112 YouTube Statistics for Content Creators

YouTube has 2 billion users, from consumers to content creators.

And if you fancy yourself the latter, we bet you’re curious as to how can you use this massive audience to market your brand.

That all starts with understanding the platform, inside and out, so you can take advantage of everything it has to offer. 

That’s why we compiled a whopping 112 YouTube statistics every content creator should know.  

We’ll be looking at: 

1. Must-Know YouTube Statistics
2. YouTube Usage Statistics
3. YouTube User Statistics
4. YouTube Search Statistics
5. YouTube Viewership Statistics
6. YouTube Live Stream Statistics
7. YouTube Ad Statistics
8. YouTube Marketing Statistics
9. YouTube Video Statistics
10. YouTube Channel Statistics
11. How to Grow Your YouTube Audience

Let’s jump right in.  

Must-Know YouTube Statistics

There are almost 5 billion internet users worldwide, but where are they spending most of their time browsing?

Answer: Likely on YouTube — the second most-used search engine, behind Google.

For context, here are the top YouTube stats that show off the platform’s success and why you should be harnessing it for yourself:

1. The first YouTube video was uploaded in April 2005 at the San Diego Zoo. (YouTube)
2. YouTube is the world’s second-most used social media platform. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
3. 81% of internet users have used YouTube. (Statista)
4. Over 4 million people are subscribed to YouTube TV. (Fierce Video)
5. YouTube is available in over 100 countries. (YouTube)
6. In 2021, there were 23.6 million YouTube Premium subscribers. (Statista)
   

7. The YouTube video with the most global views ever was “Baby Shark Dance” by Pinkfong Kids Songs. (Statista)
8. Android users spend an average of  23.7 hours each month on the YouTube app. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
9. In 2021, YouTube Shorts received over 15 billion daily views. (The Motley Fool)
10. 99% of YouTube users also use other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
11. “Charlie Bit My Finger” was the most expensive YouTube video sold as an NFT in 2021, for $761,000 (Statista)
12. The average length of a YouTube video is 12 minutes. (Pew Research)
13. 91.9% of people ages 16 to 64 say they watch some sort of video content every week (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)

YouTube Usage Statistics

So, which country is YouTube most used in? And how often do people watch YouTube daily?

YouTube is used the most in India, with 467 million users in January 2022. The platform also gets 368 million active app users daily from around the world. 

Plus, one-third of internet users watch a tutorial video or how-to video on YouTube each week. 

Dive into these YouTube usage statistics to further grasp how and where your audience uses the platform.

14. India has the largest YouTube audience, with 467 million users as of January 2022. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
15. Mobile users linger on YouTube and visit twice as many pages as desktop users. (Statista)
16. In total, YouTube gets 14.3 billion visits per month. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
17. YouTube has a total number of 368 million active app users daily. (Statista)
18. YouTube has 1.7 billion unique users, which is more than Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
19. Approximately 32.4% of people across the globe use YouTube. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
20. YouTube users spend around 15 minutes daily on YouTube. (Alexa)

21. One-third of internet users watch a tutorial video or how-to video on YouTube each week. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report) 
22. More than 5 billion videos are watched per day on YouTube. (Cloud Income)
23. The United States brings 15.6% of YouTube’s traffic. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
24. South Koreans spend the most amount of time on the YouTube app on Android, on average 39.9 hours per month. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
25. 62% of Americans use YouTube daily, and 92% use it weekly. (Statista)
26. 22% of YouTube users are using the site via mobile devices. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)

YouTube User Statistics

YouTube usage is on the rise and it’s predicted to continue its upward momentum. As a content creator, you should continue to invest your time on the platform. 

But what is the most common age range using the platform? And is the YouTube audience mainly male or female? 

The majority of YouTube users, both consumers and creators, are between 25 to 34 years old and 53.9% of total users are male. 

Want to know the demographics of your potential audience? Check out what else we gathered in terms of YouTube user statistics. 

