Content creators are the driving force behind content on Youtube. They help people discover the platform, make it more interesting, and ultimately help to answer how many content creators there are on Youtube.
It might be hard to find out how many content creators there are on YouTube, but there are plenty of lists and collations that let you know who’s doing what. If you think we’ve missed out a channel or two let us know in the comments below. We’ll keep this evergreen and updated to help you on your quest to find the best YouTube channel.
Mind-Blowing YouTube Statistics
- There are over 1.9 billion active YouTube users each month.
- People watch an average of five billion YouTube videos every day.
- 70% of YouTube viewers watch “how-to” videos. The number of searches for this type of videos grows 70% YoY.
- According to YouTube statistics for 2019, only 9% of US small businesses are active on YouTube.
- YouTube users who view at least 30 seconds of an advertisement are 23 times more likely to subscribe to a brand’s channel.
- YouTube view statistics show users watch over a billion hours of content daily.
- People upload more than 500 hours of video on YouTube every minute.
These are some insane figures, right? Just wait and see what else is in store for you.
1. General YouTube Statistics – YouTube is the second most visited website globally after Google.
(Source: Alexa)
- Google purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006. That happened only a year after YouTube’s launch.
- According to YouTube statistics and data, people spend an average of 8.41 minutes on the website.
- 70% of YouTube visitors watch videos to learn how to do something.
- There are five billion YouTube videos watched every day.
- Here’s a shocking YouTube stat – only 9% of small businesses in the US are active on the platform.
There’s no denying the power of YouTube. Google made a sweet deal acquiring the company when it did. Although small businesses don’t engage too much with YouTube, nor with content marketing for that matter, billions of people do every month. And that’s why the platform is a force to be reckoned with.
2. YouTube Growth Statistics – YouTube has 1.9 billion users who log in each month.
(Source: YouTube)
- YouTube is available in more than 91 countries.
- YouTube supports 80 different languages, covering 95% of the entire internet population.
- According to YouTube user statistics, there are over 30 million active daily YouTube users.
- For comparison – in 2011, YouTube was localized in 25 countries and supported 43 languages for its 790 million monthly visitors.
- How many hours of YouTube are watched every day? – People watch over a billion hours of video daily.
YouTube’s worldwide expansion didn’t happen overnight. It took the platform 14 years to be what it is today. Furthermore, there aren’t any signs the company is ready to sit back and relax. On the contrary, it develops new services and has an astonishing number of users to back up its future growth.
3. YouTube Usage Statistics – the top two reasons people watch videos on YouTube are “to relax” and “to feel entertained.”
(Source: Google)
- According to YouTube metrics, the four most popular video categories are comedy, music, entertainment, and “how-to.”
- 68% of YouTube’s visitors watch videos to help them form a purchase decision and they are 1.81 more likely to buy something.
- People have watched more than 50,000 years of product review videos on YouTube on mobile devices for the last two years alone.
- Youtube users are three times more likely to watch a video of a product rather than reading its manual.
- 81% of parents with children under the age of 11 let their children watch YouTube videos.
- One of the forming YouTube trends for the last two years is the increase of watch time for the following types of videos:
- “Everything you need to know” on mobile – 2 times.
- “Shop with me” on mobile – 10 times.
- “Does it work” – 12 times.
People turn to YouTube for everything – shopping, taking a breath from parenting, or just relaxing. We could all agree we live in stressful times. Thankfully, we have YouTube to release some of the pressure.
4. YouTube Demographic Statistics – 96% of 18-24-year-old US internet users watch YouTube videos.
(Source: Statista)
- YouTube user demographics show about 15% of the website’s traffic comes from the US.
- More than half of US internet users aged 75+ watch videos on YouTube.
- According to YouTube statistics, 80% of 18-49-year-olds watch videos each month.
- 35% of Millennials opt for digital videos rather than traditional television.
- Perfect gender equality among US YouTube visitors – 83% of both men and women aged 18+ watch videos on the platform.
YouTube is for adult and young users alike, regardless of gender. In a nutshell – there’s something for everyone. Considering how many people use YouTube, this is a notable achievement.
5. Statistics and Facts About YouTube’s Content Creators – there are more than 50 million active YouTubers.
(Source: Omnicore)
- According to YouTube stats, 5 out of 10 of Youtube’s most popular content creators run video gaming channels.
- The video gaming industry had a revenue of almost $152 billion in 2019.
- How much does a YouTuber make? The top 10 YouTubers combined made $180.5 million in 2018.
- Ryan Kaji, more popular on YouTube as Ryan ToysReview, is the highest earner on the platform with $22 million in profit for 2018. For those of you who haven’t heard of him – he’s only seven years old.
