YouTube stats: How many people use YouTube?
YouTube was officially founded on February 14th, 2005. The first video was posted on April 23rd, with co-founder Jawed Karim publishing “Me at the zoo”. The now-legendary 18 seconds of the film have been viewed over 372 million times.
With over 2.58 billion active users, the platform has come a long way. In fact, 42.8% of all global internet users access YouTube regularly.
This article is a one-stop shop for a variety of YouTube demographic and usage statistics.
Here’s a summary of what you’ll learn:
YouTube statistics (Top picks)
- YouTube currently has 2.58 billion users. Up from 2 billion users in 2019.
- 42.8% of all global internet users access YouTube monthly.
- YouTube ranks fourth on the list of most-used social media platforms. Only Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram have more users.
- India has the most YouTube users, estimated at 500 million. The United States follows, with 254 million.
- Globally, more men than women use YouTube.
- On average, individual creators receive between $1.61 to $29.3 per 1,000 views.
YouTube active users
According to the latest data, YouTube has 2.58 billion active users as of October 2025. Among these, there are more than 125 million paid subscribers, taking into account YouTube’s Premium and Music services.
Nearly half (42.8%) of internet users worldwide access YouTube.
Sources: DataReportal, YouTube
YouTube user growth
YouTube currently has 2.58 billion users. This means close to half of the global online population is a YouTube user. So how did the video-sharing platform get to this point?
There isn’t any official consolidated data on YouTube’s user growth rate over time, but we can get a reasonable idea by pulling various sources together. Here are some milestones in terms of YouTube’s user growth.
| Year | Active users |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 20 million |
| 2008 | 160 million |
| 2012 | 800 million |
| 2013 | 1 billion |
| 2014 | 1.3 billion |
| 2019 | 2 billion |
| 2021 | 2.29 billion |
| 2022 | 2.52 billion |
| 2023 | 2.53 billion |
| 2024 | 2.5 billion |
| 2025 | 2.54 billion |
| 2026 | 2.58 billion |
YouTube currently ranks as the 2nd most-visited website worldwide. The only website to receive more traffic is that of its parent company, Google.
Sources: DataReportal, Semrush, The New York Times, The New Yorker, CNBC, The Mercury News, CNET
YouTube users by country
YouTube is localized in over 100 countries. It can also be used in 80 different languages. Clearly, the video-sharing platform has become a truly global phenomenon. But how do usage statistics break down by country?
India has the largest YouTube audience. At least 500 million people living in India are YouTube users. The USA comes in second.
Here are the top ten countries by total estimated number of YouTube users:
| Country | YouTube Users |
|---|---|
| India | 500 million |
| USA | 254 million |
| Indonesia | 151 million |
| Brazil | 150 million |
| Mexico | 85 million |
| Japan | 78.5 million |
| Germany | 64.7 million |
| Vietnam | 62.1 million |
| Philippines | 59.6 million |
| Turkey | 57.9 million |
| UK | 55.5 million |
| Pakistan | 54.3 million |
| France | 51.5 million |
| Bangladesh | 49.8 million |
| Egypt | 49.3 million |
| Thailand | 47.2 million |
| South Korea | 42.9 million |
| Italy | 41.2 million |
| Spain | 39 million |
| Canada | 33 million |
Sources: YouTube, DataReportal
Ranked 4th: Most used social media platforms worldwide
In 2025, YouTube is ranked third amongst all global social media platforms. Sorted by the number of active users, it is beaten only by Facebook and WhatsApp.
For context, there are just shy of 5.41 billion active social media users globally. So YouTube is one of just three platforms that can claim to have captured at least a 50% share of all social media users.
| Platform | Users |
|---|---|
| 3.07 billion | |
| 3 billion | |
| 3 billion | |
| YouTube | 2.58 billion |
| TikTok | 1.99 billion |
| 1.41 billion | |
| Telegram | 1 billion |
| Facebook Messenger | 942 million |
| Snapchat | 932 million |
| 765 million | |
| Douyin | 728 million |
| Kuaishou | 715 million |
| 588 million | |
| 578 million | |
| X | 557 million |
| 532 million |
Source: DataReportal
YouTube user demographics
Given that YouTube has 2.58 billion users, it can be safely said that people from a whole range of demographics use the site. But user breakdowns can give an idea of the groups of society where YouTube is the most popular.
YouTube gender demographics
53% of all adult YouTube users are male, while the remaining 47% are female.
Any content creators without a specifically gendered target market should therefore be looking to make videos with a relatively even male/female viewer split in mind.
Source: DataReportal
YouTube age demographics
More than half (50.6%) of YouTube users are Gen Z and Millennials (born between 1981 and 2012). Only 15% of US YouTube users are Baby Boomers (1946-1964).