YouTube Users by Age Range in 2022

Age Range	Number of Users
18 to 24	372.1 million
25 to 34	518.5 million
35 to 44	422.2 million
45 to 54	304.7 million
55 to 64	227.4 million
65 and above	249.4 million

27. There were approximately 2.2 billion YouTube users around the world in 2021. (Statista)
28. The number of YouTube users is projected to reach 2.8 million by 2025. (Statista)
29. Only 9% of small businesses use YouTube. (Fortune Lords)
30. 46.1% of YouTube’s global users are female. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
31. And 53.9% of YouTube users are male. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report).

32. 372.1 million users on YouTube are between 18 and 24 years old. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
33. The majority of YouTube users are between 25 to 34 years old, a total of 518.5 million users. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report).
34. And the second-largest amount of YouTube users are between 35 to 44 years old, with a total of 422.2 million users. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report).
35. YouTube also has 304.7 million users between the ages of 45 and 54. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report) 
36. And 227.4 million YouTube users are between 55 to 64 years old. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
37. There are also 249.4 million users ages 65 and above on YouTube. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)

YouTube Search Statistics

So, what are YouTube’s 2+ billion users searching for?

If a topic goes viral on one platform, it might also go viral on other. For example, when Olivia Rodrigo’s song went viral on TikTok, it became the most searched thing on YouTube in 2021 as well. 

So if you’re up to date with the trends in other platforms, you might be able to get ahead of what will trend next on YouTube.  

Here’s what else YouTube users are searching for and, in turn, what you might consider creating content around: 

38. The top 10 most popular search queries worldwide in 2021 on YouTube are mostly music and movie related.  (Google Trends)

Top 10 Most-Searched Queries on YouTube in 2021

Worldwide	United States
Song	1. Song
Movie	2. Music
Video	3. Songs
Songs	4. TikTok
DJ	5. Roblox
Remix	6. Minecraft
New song	7. Fortnite
TikTok	8. Cocomelon
Movies	9. ASMR
Music	10. NBA

39. In 2022,  “Cartoon” and “Baby” are the newest top-searched queries on the list worldwide and in the United States, respectively.  (Google Trends)

Top 10 Most-Searched Queries on YouTube in 2024

Worldwide	United States
Song	1. Song
Movie	2. Songs
Video	3. Music
Songs	4. Baby
DJ	5. TikTok
Remix	6. NBA
Music	7. Roblox
Cartoon	8. Fortnite
TikTok	9. Cocomelon
New song	10. Minecraft

And when it comes to annual searches, it seems the findings can vary. 

40. “BTS” is currently the most searched query on YouTube globally, with over 16 million monthly searches. (Ahrefs)
41. And, in the United States, “PewDiePie” is currently the most searched query on YouTube, with 4.6 million monthly searches. (Ahrefs)

42. “New song 2022,” “Ukraine”, and “Shark Tank India” are currently the most searched queries on the rise in 2022. (Google Trends)
43. “Fortnite,” “Minecraft,” and “ASMR” are the most searched things of all time on YouTube. (SEMrush)

YouTube Viewership Statistics

And how are people watching YouTube? And how many videos are uploaded to YouTube a day?

63% of people are watching YouTube on mobile apps, and 500 hours of video are uploaded every minute to YouTube.

A lot of people are using YouTube for online learning, including baby boomers, which 78% of them mention YouTube as their preferred platform. 

Statistics show that YouTube users are spending a lot of time searching for music, watching fellow YouTubers play video games, and cheering for their favorite sports teams. 

Understanding how and what users are consuming can give you insights into how you can present your content to the YouTube audience. Here are some YouTube viewership stats you should know.  

44. 63% of people watch YouTube on mobile apps. (Statista) 
45. 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. (Statista) 
46. YouTube’s most-viewed video game is Minecraft, with more than 100 million combined views. (Think With Google)
47. 79% of viewers achieved deeper connections when watching YouTube with others. (Think With Google)
48. Sports viewership on YouTube is expected to reach 57.5 million by the end of 2022. (Think With Google)
49. 74% of people interested in sports visit YouTube several times a week. (Think With Google)
50. 79% of people say YouTube has sports content that can’t be found on other platforms. (Think With Google)
51. More than 90% of millennials that watch sports videos say they watch them on YouTube. (Think With Google)