- Considering the numbers above, some of you may wonder: “How much money do you make per 1000 views on YouTube?” – The answer is between $0.35 and $5.
- According to Youtube money stats, the number of channels that earn a six-figure income grew more than 40% YoY.
- YouTubers are four times more effective than celebrities in increasing brand familiarity.
- Branded links can increase the click-through-rate by more than 39%.
Although music videos are the most-watched videos, it’s mostly gamers who run the top YouTube channels.
The rat race of millions of creators is what drives YouTube’s growth. Everyone wants a piece of the pie, and YouTube stats prove it. YouTubers are so driven to create great content, they’ve become more influential than celebrities. On top of that, 70% of teens value the opinion of influencers more than the recommendations of traditional celebrities. This is how they make money.
6. Youtube Channel Statistics – in 2019, more than 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
(Source: Statista)
- Who has the most subscribers on YouTube? – The T-Series channel with more than 174 million subscribers. PewDiePie got knocked down from the first position and now holds the second place in YouTube’s most subscribers race. According to YouTube subscriber stats, his channel has over 107 million subscribers.
- YouTube channel stats show Lego is the most popular brand on the platform – its videos have over 9.5 billion views. For comparison, Netflix’s videos have a total of two billion views.
- How many views does the average YouTube video get? – The number varies depending on the video’s type, but the median across all categories is 5594 views.
- According to YouTube statistics, the website’s administrators removed over 2.8 million channels between January and March 2019. This equals to about 74 million videos, 85% of which were spam, misleading, or scams which can be a serious offense, so it won’t hurt to take some precaution measures. 9.6% contained nudity or sexual content.
- The number of the best YouTube channels (with at least a million subscribers) grew by more than 75% in 2018.
YouTubers “fight” for every view. The mind-blowing upload rates prove it. In such a competitive industry, you don’t need any YouTube statistics to figure out that it’s game over for fake or useless content. That’s why the fastest-growing YouTube channels offer content with outstanding quality.
7. Youtube Video Statistics – people have watched over 50 billion hours of gaming videos on YouTube in 2018.
(Source: The Verge)
- Which video is the most viewed on YouTube? – as of 2021, “Baby Shark Dance” by the Korean education brand Pinkfong has dethroned “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee. Baby Shark Dance is the most-watched YouTube video with 8 billion views but Despacito remains the most liked video on YouTube with more than 42 million likes.
- What YouTube videos are popular? – According to YouTube video stats, 14 out of the top 15 most viewed videos are music videos.
- How many videos are on Youtube? – YouTube statistics show there are over five billion videos on the platform.
- How long can a YouTube video be in 2019? – The maximum length of a video is 12 hours or 128 GB, whichever is less. FYI, you can fit 571 hours of footage into 549 MB.
- What is the average length of a YouTube video? – According to YouTube stats, the average length of YouTube videos is 11.7 minutes.
- Users spend 70% of their time on YouTube watching videos recommended by the platform’s AI.
Now that you know how many YouTube videos there are, it’s no wonder the platform dominates the online entertainment market. There’s a video for everyone. You can watch everything – from a shoe-loving turtle to full-length movies.
8. Mobile YouTube Statistics – YouTube users spend an average of 40 minutes watching videos on mobile devices.
(Source: Forbes)
- Mobile YouTube users account for more than 70% of the platform’s watch time.
- According to YouTube stats, 75% of adults watch videos at home on their mobile devices.
- People are 84% more likely to pay attention to YouTube mobile ads compared to TV advertisements.
- Users watching YouTube videos on mobile devices are two times more likely to pay close attention than TV users watching television.
Today smartphones are the supreme rulers in the realm of devices with 2.71 billion people having one. So it comes as no surprise that most people watch YouTube on mobile. In fact, it was the most downloaded iPhone app in 2018.
What’s curious about these YouTube stats is that people are more focused on the small display instead of on the much bigger TV screen.
9. YouTube’s Dominance Statistics – the platform accounts for 47% of the time spent listening to on-demand music.
(Source: Ifpi)
- According to YouTube stats, people watch over a billion hours of videos on the website. That’s more than Netflix and Facebook videos combined.
- There are four times more people who prefer watching videos on YouTube than on any social media.
- YouTube accounts for more than 66% of the premium online videos watched by millennials across all devices.
- 35% of people wouldn’t subscribe to a paid audio service because they can listen to anything on YouTube.
YouTube is undoubtedly the leading platform for both music and video. Still, that’s not enough for the company. That’s why they’ve created their very own YouTube Originals and YouTube Music Premium services – to attract even more viewers and listeners to the already impressive YouTube user count.
YouTube Usage Statistics
- 15.5% of YouTube site traffic comes from the U.S.
- More than 70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices.
