using YouTube. The top 5 is completed by the Netherlands (92.7%), Norway (92.1%), U.K. (91.9%), and South Korea (91.6%).
YouTube Usage & Engagement Statistics
500 Hours of Video Uploaded per Minute
The quantity of video content on the YouTube platform is huge and continues to get bigger, with 500 hours of new video uploaded every minute! If a single user were to try and watch that in one go and without breaks, it would take them 21 days!
51% of Users View the Platform as Educational
Around half of platform users say they use the platform to learn new skills or gain knowledge and view it as an important learning tool.
80% of U.S. Parents with Children Aged 11 or Less Say Their Child Watches YouTube Content
Younger audiences are especially fond of video content, and the majority of parents in the U.S. say their child watches YouTube. Furthermore, around half of them said that their child watches content on the platform every day.
Average YouTube Mobile Session Lasts 40 Minutes
The typical mobile YouTube user spends an average of 40 minutes on the platform each time they log in, which goes to show that YouTube is fantastic at capturing and holding user attention.
Subscribers 2x More Likely to Watch Content
Thanks to the YouTube notification system, users that subscribe to a YouTube channel are twice as likely to watch content within the first hour of its release.
5th Most Popular Music Streaming Service
In the world of music streaming only, YouTube Music places 5th behind Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tencent Music. However, if we include the YouTube platform as a whole, it becomes the most popular platform in the world, with approximately 47% of global internet users accessing it for music.
Up to 75% of Video Views Are Driven by the Algorithm
Most users heavily rely on the YouTube algorithm to feed them new content. Sources place this reliance somewhere between 70% and 75%. Regardless of what the exact percentage is, it highlights the importance of optimizing your YouTube content to make the most of the algorithm.
500 Million Hours Watched on TV Screens Daily
While mobile is the most popular way to watch YouTube video content, large-screen devices like TVs are also seeing a boost. This shows the growing popularity of YouTube as a primary source of entertainment.
U.K. Users Watch the Most Content
In the sheer number of views, the U.S. generates the most views per month with 916 billion. The U.K. by comparison manages just 391 billion views. However, if we break those views down across the population, the U.S. averages 2,726 views per person while the U.K. averages 5,750!
YouTube Marketing & Ad Statistics
90% of Users Discover New Brands & Products via YouTube
YouTube has a bigger impact on consumer behavior and purchasing decisions than many people give it credit for. 9 out of 10 users say that the platform has led to them finding new brands, products, and services, and has directly influenced a purchasing decision.
Up to 81% of Business Leaders Think YouTube Helps Growth
Depending on the source of data used, up to 8 out of 10 business leaders and decision-makers already using YouTube say that the platform helps business growth by increasing brand awareness and reaching new audiences.
YouTube More Important Than Any Cable Network
Many younger people don’t have any kind of cable television and instead rely exclusively on online entertainment. That’s why YouTube is able to reach more 18 – 49-year-olds than any cable network.
YouTube Creators Make Valuable Brand Influencers
Brands should consider partnering with YouTube creators since the data shows that roughly 80% of YouTube users trust the recommendations of the YouTubers that they’re subscribed to. Users will often check if their favorite creators have already released an opinion, or will ask in the comments section, while considering a purchase.
YouTube Videos Affect 65% of Executives
YouTube videos don’t just affect the general public; they have an effect on top-level executives, too. Surveys show that around two-thirds of executives will visit the website of a brand or company after watching their YouTube content.
Videos Using YouTube Cards Have Higher Engagement and CTR
One of the great features of uploading video content to YouTube as opposed to other social media platforms is the ability to add interactive elements to the video. These elements can link to other content, or even other websites, and have been shown to improve engagement and clickthrough rates by as much as 80%.
TrueView Ads Preferred by as Many as 80%
While most users choose to avoid ads as much as possible, the ads that they do see matter all the more. When asked to choose between standard in-stream ads or TrueView ads, up to between 6 and 8 out of 10 YouTube users said that they prefer TrueView ads more.
YouTube Bumper Ads Can Improve Recall by 90%
Studies have shown that brand and product recall can be improved by up to 90% through the use of YouTube bumper ads (ads that appear before or during videos that are up to 6 seconds long).