52. YouTube is the most-mentioned platform for learning something new among 78% of baby boomers. (Think With Google)
53. 80% of parents with children aged 11 or younger say their child watches videos on YouTube. (Pew Research)
54. 88% of people purchase from a brand after seeing it in a video. (Wyzowl)
55. 20% of users will leave a video if they are not hooked by the first 10 seconds. (Advanced Web Ranking)
56. 70% of what viewers watch on YouTube is recommended by the algorithm. (Hootsuite)
57. Between 2019 and 2020, YouTube watch time on TV screens nearly doubled, with 120 million people watching every month. (Think With Google)
58. 53% of viewers agree that a video helped them feel like they were in a different place. (Trends Report)
59. The fastest video to achieve 100 million views was “Butter” by BTS. (Statista)

YouTube Live Stream Statistics

Live streaming has become extremely popular, and a lot of users are spending their time on YouTube watching live streams. 

For example, 30% of people watch at least one live stream weekly on YouTube, and some channels have reported making over 3 million dollars from YouTube’s Super Chat. 

This comes to show that live streaming on YouTube plays a big part in content creation, and it brings many benefits such as: 

• Reaching a new audience.
• Making money with Super Chat.
• Increasing audience engagement.

Here’s how big the impact of YouTube live streaming is: 

60. 30% of people reported they watched at least one video live stream weekly on YouTube. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
61. Out of the 100 most viewed live streams on YouTube, 60 of them happened in the past 2 years. (Think With Google)
62. Live video streaming is expected to make $184.27 billion by 2027. (Grand View Research) 
63. SpaceX broke the record of the most concurrent views on a YouTube live stream worldwide, with over 4 million viewers. (Playboard) 
64. And Apple had the most concurrent views on a YouTube live stream in the United States, with over 2.7 million views. (Playboard)

65. The most super-chatted YouTube channel worldwide of all time is “Rushia Ch.” with an estimated $3,285,003 Super Chat revenue. (Playboard)
66. The most super-chatted YouTube channel of all time in the United States is “Timcast IRL” with $1,252,356 Super Chat revenue. (Playboard)
67. 30.4% of people ages 16 to 64 watch at least one live stream weekly. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
68. Over half a million channels live streamed for the first time in 2020 during the pandemic. (YouTube Trends Report)

YouTube Ad Statistics

Some brands are also investing a lot of money in advertising on YouTube, with Apple and Disney being the leading YouTube advertisers in 2021.

But what audience are they are reaching? And what is YouTube’s potential ad reach?

YouTube’s largest advertising audience are between 24 to 34 years old and they are reaching more than 51.8% of total internet users worldwide. 

As a content creator, you can take advantage of YouTube’s ad reach by tailoring your ads to the right audience and getting inspired by the most popular ads to date. 

Here are YouTube ad statistics you should know: 

69. YouTube’s potential ad reach is 2.56 billion people. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
70. YouTube ads reach more than 51.8% of total internet users (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
71. YouTube’s largest advertising audience is from 24 to 34 years old. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
72. YouTube’s largest advertising audience is males aged 25-34. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
73. India has the largest audience of users, which also makes them the largest advertising audience. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
74. The United States is the second-largest YouTube advertising audience. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
75. YouTube’s global ad revenue brought in $28 billion in 2021. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)

76. Apple Inc. was the leading YouTube advertiser between March 2020 and February 2021, spending over 237 million dollars on ads. (Statista)
77. The most popular YouTube ad since 2021 is the “Hyundai X BTS | For the Earth.” (YouTube)
78. YouTube’s ad reach is equal to 32% of the total population. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
79. In January 2022, YouTube’s ad reach increased by 11.9% (271 million) compared to the previous year. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
80. The highest potential YouTube advertising audience reach is in the Netherlands with 95%. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)
81. And the United States has a 79.4% YouTube ad reach. (Digital 2022: Global Overview Report)

YouTube Marketing Statistics

YouTube is a great platform for marketers as well, with 55% of them using YouTube for marketing purposes and 90% of brands posting videos at least once a week.  