- You can navigate YouTube in a total of 80 different languages.
- YouTube is the world’s second-most visited website.
- YouTube is the world’s second-most used social platform.
- The average visitor to YouTube checks out 8.89 pages per day.
- The number of channels with more than one million subscribers grew by more than 65% y/y.
- The top genres watched by YouTube customers are comedy (77%), followed by thriller/crime/mystery (60%)
- People watched 100 billion hours of gaming on YouTube in 2020
- India leads as the country with the highest number of YouTube users at 225 million.
YouTube Financial Statistics
- YouTube generated $19.7 billion in revenue in 2020, a 30.4% increase year-on-year.
- YouTube generated $6 billion in revenue in Q1 2021, a 49% increase year-on-year.
- The number of channels earning five figures per year on YouTube grew more than 50% y/y.
- The highest-paid YouTube star of 2020 was Ryan Kaji, with $29.5 million in earnings.
- Google acquired YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion.
- YouTube video influencers with 500-5k followers charge, on average, $315 per video.
- YouTube video influencers with 500k+ followers charge, on average, $3857 per video.
- Most YouTube channels get paid $0.5 per 1000 video views.
- YouTube pays $18 per 1,000 ad views on average.
- Over the past five years, YouTube paid out over $2 billion to partners with Content ID.
YouTube annual revenue
| Year | Revenue in USD |
| 2010 | 0.8 billion |
| 2011 | 1.3 billion |
| 2012 | 1.7 billion |
| 2013 | 3.1 billion |
| 2014 | 4.2 billion |
| 2015 | 5.5 billion |
| 2016 | 6.7 billion |
| 2017 | 8.1 billion |
| 2018 | 11.1 billion |
| 2019 | 15.1 billion |
| 2020 | 19.7 billion |
| Q1 2021 | 6 billion |
YouTube Premium paying subscribers
| Year | Number of subscribers |
| 2015 | 1.5 million |
| 2016 | 3 million |
| 2017 | 2.8 million |
| 2018* | 10 million |
| 2019 | 18 million |
| 2020 | 30 million |
*YouTube launched Premium in 2018 after YouTube Red flopped.
YouTube Ad Statistics
- YouTube is used by 55% of marketers.
- 70% of viewers bought from a brand after seeing it on YouTube
- As of 2020, YouTube was the fifth most used social media platform for marketers after Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
- Apple Inc was the biggest advertiser on YouTube in 2020 having spent $237.15 million.
- 29% of marketers find that pre-roll skippable YouTube video ads are considered the most effective advertising form on YouTube.
Fun Facts
- YouTube is the 2nd most visited site in the world.
- YouTube accounts for 25% of total global mobile traffic
- More than 70% of what people watch on YouTube is determined by its recommendation algorithm.
- The first video was posted in 2005 from the San Diego Zoo.
- Gangnam Style was so popular that it broke YouTube’s video counter.
- By 2025, it’s predicted that 50% of viewers under 32 will not subscribe to the paid TV.
- 20% of users will leave a video if it hasn’t hooked them in the first 10 seconds.
- YouTube provides free space in Los Angeles for anyone with 10,000+ subscribers.
- YouTube is technically the second largest search engine in the world.
- 61.5% of the most popular YouTube videos cannot be viewed in Germany.
- The most viewed video on YouTube is Baby Shark Dance song by Pinkfong with 8.8 billion views.
- Masha and The Bear – Recipe for disaster (Episode 17) is the most viewed non-music video on YouTube with 4.4 billion views.
- YouTube’s Rewind 2018 video is the most disliked video on YouTube, with 19 million dislikes (and counting)
- YouTube’s live stream of Coachella’s first weekend earned over 82 million live views.
- Justin Bieber’s “Baby” video managed to generate 12 million dislikes (and counting!).
- The most popular YouTube channel, T-Series, has 189 million subscribers.
- There are more than 37 million YouTube channels out there.
- There are 9,000+ partners using Content ID, including many major network broadcasters, movie studios and record labels.
- YouTube’s partners have claimed over 800 million videos since Content ID was implemented.
- The first adverts were rolled out in August 2007
- By March 2013, YouTube saw 1bn monthly active users.
- The first video to hit one million views on YouTube was a Nike advert featuring Ronaldinho.
YouTube Statistics (Editor’s choice)
1. YouTube User Statistics
According to the latest official figures, YouTube has 2+ billion users (YouTube, 2021). The research firm Statista provides further insights that show that the platform boasts of about 2.3 billion active users.
While the current figures place YouTube’s monthly active users at about 2.3 billion, the actual figures might even be higher. This is because the numbers are calculated per the number of people that actually log in to the website (or app).
