YouTube remains one of the most popular social media platforms, giving users access to billions of videos in just a few clicks. As of 2026, YouTube has around 2.7 billion monthly active users worldwide and continues to rank among the most visited websites on the internet. Users collectively watch over 1 billion hours of content every day, making YouTube central to how people learn, entertain themselves and discover products globally.
In this guide, we’ll look at YouTube Statistics 2026 to understand its impact worldwide, covering YouTube’s revenue, audience size, usage statistics, Shorts, channels, and more.
Top YouTube Statistics 2026
- There are over 2.7 billion active users on YouTube in 2026.?
- More than 122 million users visit YouTube every day.?
- Users watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube content daily.
- Over 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.?
- Mobile devices account for more than 69–70% of total watch time.
- YouTube Shorts now generates over 200 billion daily views worldwide (up from ~70 billion per day in 2024).?
- YouTube Premium and Music together have more than 125 million paid subscribers globally as of early 2025, and continue to grow into 2026.?
- India remains the leading country with the highest number of YouTube users (around 491 million).
- The United States follows with about 253 million YouTube users.
- YouTube remains the second most visited website globally, behind Google, and among the top social platforms by users.
- Around 53% of YouTube users are male and 47% are female globally.?
- Users aged 25–34 remain the largest age group on YouTube, accounting for roughly 21–22% of the audience.
- MrBeast is the most subscribed YouTube channel in the world in 2026 with about 468–469 million subscribers.
YouTube Overview
| Release Date | February 14, 2005 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/ |
| Headquarters | San Bruno, California, United States |
| Founders | Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim |
| Parent organization | Alphabet Inc. |
| Industry | Online video sharing and social media platform |
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YouTube Monthly Active Users
In 2026, YouTube has roughly 2.7 billion monthly active users worldwide, maintaining its position as one of the largest social platforms on the planet. This means that close to half of global internet users access YouTube monthly, and YouTube continues to operate in “mature mega-scale” rather than hyper-growth mode.
Growth has slowed compared to earlier years, but YouTube’s massive base is stable and still inching upward. Below is an updated table you can use (adjusting your existing one) to reflect the latest trajectory.
Below we have mentioned a table showcasing monthly active users on YouTube from 2010 to 2023:
| Year | YouTube Monthly Active Users |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 200 million |
| 2011 | 500 million |
| 2012 | 700 million |
| 2013 | 1 billion |
| 2014 | 1.1 billion |
| 2015 | 1.3 billion |
| 2016 | 1.5 billion |
| 2017 | 1.6 billion |
| 2018 | 1.8 billion |
| 2019 | 2.0 billion |
| 2020 | 2.3 billion |
| 2021 | 2.5 billion |
| 2022 | 2.6–2.68 billion |
| 2023 | 2.68–2.70 billion |
| 2024 | ~2.70 billion |
| 2025 | ~2.53–2.6+ billion ad?reachable users |
| 2026 | ~2.70 billion |
YouTube Audience Size worldwide based on countries
India continues to be the country with the highest number of YouTube users, with an estimated 491 million users in 2025–2026. The United States remains second with about 253 million users, followed by Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico.
Below we have mentioned a table showcasing countries with the most YouTube users:
| Country | Audience Size (YouTube users, 2025) | Penetration 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| India | 491M | 33.7% |
| United States | 253M | 73.0% |
| Brazil | 144M | 67.8% |
| Indonesia | 143M | 50.2% |
| Mexico | 83.6M | 63.6% |
| Japan | 78.7M | 63.8% |
| Germany | 65.5M | 77.6% |
| Vietnam | 62.3M | 61.5% |
| Philippines | 57.7M | 49.6% |
| Turkey | 57.5M | 65.7% |
| Pakistan | 55.9M | 22.1% |
| United Kingdom | 54.8M | 79.0% |
| Egypt | 50.7M | 43.1% |
| France | 50.4M | 75.7% |
| Thailand | 47.6M | 66.4% |
| Bangladesh | 44.6M | 57.4% |
| South Korea | 43.4M | 84.0% |
| Italy | 42.2M | 71.2% |
| Spain | 39.7M | 82.9% |
| Canada | 31.7M | 79.4% |
Source: Statista
YouTube Penetration Statistics
In 2026, India leads in absolute number of users, but several smaller markets lead in penetration rate (share of population using YouTube). Countries like Singapore, Netherlands, Austria, Spain, South Korea and others now post some of the highest penetration levels, often above 80% of their population.
