YouTube has come a long way since 2005. That was the year the very first YouTube video was uploaded, titled "Me at the zoo,” a 19-second video of co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo.

It took only a month for another video to reach one million views for the first time. Less than a year later, Google acquired YouTube for a cool $1.65 billion in stock. YouTube would go on to expand its offerings with YouTube Music, YouTube Kids, and, more recently, YouTube Shorts in January 2022.

Now, YouTube is one of the most-visited websites in the entire world and it’s basically become synonymous with online video. It’s become a place where videos go viral, where creators base their entire careers, and where musicians and movie producers release premiere new content.

YouTube is the biggest name in online video, both as a destination for those looking for something to watch, and for creators looking to make some money.

We’ll dive into the most important stats about who uses YouTube, how people make money on the platform, and also the internal stats creators should be paying attention to.

General YouTube stats to know

Let’s start with some general stats about YouTube — how people use it, how people make money, and how Shorts come into play.

YouTube usage statistics

YouTube is the second-most visited website in the world, which means there’s a lot of content and a lot of viewers watching it. In fact, in 2022 YouTube surpassed Netflix for the first time as the No. 1 streaming service in the U.S.

Here, we’ll take a closer look at those YouTube video stats.

How many YouTube videos are there?

This number is constantly changing, as an estimated 3.7 million videos are uploaded to YouTube every day — that’s more 150,000 every hour. From that, we can estimate there are more than 800 million videos on YouTube.b

What’s the average number of YouTube subscribers?

There are over 51 million channels on YouTube now but subscriber numbers for each of those channels vary widely. Subscriber numbers are also constantly in flux, so it’s hard to pin down an average.

However, according to this research, it takes the average account 254 days to reach 1,000 subscribers.

How many daily active users does YouTube have?

YouTube sees more than 122 million active daily users, according to data. In the US, 62% of YouTube users visit the site every single day.

On a monthly basis, YouTube has two billion active users.

Which countries use YouTube the most?

The best numbers we have are YouTube’s own stats on the potential advertising reach for various countries, which we can assume closely correlates to the number of active users.

The top 10 are:

1. India: 467 million users
2. US: 246 million users
3. Brazil: 140 million users
4. Indonesia: 139 million users
5. Mexico: 81.8 million users
6. Japan: 78.4 million users
7. Pakistan: 71.7 million users
8. Germany: 70.9 million users
9. Vietnam: 63 million users
10. Turkey: 57.9 million users

What country has the highest percentage of YouTube users?

This is looking at how many people in a country use YouTube as a percentage of the population. Essentially, the penetration rate.

The top 10 list looks very different here:

1. Netherlands: 94.9%
2. South Korea: 94%
3. New Zealand: 93.8%
4. Sweden: 93.7%
5. United Arab Emirates: 93.2%
6. United Kingdom: 92.1%
7. Denmark: 91.9%
8. Switzerland: 91.8%
9. Canada: 91.7%
10. Spain: 91.6%

For context, about 72% of the population in the US uses YouTube. India ranks well below that, with 32.8% of the population watching YouTube videos.

Revenue and YouTube ad statistics

Let’s talk about money! A lot of money gets spent on ads on YouTube, some of which Google keeps, and some of which supports the careers of content creators.

How much does YouTube pay on average?

Payouts from YouTube vary wildly, from people making a few bucks to people making thousands upon thousands of dollars every month. It all comes down to how many views your videos get.

It’s also important to note that in order to earn a portion of ad revenue sharing, creators must be part of the YouTube Partner Program. To be eligible, creators must meet a minimum threshold of subscribers and views, as well as comply with all YouTube guidelines and policies.

The average payout from YouTube in the US in 2022 for those in the Partner Program was $1,154 per week, according to Yahoo Finance. (Remember, these averages can be pretty skewed by the outlying top earners driving the mean way up.)

Of course the Partner Program isn’t the only way to earn money as a YouTuber — check out other methods here.

How much does YouTube pay per 1,000 views?

Again, according to Yahoo, the average payout for YouTube Partners is $0.18 per 1,000 views. The number will vary depending on how much it costs to run the ads on a particular video. Ads for more popular verticals, like personal finance, will typically cost more to run, making those ad placements more lucrative for the creator.

Each view typically costs an advertiser between $0.10 and $0.30. YouTube takes 45% of the revenue for itself, and passes the other 55% to the content creator.

What is YouTube’s global ad revenue?

For 2023, YouTube’s ad revenue is estimated to be a whopping $30.4 billion.

What is the potential reach of YouTube ads?

YouTube has 2.51 billion active users worldwide, meaning it has the biggest potential reach for advertisers of any social media platform. For context, that’s almost half the world’s total internet users!

Stats about YouTube creators

Now we’ll get into statistics about YouTubers themselves, including who’s raking in the money and views, and how many channels are at different tiers of subscribers.

Who is the highest paid YouTuber?

The highest earner on YouTube is MrBeast, who brought in an estimated $54 million in 2021, according to Forbes.

Here’s their full top 10:

1. MrBeast: $54 million
2. Jake Paul: $45 million
3. Markiplier: $38 million
4. Rhett & Link: $30 million
5. Unspeakable: $28.5 million
6. Like Nastya: $28 million
7. Ryan Kaji (Ryan’s World): $27 million
8. Dude Perfect: $20 million
9. Logan Paul: $18 million
10. Preston: $16 million

Which YouTuber has the most subscribers?