YouTube Ad Recall Rate 2x Better Than TV
The overall ad recall rate on YouTube is an impressive 90% – 93% which is much, much better than the average recall rate of 45% of TV ads. This is likely because people find other things to get up and do during ad breaks.
15 – 20 Seconds Is the Best Ad Length
In general, shorter ads perform better than longer ones on the YouTube platform. The latest data from Alphabet (the parent company of YouTube) shows that between 15 and 20 seconds is the best in terms of viewability and engagement.
YouTube Content & Channel Statistics
Most Popular Channel Has 237 Million Subscribers
With over 70 million more subscribers than the second most popular channel on the platform, the Indian music network T-Series is easily the most popular channel in the world.
Most Popular Video Has 12.3 Billion Views
“Baby Shark Dance” by Pinkfong is the most viewed video on the platform, worldwide. For comparison, the second most viewed video is “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee with 8.1 billion views.
Longest-Running YouTube Vlog has 3,653 Episodes
The Guinness world record for the longest-running video blog series (by the number of episodes) on YouTube is held by Charles Trippy aka “CTFxC”. 1 episode was released daily for a little over 10 years!
Music Is the Most Popular Content Type
When surveyed, 48.7% of YouTube users say that they watch content from the music category every week. This makes it the most popular type of content on the platform. Comedy, memes, and viral content was the second most popular category with 38.4% of respondents.
Most Watched Live Stream Had 9.4 Million Viewers
When CazéTV did a watch along of the Brazil versus Croatia World Cup 2022 quarter-final, they became the most watched live stream in the world with roughly 6 million viewers. That record stood until April 2023, when the OnePlus Nord Launch live stream event garnered 9.4 million concurrent viewers.
YouTube Business Statistics
80 Million YouTube Premium & YouTube Music Subscribers
The growth of YouTube’s ad-free Premium and Music service has been steady over the last few years. Subscriber numbers between October 2020 and November of last year grew by 167%.
91% of Marketers Plan to Increase or Maintain Their YouTube Budget
With more people choosing to consume video content over any other form of content on the internet, almost all marketers have plans in place to either maintain their current YouTube budgets or increase them, particularly in the fast-growing YouTube Shorts category.
$29.24 Billion in Ad Revenue
YouTube’s worldwide advertising revenue increased by 1.5% over the same period a year earlier, growing from $28.8 billion to $29.24 billion. However, the start of 2023 has seen ad revenue fall by 2.6% compared with the same period a year earlier, which is being driven by uncertainty over the economy.
4.3 Billion Comments Removed
Part of the agreement users make when registering to use YouTube is to abide by the platform’s community and safety guidelines. Despite this, more than 4.3 billion comments were removed due to violations. Q4 of 2022 was particularly bad, with close to 2 billion comments removed.
YouTube Partner Program Has over 2 Million Members
The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) gives select content creators that meet certain criteria to monetize more content and earn from ads that play on their content. The most recent data shows that there are now over 2 million registered members earning between $0.30 and $29.30 per 1,000 views.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Users Does YouTube Have?
YouTube has over 2.5 billion active users.
How Often Do Users Access YouTube?
2.5 billion users access the platform at least once a month. People aged 44 and under are more likely to access the platform every day.
How Long Do People Spend on YouTube?
The average YouTube mobile user spends about 40 minutes a day on YouTube, while desktop users spend an average of 20 minutes a day.
How Many People Access YouTube on Mobiles?
The most recent data suggests anything from 70% – 90% of the site’s traffic arrives via mobile devices.
How Many Videos Are on YouTube?
The exact number is unknown, but it is estimated to hold more than 800 million videos.
What Type of Content Is Popular on YouTube?
The most popular content type on YouTube is music.
How Many YouTube Channels Are There?
There are 51 million YouTube channels.
What YouTube Channel Has the Most Subscribers?
The Indian music channel T-Series has 241 million subscribers.
Sources
Statista, YouTube, Foundation Inc., Pew Research, Guiness World Records, HubSpot, Google, Business Insider.