Below we have mentioned a table showcasing the top countries with the highest YouTube Penetration rate:
| Country | YouTube Penetration (2025) |
|---|---|
| Singapore | 88.2% |
| Netherlands | 80.9% |
| Sweden | 81.4% |
| Austria | 84.0% |
| Spain | 82.9% |
| Hong Kong | 83.1% |
| Australia | 80.2% |
| Canada | 79.4% |
| United Kingdom | 79.0% |
| United States | 73.0% |
YouTube is the Second Most Popular Social Media Platform
YouTube is still one of the largest social and content platforms in the world. Most recent datasets and rankings place YouTube:
- As the second most visited website globally, behind Google.?
- Among the top two or three social platforms by active users, alongside Facebook and WhatsApp.
- As the most?used mobile app worldwide in some rankings, when measured by time spent.
| Social Media Platform | Monthly Active Users |
| 3 billion | |
| YouTube | 2.7 billion |
| 2.4 billion | |
| 2.4 billion | |
| TikTok | 1.6 billion |
| 1 billion | |
| 0.85 billion | |
| SnapChat | 0.8 billion |
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YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscribers worldwide
As of March 2025, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music together surpassed 125 million paid subscribers globally. This figure has grown from about 30 million in 2020 to 50 million in 2021, 80 million in 2022 and 100 million by early 2024.
Below we have mentioned a table showcasing YouTube music and YouTube premium subscribers worldwide from 2020 to 2024:
| Year / Month | Number of Subscribers |
|---|---|
| October 2020 | 30 million |
| September 2021 | 50 million |
| November 2022 | 80 million |
| February 2024 | 100 million |
| March 2025 | 125 million |
Source: Statista
YouTube global audience by Gender
When it comes to the distribution of YouTube’s global audience, the platform is majorly dominated by Males with approximately 53% of male users accessing YouTube. In comparison, there are 45.6% of female users accessing the popular social media platform.
| Gender | Number of users |
| Male | 53% |
| Female | 47% |
Source: Statista
YouTube users worldwide by Age group and Gender
Statista and DataReportal data confirm that 25–34?year?olds remain the largest YouTube age segment globally, accounting for roughly 21–22% of users. Younger cohorts (18–24) and 35–44 follow closely, underscoring YouTube’s strength with working?age, mobile?first adults.
Below we have mentioned a table showcasing YouTube users worldwide by Age group and Gender:
| Age Group | Male | Female |
| 18 to 24 | 9% | 6.5% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.2% | 9.1% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.6% | 7.9% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.7% | 5.8% |
| 55 to 64 | 4.6% | 4.6% |
| Over 65 | 4.3% | 4.9% |
Source: Statista
Here is the overview of global YouTube users based on their age group
| Age Group | Share of Users |
| 18 to 24 | 15.5% |
| 25 to 34 | 21.3% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.5% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.2% |
| Over 65 | 9.2% |
YouTube Usage Statistics
- 60% of Gen Z users utilize YouTube to find more content about a show or movie.
Gen Z is using YouTube to learn more about their favorite television shows and movies that they have recently watched. YouTube channels help connect users with fan-centric creators through which they can share their thoughts and ideas.
- Over 1 billion hours of YouTube content is being consumed by the YouTube audience on a daily basis.
YouTube is the second most popular social media platform worldwide with over 2.70 billion active users in 2024. The video-sharing platform is consumed by users on a large scale every day with users constantly looking for new engaging content for a variety of purposes such as entertainment, solutions, new products, etc.
- Over 30 billion views are received through YouTube Shorts every day.
The short-form video content has gained massive popularity among the audience. Today, YouTube shorts receive billions of views every day and more and more users are investing in short-form content to attract more audience through both organic and paid marketing strategies.
- In the United States, 62% of the internet users access YouTube every day
A large section of Internet users in the United States accessing the video-sharing platform on a daily basis consume YouTube content.
- Over 250 million hours of YouTube content is being watched on the television screen by users on a daily basis.
YouTube is witnessing excellent growth in its viewership and one of the top reasons behind it is its ability to access numerous content in a variety of different sources. Today, users can access YouTube content from various devices such as Smartphones, Tablets, Desktops, Televisions, etc. Currently, over 250 million hours of YouTube content is being watched by users every single day which is higher in comparison to the previous year’s number which was 180 million hours.