However, there are other ways people watch videos, such as the ability to watch YouTube videos on WhatsApp, which takes YouTube’s reach even higher.
With such a huge audience, YouTube remains one of the best platforms for your digital marketing efforts.
2. YouTube Demographics: Geography
India has the highest number of active YouTube users. At least 225 million people in India regularly access YouTube ‒ that’s approximately 16% of the total population.
The United States comes second as the country with the most YouTube users, with about 197 million active YouTube users.
Brazil (83 million), Japan (60 million), and Russia (58 million) take up the next three positions at the countries with the highest number of YouTube users.
| Country | Number of YouTube users |
| India | 225 million |
| USA | 197 million |
| Brazil | 83 million |
| Japan | 60 million |
| Russia | 58 million |
While India leads with the total number of YouTube users, the United States’ usage translates to a much higher proportion of the country.
81% of the entire U.S adult population uses YouTube (Pew Research, 2021).
Furthermore, the USA accounts for much of the traffic towards the platform, currently sitting at 15.5%.
Image Source: Alexa
YouTube is currently localized in over 100 countries and can be used in 80 different languages (YouTube, 2021). This fact has made it possible for the fast penetration of the platform to other countries globally.
As of January 2021, Israel was the country with the highest YouTube penetration at nearly 93%. The Netherlands ranked second, as the United Arab Emirates ranked third. African countries Nigeria and Kenya had a YouTube penetration of under 30% (Statista, 2021).
3. YouTube Demographics: Gender
56% of YouTube’s total users are male, while 44% are female (Hootsuite/ WeAreSocial, 2021). YouTube’s current reporting structure supports the two genders (male and female) of people between 16 and 64 years.
Source: Hootsuite
4. YouTube Demographics: Age
YouTube’s reports on its usage for those between 16 and 64 years. As of 2021, 82% of all male adults are on YouTube, while 80% of all females access the platform in the U.S. (Pew Research, 2021).
According to a Q3 2020 report by Statista, users between 15-35 years take up the largest percentage of the total number of YouTube users by age, taking up 77%.
The younger generation isn’t the only one that use the platform as 1 in 3 baby boomers go on YouTube to learn more about a product or service.
Besides that, 80% of U.S. parents of children under 11 years old claim that their kids watch YouTube (Pew Research, 2020).
According to the latest Global Web Index report, 44% of Baby Boomers visit YouTube Daily. The same report also points out that 75% of all millennials and 77% of Gen Zs visit the site on a regular (GlobalWebIndex, 2021).
5. YouTube’s Usage Statistics
With about 122 million daily active users on YouTube consuming more than a billion hours of video every day, this is one of the most widely used social media platforms (and search engine) in the world (YouTube, 2021).
On average, users spend 18 minutes on YouTube every day (Alexa, 2021) browsing at least eight different pages on the platform.
This has all become easier thanks to the variety of content available on the social platform, there being more than 31 million YouTube channels to choose content from.
6. YouTube’s Popularity among Users
Besides being the only other major social media platform with over 2 billion users (only Facebook ranks higher), YouTube is the second-most popular social media platform in the world (Statista, 2021).
It is also the second-most popular search engine right after Google, racking up over a billion hours of views every day (YouTube, 2021). In fact, YouTube receives more search queries than other major search engine platforms like Microsoft Bing, Yahoo, AOL, and Ask ‒ combined.
70% of all YouTube traffic comes from mobile devices (YouTube, 2019). The platform’s popularity makes it easy for a larger audience to reach it, reaching more U.S. mobile content consumers than any other television network.
7. YouTube’s Popularity among Marketers
To put it into perspective, the total number of social media users in the world is just a little shy of 4 billion people. YouTube has 2+ billion users, meaning more than 50% of all social media users are on YouTube.
These figures mean a lot to digital marketers that wish to reach a larger audience. Video content has taken over the world, owing to the latest video marketing statistics. And where best to market your videos than the world’s largest video search engine?
As of 2020, YouTube was the fifth most used social media platform for marketers after Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Regardless of its high potential, many small business owners in the U.S. are yet to make good use of YouTube, as only 9% of small businesses are on YouTube. However, the platform is quite popular among digital marketers as 55% of marketers use YouTube.
However, owing to its popularity, it is no surprise that 50.9% of B2B decision-makers use YouTube to research purchases. This makes YouTube outrank the likes of Facebook (48.5%) and LinkedIn (33%) for this purpose.
YouTube has a high convincing power to buyers, increasing their buying intent, and according to data shared by Google, 70% of viewers bought from a brand after seeing it on YouTube.
Conclusion
The exact number of content creators on YouTube is unknown, but the popularity of this platform has persuaded us that there are many out there. If you’re looking to start your own channel or grow your audience, you may have to wait in line.