YouTube is still the number one video-sharing site and social media site in the world, as of 2025. Billions of users and creators are on YouTube, and it’s not only a platform to watch videos; it is a complete business ecosystem for creators and brands alike.
From monetizing functions, sponsorships, and YouTube shopping, creators and brands are utilizing the platform to earn money, influence, and connect. Here are the creator statistics to know on YouTube this year
YouTube is still the number one social media platform, with a massive amount of content that is growing, with subscriber services that are expanding, and advertising success that is increasing around the world, according to Descript.
The average YouTube video is around 11.7 minutes long, essentially achieving a balance between watch time and engagement.
There are more than 800 million videos uploaded to the platform, which is fairly close to 800 million topics for video representation.
Average views on a YouTube video are 5,594, yet there can be thousands of variations dependent on category and overall content quality.
The most streamed video in YouTube history ‘Baby Shark Dance’ demonstrates the expansion of entertaining children's viral content.
The longest video ever uploaded to YouTube was 596 hours, again, showing the lengths of extreme content YouTube can host.
The fastest viral video to gain views gained 400 million views in less than 24 hours.
YouTube began its journey with the first video, "Me at the zoo," uploaded in April 2005.
YouTube was a significant contributor to the overall growth of Alphabet’s Q1 2025, with the service growing ad revenue by 10.4% and over 270 million paid subscriptions, illustrating the importance of the service even further to revenue.
YouTube had $8.93 billion in ad revenue in Q1 2025, a 10.4% year-over-year increase.
This growth in ad revenue should be viewed against YouTube's continued growth as a significant contributor to total ad revenue for Alphabet.
YouTube's ad revenue is considered a part of the larger Google Services segment of Alphabet, emphasizing the importance of ad revenue to its core business.
Alphabet announced it has over 270 million paid subscriptions across its services, which YouTube contributed to.
The paid subscription numbers include YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, YouTube TV, NFL Sunday Ticket, and Google One.
These increased totals reflect YouTube's continued commitment to developing other recurring revenue streams outside of advertising revenue.
YouTube was a significant contributor to Alphabet's year-over-year revenue growth which was at 12% in Q1 2025.
Alongside Google Search and Google Cloud, YouTube represented a key source of revenue making up a total of $90.23 billion in revenue for the quarter.
The advertising and subscription success of YouTube reinforces its strategic importance and value to Alphabet in terms of future revenue.
Datareportal states that YouTube has the largest share of social media usage across the globe in 2025, with the highest global users, ad reach, and engagement around the world.
YouTube has 16% more active users than WhatsApp. Facebook has 82% of users as YouTube. TikTok has less than half the users of YouTube.
YouTube has the largest advertising audience for social media, 2.53 billion people, 11% more than Facebook.
YouTube has the largest global social media user base, and users spend almost twice as long on YouTube compared to TikTok and Instagram, which accounts for 42.5% of the time that YouTube users spend.
Approx 1.1% of YouTube users are unique to YouTube, meaning that the vast majority of YouTube users are also regularly engaged with other social media sites.
YouTube’s audience mainly consists of men aged 25 to 34, the largest group. Among users over 65, women slightly outnumber men in platform reach.
YouTube's largest country audience is India, nearly half a billion.
YouTube is a global entertainment leader in 2025, where creators and brands compete for subscribers. Top channels include stunts, kids’ shows, and Bollywood music, with MrBeast leading, known for his viral challenges, says Epidemic Sound.
Here is the list of the 10 Most-Subscribed YouTube Channels as of 2025.
| Rank | Channel Name | Country | Subscribers (Millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | MrBeast | US | 423 |
| $2 | T-Series | India | 301 |
| $3 | Cocomelon | US | 196 |
| 4 | SET India | India | 186 |
| 5 | Vlad and Niki | Russia | 143 |
| 6 | Kids Diana Show | Ukraine / US | 136 |
| 7 | Stokes Twins | US | 130 |
| 8 | Like Nastya | Russia / US | 129 |
| 9 | Zee Music Company | India | 120 |
| 10 | 김프로KIMPRO | South Korea | 116 |
The Business of Apps has stated that YouTube continues to be a larger video-sharing platform than ever, with 2.74 billion monthly active users in 2024 and millions of other users who engage with content in other formats, such as YouTube Shorts.
In 2024, YouTube had 2.74 billion monthly active users worldwide, making it one of the most popular apps in the world.
On average, content on YouTube Shorts alone received over 70 billion views per day, showing rapid development for short-form video.
YouTube Premium, which offered ad-free video and music streaming included, saw a total of 125 million users in 2024.
In the U.S., YouTube had 238 million active users in 2024, making it the most-used streaming app in the country.
YouTube generated $36.1 billion in ad revenue in 2024, a 14.6% increase from the previous year.
By all measures, YouTube's reach goes beyond viewing just traditional video, as 500 hours of new content is uploaded every minute.
YouTube is the second most visited website in the world behind Google and Facebook.
They are appealing to content creators and viewers of every genre, with hundreds of channels that have millions of subscribers.
In 2025, the highest number of YouTube users is in India, then the US and UK. There is an even mix of gender and the dominant audience is young adults globally.
India has the most users of YouTube, with approximately 491 million users in the country.
The US follows with approximately 253 million users, and the UK with about 54.8 million users.
YouTube’s global audience is made up of 54% male and 46% female users, showing a fairly balanced user base.