If you want to make money as a YouTuber, you might see great success with sponsored posts or product recommendations. YouTube is the second-most popular platform for influencer marketing, just behind Instagram.  

Here are some YouTube marketing statistics you should be aware of in 2024: 

82. 55% of marketers use YouTube. (Social Media Examiner)
83. And 90% of brands post videos to YouTube at least once a week. (OptinMonster)
84. YouTube was the number one video channel used by 50% of marketers. (Social Media Examiner) 
85. 84% of people say they bought a product or service because of YouTube. (OptinMonter)

86. YouTube is the second-most popular platform for influencer marketing. (Statista)
87. 29% of marketing professionals say pre-roll skippable ads are the most effective. (Statista)
88. YouTube influencers with 500 to 5,000 followers can charge around $315 per video. (eMarketer)
89. And YouTube influencers with more than 500,000 followers charge on average $3,857 per video. (eMarketer)

YouTube Video Statistics

If you’re a content creator, you might be wondering what are some of the most popular videos on YouTube, so you can use them to inform your content strategy. 

For example, Younger generations prefer to watch shorter YouTube videos, and the biggest reason for people to YouTube videos is to relax and unwind.

Understanding trending videos and what people are watching can help you create videos are that tailored to your audience and YouTube’s users worldwide. 

With 694 thousand hours of video being streamed on YouTube every minute, here’s what, how, and why people are watching specific YouTube videos, as well as some of the most viral videos of all time to inspire you: 

90. The most popular YouTube gaming channel is “Fernanfloo” with 44.3 million subscribers. (Statista)
91. Each minute, 694,000 hours of video are streamed on YouTube. (Statista) 
92. In 2020, people watched 100 billion hours of gaming on YouTube. (Washington Post)
93. Gangnam Style, by the South Korean artist PSY, was the first video to reach one billion views. (Business of Apps)
94. ⅔’s of popular videos on YouTube are in a language other than English. (Pew Research)
95. The fastest viral video to reach 1 billion YouTube streams was “Adele – Hello”, which took only 87 days. (Statista)

96. Younger generations prefer to watch shorter YouTube videos like webisodes, tutorials, and video clips. (Think With Google)
97. YouTube is the most common way to watch videos, and subscription VOD is the second. (Think With Google)
98. 70% of viewers worldwide say their mood dictates their content choice, including on YouTube. (Think With Google)
99. The biggest reason people watch videos on YouTube is to relax and rewind. (Think With Google)
100. YouTube videos with #withme in the title were viewed over 2 billion times in 2020. (Google Trends Report)
101.  In 2020, 51% of people watched a podcast recording on YouTube. (Google Trends Report)

YouTube Channel Statistics

There are over 51 million channels on YouTube today, and some of them have millions of subscribers. 

Since YouTubers are getting paid from $0.5 to $6 per 1,000 views, increasing your subscriber count can increase your chances of making money on YouTube. 

Find out how YouTube channels are performing and how you can use the most popular channels on YouTube to inspire your content creation: 

102. As of 2022, there are 51 million YouTube channels created. (Tubics)
103. The channel with the highest number of subscribers worldwide is “T-series,” with 220 million subscribers. (Playboard)
104. And the channel with the most subscribers in the United States is “Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes” with 132 million subscribers. (Playboard)
105. There are over 65,000 YouTube channels with 250,000 subscribers. (Tubics)
106. The most subscribed beauty and style channel is “Jefreestar” with 16.1 million subscribers. (Statista)

107.  Mr. Beast is the top-earning YouTuber worldwide. (Statista)
108. And Mr. Beast also had the highest YouTube subscriber growth worldwide with a 43.2% growth rate in 2021. (Playboard)
109. The most popular YouTube partner channel in the United States is “Warner Music @ YouTube” with 35.3 million unique U.S. viewers. (Statista)
110. The most viewed YouTube channel worldwide is “T-series” with 187.11 billion views. (Playboard)
111. And the channel with the most YouTube views in the United States is “Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes” with 126.08 billion views. (Playboard)
112. YouTubers get paid from $0.5 to $6 per 1,000 views. (Render Forest)

How to Grow Your YouTube Audience

Having a strong YouTube channel starts with building a loyal audience. 