- 70% of Americans access YouTube via their smartphones.
Regardless of Television screens being the rising format of YouTube consumption, smartphones are still the most preferred device when it comes to accessing YouTube content. As of March 2023, 70% of Americans reported using smartphones to watch YouTube videos while 59% of users claimed accessing Smart TV for watching a video.
YouTube Revenue Statistics
YouTube has transitioned from a fast?growing side business to a $60+ billion annual revenue machine. Industry analysis and Alphabet disclosures show that YouTube generated about $60 billion in total revenue in 2025, of which roughly $40.35 billion came from advertising alone.
Below we have mentioned an overview of YouTube’s Annual Revenue from 2010 to 2023:
| Year | Revenue (USD, billions) |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.8 |
| 2011 | 1.3 |
| 2012 | 1.7 |
| 2013 | 3.1 |
| 2014 | 4.2 |
| 2015 | 5.5 |
| 2016 | 6.7 |
| 2017 | 8.1 |
| 2018 | 11.1 |
| 2019 | 15.1 |
| 2020 | 19.7 |
| 2021 | 28.8 |
| 2022 | 29.2 |
| 2023 | 31.5 |
| 2024 | 36.1 (ad revenue; total business revenue higher) |
YouTube advertising revenues worldwide
The global advertising revenue of YouTube accounted for 31.51 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. The numbers witnessed a growth of 8% compared to the previous year which accounted for 29.2 billion in revenue.
Below we have mentioned a table showcasing the worldwide advertising revenues of YouTube from 2017 to 2024:
| Year | Advertising Revenue (USD, millions) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 8,150 |
| 2018 | 11,155 |
| 2019 | 15,149 |
| 2020 | 19,772 |
| 2021 | 28,845 |
| 2022 | 29,243 |
| 2023 | 31,510 |
| 2024 | ~36,100 |
Source: Statista
YouTube Shorts Statistics
YouTube Shorts has gone from experiment to core product. In 2020, Shorts launched with 60?second vertical video; by February 2024 Shorts was already generating about 70 billion daily views. By 2026, Shorts has surpassed 200 billion daily views, roughly tripling its daily views in under two years.
Below we have mentioned a table showcasing YouTube shorts’ daily view count from 2021 to 2026:
| Year / Month | YouTube Shorts Daily Views |
|---|---|
| June 2021 | 30 billion |
| February 2022 | 50 billion |
| October 2023 | 70 billion |
| Early 2026 | 200+ billion |
- 70% of the YouTube shorts are more than 15 seconds long.
- There are over 2.3 billion monthly active users in YouTube shorts.
- The average duration length of a YouTube Short is between 20 seconds and 40 seconds.
- Age groups 25 to 34 years make the highest YouTube short viewers with 21.3%.
- Men make up 54.4% of YouTube short viewers, while women’s audience is slightly low at 46.6%.
YouTube Channel Statistics
MrBeast is now the most?subscribed channel in the world, with around 468–469 million subscribers as of early 2026.?
T?Series is second, with roughly 310 million subscribers.?
Several kids and family channels like Cocomelon, Vlad and Niki, Kids Diana Show, and Like Nastya remain in the global top 10.
Below we have mentioned a table showcasing the top 10 most-subscribed YouTube channels in the world:
| Rank | Channel | Subscribers (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MrBeast | 468 |
| 2 | T?Series | 310 |
| 3 | Cocomelon | 200 |
| 4 | SET India | 188 |
| 5 | Vlad and Niki | 149 |
| 6 | Kids Diana Show | 138 |
| 7 | Stokes Twins | 137 |
| 8 | Like Nastya | 131 |
| 9 | ???KIMPRO | 128 |
| 10 | Zee Music Company | 122 |
Here are some additional statistics on YouTube Channel:
- There are ~114 million channels on YouTube in 2026.?
- Roughly 32k+ channels have at least 1 million subscribers.?
- Indian media and music channels (T?Series, SET India, Zee Music Company) remain heavily represented at the top.
Wrapping Up
From these 2026 statistics, it’s clear that YouTube remains a massive, mature and still?growing video platform. With roughly 2.7 billion monthly active users, more than 1 billion hours watched daily, and 200+ billion Shorts views per day, YouTube continues to shape how people consume video worldwide. At the same time, revenue has scaled beyond $60 billion annually, and the creator economy has deepened, with over 113 million channels and MrBeast now leading the subscriber charts.