The most active age group on YouTube is between 19 and 25 years old, making up 23.5% of total users.
In the UK, the 25 to 44-year-old age group accounts for 44% of YouTube users, with 24% aged between 16 and 24 years.
According to Forbes, the creator economy is booming in 2025, with top YouTubers like MrBeast and Dhar Mann earning millions and expanding their influence beyond content creation.
Here is the curated list of the 10 richest content creators on YouTube in 2025.
| Rank | Name | Earning($M) | Followers(Mn) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | MrBeast | 85 | 634 |
| $2 | Dhar Mann | 56 | 137 |
| $3 | Jake Paul | 50 | 79 |
| 4 | Rhett & Link | 36 | 33.8 |
| 5 | Alex Cooper | 32 | 15 |
| 6 | Charli D’Amelio | 23.5 | 216 |
| 7 | Matt Rife | 50 | 42 |
| 8 | Mark Rober | 25 | 80 |
| 9 | Druski | 14 | 25 |
| 10 | Khaby Lame | 20 | 258.5 |
Based on insights from LinkedIn, Australia ranks highest for YouTube CPM rates in 2024, with the United States and Canada offering strong opportunities for content creators.
| Rank | Name | CPM Earning($M) |
|---|---|---|
| $1 | Australia | $39.83 |
| $2 | United States | $36.03 |
| $3 | Canada | $32.07 |
| 4 | New Zealand | $30.97 |
| 5 | Switzerland | $25.44 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $23.75 |
| 7 | Norway | $22.19 |
| 8 | Germany | $20.67 |
| 9 | Ireland | $20.02 |
| 10 | Netherlands | $19.55 |
In 2025, YouTube captivated over 2.7 billion monthly users, with The Indian Express highlighting Baby Shark Dance as the first video to surpass 15 billion views globally.
| Rank | Video Name | Channel Name | Views (Bn) | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1 | Baby Shark Dance | Pinkfong Baby Shark | 15 | 17 Jun 2016 |
| $2 | Despacito | Luis Fonsi | 8.7 | 12 Jan 2017 |
| $3 | Wheels on the Bus | CocomelonNurseryRhymes | 7.4 | 24 May 2018 |
| 4 | Bath Song | Cocomelon | 7 | 2 May 2018 |
| 5 | Johny Johny Yes Papa | LooLoo Kids | 7 | 8 Oct 2016 |
| 6 | See You Again | Wiz Khalifa | 6.6 | 6 Apr 2015 |
| 7 | Shape of You | Ed Sheeran | 6.4 | 30 Jan 2017 |
| 8 | Phonics Song with Two Words | ChuChu TV | 6.4 | 6 Mar 2014 |
| 9 | Gangnam Style | PSY | 5.5 | 15 Jul 2012 |
| 10 | Uptown Funk | Mark Ronson | 5.5 | 19 Nov 2014 |
According to Descript, YouTube will remain a top platform in 2025, delivering unmatched reach, strong engagement, and high marketing ROI, making it essential for creators, brands, and advertisers worldwide.
YouTube is the second most visited website in the world and is the dominant force in digital media worldwide.
YouTube is also the third most downloaded entertainment app, which also supports the point above, that it can be found on most mobile devices.
More than 500 hours of video are added every minute into YouTube's extensive content ecosystem and diverse set of creators.
More than 54% of marketers include YouTube as part of their marketing strategy.
Approximately two-thirds (66%) of marketers will increase their investments for YouTube.
Marketers using a full-funnel approach will see a 10% higher return from YouTube as opposed to using YouTube only for awareness campaigns.
From YouTube Premium and YouTube Music, there are more than 80 million paying subscribers.
The kids' app YouTube Kids has been downloaded more than 106 million times worldwide.
These numbers show that YouTube is successful in diversifying its revenues to beyond ad revenue.
Every day, there are more than one billion hours of video watched on YouTube, thanks to its high audience engagement.
On average, US adults spend 46 minutes per day on the platform, making it a daily habit for many.
Around 62% of all users access YouTube daily, demonstrating strong platform loyalty and regular use.
The majority of users in the US (55 percent) preferred videos just a couple of minutes long, indicating a short-form content preference.
Almost 60 percent of Gen Zers are using YouTube for additional content when watching a show or film.
These behaviors illustrate how YouTube satisfies both fast-paced content consumption and allows exploration into content.
With an impressive reach that provides advertisers with access to 2.53 billion potential users, YouTube is undoubtedly one of the world's largest advertising platforms.
Around 59% of users report that YouTube ads are more relevant than TV ads which proves that users are more engaged and better targeted than with traditional TV advertising.
Additionally, viewers are two times as likely to buy a product after viewing it advertised on YouTube. This means that advertisers will have significant power over sales thanks to smart targeting.
YouTube is the second most popular influencer marketing platform behind Instagram.
Nano-influencers on YouTube can expect an average engagement rate of 5.22%, showing the influencer has a solid connection with their audience and wide trust.
An influencer partnership generally ranges from $20 to over $20,000 per video. $20 being the same influencer-level as an Instagram Influencer (above) depending on the creator's reach and influence.
YouTube remains a global leader in video sharing and digital marketing, boasting over 2.5 billion active users and significant ad revenue growth in 2025. The platform’s vast reach, diverse content, and strong engagement make it essential for creators, brands, and audiences alike. YouTube’s influence extends beyond entertainment, driving consumer behavior and business growth worldwide, solidifying its role as a key player in the evolving digital economy.