Here’s a detailed breakdown of US users by generation:
| Generation | Share of US YouTube users |
|---|---|
| Gen Z (1997-2012) | 25.1% |
| Millennials (1981-1996) | 25.5% |
| Gen X (1965-1980) | 19.9% |
| Baby Boomers (1946-1964) | 15.0% |
| Other | 14.5% |
Globally, around 56% of YouTube users are aged between 18 and 34 years old.
| Age group | Share of global YouTube users |
|---|---|
| 18-24 | 15.8% |
| 25-34 | 21.7% |
| 35-44 | 18.5% |
| 45-54 | 14% |
| 55-64 | 9.9% |
| 65+ | 9.5% |
Sources: eMarketer, DataReportal
YouTube location demographics
US adults living in suburban areas are more likely to use YouTube. 84% of those in suburbia are YouTube users, dropping to 85% in urban and 81% in rural locations.
Sorted by country, India has the most YouTube users. The USA follows, with Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico next.
Sources: Pew Research Center, DataReportal
YouTube income demographics
In the USA, YouTube is most popular among high earners. 90% of those earning $100,000 or more say that they sometimes visit YouTube.
Among Americans with an income of $70,000-$99,999 income, 87% are YouTube users, dropping to 79% among US adults with an income of between $30,000 and $69,999. That figure drops again for those earning under $30k, with 78% of this group using YouTube.
Source: Pew Research Center
YouTube user education level data
These statistics reveal a correlation between YouTube usage in the USA and higher levels of education.
79% of adults with a high school education or less use the video-sharing platform. This rises to 87% for those with some college education. Among those with more than a college education, 90% use YouTube.
Source: Pew Research Center
YouTube usage by device
In YouTube’s early days, PCs and laptops were the only real viewing options. But the digital landscape has changed hugely since 2005. Smartphones and smart TVs have altered how people interact with the world – and with YouTube specifically.
The YouTube mobile app has over 10 billion downloads on the Google Play Store. It is therefore unsurprising that 63% of all views on YouTube come from mobile devices.
To put it in perspective, desktop computers accounted for only 12% of YouTube views.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of global YouTube views by device in Q2 2021:
| Device | Share of YouTube video views |
|---|---|
| Mobile | 63% |
| Connected TV/other | 14% |
| Desktop | 12% |
| Tablet | 8% |
| Console | 3% |
According to another more recent report, mobile devices accounted for 69% of YouTube’s total viewership, with only 16% of views coming from TV in 2025 to date.
Sources: eMarketer, Google Play, Tubular Labs
Most-subscribed YouTube channels
MrBeast is the most-subscribed YouTube channel with 473 million subscribers to date.
Here is the top 10:
And here are the exact subscriber numbers:
| Channel | Subscribers |
|---|---|
| MrBeast | 473 million |
| T-Series | 311 million |
| CocoMelon – Nursery Rhymes | 200 million |
| SET India | 188 million |
| Vlad and Niki | 149 million |
| Kids Diana Show | 138 million |
| Stokes Twins | 138 million |
| Like Nastya | 132 million |
| 김프로KIMPRO | 131 million |
| Zee Music Company | 122 million |
Source: SocialBlade
Most-viewed YouTube videos
Baby Shark Dance is the most viewed YouTube video of all time, reaching over 16.22 billion hits.
The top 10 is dominated by music. It looks like this:
| Video | Views |
|---|---|
| Baby Shark Dance (music, kids) | 16.22 billion |
| Despacito (music) | 8.81 billion |
| Wheels on the Bus (music, kids) | 7.93 billion |
| Bath Song (music, kids) | 7.22 billion |
| Johny Johny Yes Papa (music, kids) | 7.1 billion |
| See You Again (music) | 6.78 billion |
| Phonic Song with Two Words (music, kids) | 6.68 billion |
| Shape of You (music) | 6.55 billion |
| Gangnam Style (music) | 5.69 billion |
| Uptown Funk (music) | 5.65 billion |
Source: Statista
YouTube by the money
In November 2006, Google purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock. At the time, this was considered a hugely risky investment. Now, it earns nearly 5x this in ad revenue – quarterly.
YouTube advertising revenue amounted to $18.72 billion in the first six months of 2025, a 11.6% year-on-year increase.
YouTube’s ads accounted for a 10.03% share of Alphabet’s overall revenue in the first six months of 2025.
These figures don’t even include money from subscriptions. YouTube hit 125 million Music and Premium subscribers worldwide. A monthly individual subscription for YouTube Premium in the US costs $13.99.
Creators who are a part of the Partner Program on YouTube are paid 55% of advertising revenue, and YouTube takes a 45% cut. Actual earnings among YouTube creators vary significantly, depending on factors such as engagement rate, but as a rough average, channel owners can earn between $1.61 and $29.30 for every 1,000 video views.
Sources: Investopedia, YouTube, TechCrunch, Business Insider
Turn YouTube’s reach into search visibility
You made it! That’s the end of our YouTube user statistics.
These numbers highlight just how significant YouTube is, but understanding its audience is only part of the picture. If you want to turn video content into greater search visibility, the next step is learning how to optimize your videos for both YouTube and search engines.
Continue exploring these guides from Search Engine Land:
- YouTube for SEO: Boost rankings with video content: Learn how to optimize your YouTube videos and channel, align YouTube and Google keyword research, and use video to drive traffic and strengthen your search visibility.
- How to dominate video-driven SERPs: Learn how video search is evolving across Google and other platforms, and discover practical ways to optimize videos for greater visibility in search results, including video SERP features and AI-powered search.
Explore more on
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