While MrBeast is the individual with the most subscribers, the overall channel with the most subscribers is actually T-Series, an Indian music label, with 243 million subscribers.

Here’s the top 10 most-subscribed to channels, as of May 2023:

1. T-Series: 243 million
2. MrBeast: 160 million
3. Cocomelon: 160 million
4. Sony Entertainment Television India: 157 million
5. Kids Diana Show: 112 million
6. PewDiePie 111 million
7. Like Nastya: 106 million
8. Vlad and Niki: 97.8 million
9. Zee Music Company: 95.5 million
10. WWE: 95.3 million

How many YouTube channels have 1 million+ subscribers?

YouTube doesn’t release official numbers about how many channels reach the 1 million subscriber milestone, but we can figure out a number based on publicly available data.

We estimate that there are 41,900 YouTube channels with over 1 million subscribers in 2023.

How many YouTube channels have 100,000+ subscribers?

In 2023, around 388,500 YouTubers have over 100k subscribers. That’s 21% more channels than in 2022.

How many YouTube channels have 10,000+ subscribers?

A2,900,000 YouTubers have over 10k subscribers in 2023. That’s nearly six times more channels than those who've crossed the 100,000 milestone.

YouTube Shorts stats

Finally, we’ll look at YouTube Shorts — the platform's answer to short, vertical video.

How many Shorts are on YouTube?

In 2022, 213 million shorts had been posted by 12 million channels.

How many daily active users are watching YouTube Shorts?

In February 2023, YouTube reported Shorts had surpassed 50 billion daily views.

How many people are watching YouTube on mobile?

YouTube Shorts are optimized for a mobile viewing experience, especially on the YouTube app, and more than 70% of YouTube watch time takes place on mobile devices.

Expert Tip: Make your short-form, vertical video content go further by repurposing it for multiple channels. One way to jumpstart your YouTube Shorts strategy is to upload Instagram Reels to YouTube. You can also repurpose YouTube videos for TikTok.

Bonus YouTube Video Stats

Here’s some miscellaneous YouTube statistics.

What is the most viewed YouTube video?

You may not be surprised to learn that the most viewed YouTube videos are music videos. At the top is the Baby Shark Dance video with more than 12 billion views since being published in June 2016.

The second most-viewed video is the music video for “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi.

What is the gender breakdown of YouTube users?

In the US, slightly more women than men use YouTube. The exact breakdown is 51.4% female and 48.6% male.

What age groups watch YouTube?

YouTube’s audience skews younger — 77% of internet users age 15 to 35 watch YouTube.

What do people search for on YouTube?

These are the top 10 YouTube searches worldwide, according to Semrush:

1. Minecraft
2. TikTok
3. Comedy
4. Tik Tok
5. ASMR
6. Fortnite
7. Musica
8. BTS
9. Pubg
10. Free fire

Your YouTube Statistics

Now let’s talk about your personal stats on YouTube— the analytics that tell you exactly how many views, subscribers, and interactions you get on the platform.

How to see your own YouTube channel statistics

The quickest way to view your stats is by going to the Channel Analytics section of YouTube Studio.

Here, you can see your views over time, your watch time, and your subscriber growth. You’ll also find stats for your YouTube Shorts and lives. Plus, you can find stats on your viewer demographics, such as age, gender, location, and other channels they watch.

The YouTube channel statistics you should follow

• Views: How many views your videos get. Important on its own to be sure, but other stats like the ones below will provide more context.
• Watch time: YouTube’s algorithm prioritizes channels with a high watch time, so you want viewers to spend as much time as possible with your video content.
• Audience retention: This tells you if viewers are watching your video content all the way from start to finish.
• Impressions and click throughs: This shows how many people saw a thumbnail for one of your videos and actually clicked through.
• Audience demographics: Are you reaching the ages, genders, and locations that you want? This can tell you if you’re hitting your target audience, or maybe attracting a surprising new segment.
• Subscribers: Look at both your subscriber growth over time, but also what percentage of your viewers are subscribed or not. If you’re getting a lot of unsubscribed viewers, encourage them to click that button.
• Traffic sources: This will tell you how viewers are finding you, such as from the homepage or being recommended from another video.

Follow stats and grow your YouTube videos

Understanding how YouTube works means knowing the larger stats that impact the platform, as well as your own internal analytics. Combine that knowledge to push your strategy forward and grow your channel.

YouTube stats FAQ

How do I see YouTube stats?

To see the stats for your own channel, open YouTube Studio and click the Channel Analytics tab.

What is the most liked video on YouTube stats?

Music videos are some of the top videos on YouTube. "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee is the most-liked video on YouTube.

How do I see my monthly views on YouTube?

To see the stats for your own channel, open YouTube Studio and click the Channel Analytics tab. You can then change the date range.

Can you view YouTube channel stats?

Yes! To see the stats for your own channel, open YouTube Studio and click the Channel Analytics tab.

How do I see other YouTube channel stats?

You can’t view detailed stats for other channels, but when you open an individual video you can view the video’s views, likes, and the channel’s subscriber count.

Additional Resources:

• Instagram Stats You Need to Know in 2023
• How to Make Money on TikTok in 2023 (6 Methods)
• How Much Does TikTok Pay Creators in 2023?