As the largest streaming video website in the world, YouTube is now used by over 2 billion internet users every month – that’s around one-third of all people currently using the internet. We all cannot miss the opportunity to grow our business with YouTube.

Here I’ve compiled the latest and most up-to-date YouTube statistics to give you the current state of YouTube, what its users are doing on the social media platform, and how they are using it.

#1. YouTube Has Over 2 Billion Monthly Logged-In Users

That’s not quite as large an audience as Facebook’s 2.89 billion monthly active users.

But keep in mind that it’s possible to watch YouTube content without ever creating an account, so the “logged-in monthly users” number likely underreports the actual number of people watching YouTube content each month.

#2. YouTube Is the Second-Most Popular Search Engine After Google

YouTube processes more than 3 billion searches a month. 500+ hours of video are uploaded every minute. It’s bigger than Bing, Yahoo!, Ask and AOL combined.

This goes to show just how important YouTube SEO is, because yes, this video platform is absolutely a video and information search tool.

#3. Approximately 22,000 YouTube Channels Have More Than 1 Million Subscribers as of November 2020

There are over 37 million channels on the platform. The latest YouTube subscriber stats from November 2020 point to approximately 22,000 channels having over 1 million subscribers. Since 2016, on every fourth day, one channel reaches 1 million subscribers. During 2019, the number increased by 65%. Nowadays, about 700 of these channels have over 10 million subscribers. Close to half are the US channels.

#4. YouTube Is Blocked in 9 Countries

Some countries have partial restrictions on YouTube services, meaning specific channels are banned or videos removed. YouTube statistics by country show that for residents of China, Iran, Turkmenistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Syria, North Korea, and Eritrea, YouTube is completely blocked. The reasons vary, but it’s usually about censorship.

However, you can use a VPN to unblock YouTube in these countries.

#5. 500+ Hours of Content Uploaded Every Minute

That’s 30,000 hours of video uploaded every hour. And 720,000 hours of video uploaded every day to YouTube. To put this into perspective, it would take you close to 82 years to watch the amount of videos uploaded to YouTube in only an hour. That’s a lifetime of watching YouTube videos. 

#6. YouTube Viewers Watch 1B+ Hours of Video Content Every Day

This staggering statistic shows just how much time viewers spend on YouTube each day. Watch time has risen year on year alongside the average video length. The average video on YouTube this year is over 10 minutes long.

#7. Over 90,000 YouTube Videos Are Viewed Per Second

With such an extensive database of content and given the massive number of YouTube users, it shouldn’t be a surprise that over 90,000 videos are watched per second.

#8. Top Trending Videos Are Now 9.5X Longer

There’s been a clear shift towards longer-form videos on YouTube over the last decade or so. In 2019, the average video was 9.5X longer than in 2010. Longer videos increase watch time and allow creators to fit more ads into a single video, thus generating more revenue.

#9. AI-Based Algorithms Account for 70% Of YouTube Views

Aided by Google’s AI arm, Google Brain, YouTube recommends over 200 million different videos to its users, helping them discover content they didn’t know existed. YouTube account stats show by analysis of each user’s personal history, these recommendations are continuously improving and account for 70% of all viewership. They are also nudging viewers to spend more time on the platform.

#10. Most-viewed YouTube Channels 2021 By Monthly Views

In May 2021, the ranking of most popular YouTube channels based on monthly views is dominated by music and children’s content. Zee Kids was ranked first with roughly 3.34 billion channel views. AAAjoken toys was ranked second with 3.19 billion views.

#11. Most-viewed YouTube Channels of All Time

As of May 2021, T-Series had reached almost 155.27 billion lifetime video views, making the most viewed YouTube channel owner of all time. This was followed Cocomelon – Nursery Rhymes whose channel was viewed 102.41 billion times. Ryan’s World, which was the most viewed channel until summer 2020, had roughly 47.23 billion views in the period of consideration. Ryan has been uploading YouTube videos since March 2015, and mainly features in videos where he is playing with and reviews toys “for kids, by a kid”.

#12. What Is the Most Subscribed Channel On YouTube?

T-Series is the most subscribed channel on YouTube, with 191 million subscribers as of August 2021.

#13. What Is the Most-Watched Video On YouTube?

“Baby Shark Dance” by Pinkfong Kids’ Songs & Stories is the most-watched video on YouTube. It has received over 9.23 billion views since 2016.

#14. Three Out of 10 Fastest Viral Videos On YouTube Are By The South Korean Group BTS

Reflecting the immense popularity of K-pop worldwide, the South Korean group BTS leads the list of the fastest viral videos on YouTube, based on the number of views within 24 hours of upload. BTS’s song “Butter” got 108.2 million views in that period, “Dynamite” 101.1 million, and “Boy with Luv” 74.6 million.

#15. Nearly 4,500 Qualifying Brands Activated Sponsored Videos On YouTube in 2020

Brands included in this data were confirmed to use proper FTC disclosure of advertisement, ad or sponsored in their influencer videos.

#16. 74% Of US Adults Use YouTube

A recent study by Pew Research Center found that almost three quarters of US adults use YouTube. Further, 72% consider it an important way of following the news. For contrast, that’s higher penetration than Facebook which is used by 66 percent of US adults.

#17. YouTube Generated $6.89 Billion in Ad Revenue in 2020

YouTube is now a giant ad revenue machine, thanks in no small part to Google Adsense incorporated into videos and YouTube’s use of autoplay. The 2020 total was up 46 percent over the previous year, a total of $6.89 billion in profit.