But how do you grow your audience? 

There are some YouTube tools you can use when growing your audience, including: 

• YouTube SEO tools.
• YouTube analytics.
• Marketing tools.
• Live stream tools.

And what are tools without tips? Dive into some best practices for growing your YouTube audience:  

1. Optimize Your Videos

Make your video show up as a Google search result by optimizing your videos with keywords and YouTube SEO. 

Search for keywords to find ideas for videos that people are searching for and include them in: 

• Video titles.
• Video description.
• Thumbnails.
• Your video.

And then engage with your audience in the comments section to increase your chances of ranking. 

2. Engage With The Community

Your audience also wants to feel your presence online and connect with you. Engaging with them is key. 

Interact with your community by: 

• Asking questions at the end of videos.
• Answering comments.
• Hosting Q&As.
• Sharing subscribers’ comments.

This way, your audience will feel more connected and want to recommend your videos to other YouTube users. 

3. Promote Your Videos

One other way to grow your audience on YouTube is by promoting your videos on other platforms or on YouTube itself. 

Promote your videos on other platforms by: 

• Linking to your channel on your profile description.
• Adding links to your videos on your Instagram stories.
• Automatically sharing your YouTube videos on Facebook.
• Posting teasers of your videos on other platforms.

And you can still promote your videos on your own content on YouTube by: 

• Directing people to your past videos on the end screen.
• Adding in-stream video suggestions.
• Creating video playlists.
• Adding links to your related videos in the description.

4. Create Custom Thumbnails

Make people click on your videos by creating custom thumbnails that overlay on your YouTube video. 

When you create eye-catching thumbnails that tie to your brand, you can increase the chances of people clicking on them, since they give a quick snapshot of what your video is about. 

Your custom thumbnail should: 

• Include faces.
• Have clear branding.
• Use strong colors.
• Add descriptive text.
• Insert arrows and circles.

To make the process even faster, you can create thumbnail templates so you can easily change the text and add the photos. 

Click here to watch the video -> youtube.com/watch?v=VPUdSPmRttc

5. Run Giveaways and Contests

Running YouTube giveaways and contests can be another good way of growing your audience, and YouTube users love it. 

Giveaways and contests will let viewers interact with you and other users and get a chance to win something special. 

Plus, you’ll be able to reach a bigger audience. 

For example, you can create a giveaway only for subscribers to your channel that comment the answer to your question, and share the giveaway link with others.  

This way, the giveaways and contests can: 

• Get you more subscribers.
• Increase engagement.
• Promote your content.

And in return, your subscribers will be able to get goodies, such as your merch or a ticket to your exclusive event. 

But remember to follow YouTube’s contest guidelines. 

6. Start Live Streaming

As we’ve seen, live streaming has become very popular — especially on YouTube. Hosting a video live stream can also help you grow your audience. 

Start live streaming often, and be creative with your content. You can live stream… 

• Q&A sessions.
• Gaming.
• Sports commentary.
• Workouts.
• Video reactions.

…and by doing so, people will get to watch your content and likely want to subscribe. 

You can also have a streaming schedule where you will go live every week, so your viewers can expect when to watch your live streams. 

7. Collaborate with Creators

If you want to reach a similar audience to yours, you can plan collaborations with other creators in your niche. 

Connect with other creators and plan videos you can do together. Then you can post on each of your channels and recommend viewers to watch the collab videos. 

Here are some video ideas you can collaborate on with other creators: 

• Challenges.
• Sketches.
• Q&As
• Giveaways.
• How-to and DIYs.

This way, you’ll be exposed to a new audience that might want to subscribe to you since you’re collaborating with a creator they already know. 

Wrapping This Up

There you go: Over 100 YouTube statistics you can use to grow your audience and create killer content.

Again, if you want to grow your YouTube audience, here’s how to do it:

Use these tips and our statistics to build a better content strategy and you might even become one of YouTube’s impressive statistics.    

Better yet, you might even start making money as a content creator. 

It’s simple with Uscreen.

Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.

Start Free Trial