YouTube User Statistics: How Many People Use YouTube? (Mar 2023)

YouTube is projected to reach 2.8514 billion users in 2023, an increase of almost 2 million compared to the previous year. It is the second most popular social network in the world today.

YouTube was founded in 2005 and was acquired by Google a year later. It has evolved into the world’s largest online video platform. It includes a wide range of video content created by global YouTube users, including how-to videos, educational videos, and more.

With over 500 hours of video content posted to YouTube every minute, YouTube users worldwide watch over one billion hours of video daily, generating a billion views.

YouTube ranks third among the world’s most popular video streaming and entertainment apps, with 154 million downloads from global users in 2022. It also received US $39.15 million in in-app purchase revenues from the United States and US $17.49 million from Japan.

Note: *Number of users was estimated using linear regression analysis.

The table above shows the actual figures of the monthly active users on YouTube from 2010 to 2025. It is anticipated to reach 2.8514 billion users this year and 3.2451 billion by 2025. YouTube had 2 million users in 2010 and now have 2.5 billion users in 2021, a massive 2.3 billion increase in 12 years.

YouTube users reached 2.6 billion in 2022, showing a growth of 1 million users or 4% from the previous year. With a projected 3.2451 billion users in 2025, the expected growth will be 24.81% or over 645 million users.

YouTube’s global ad revenue generated US $29.24 billion in 2022, a slight increase from the previous fiscal period’s US $28.8 billion. At the same time, it accounts for 11.35% of Google’s total revenue from YouTube ads.

With 8.4 billion visits worldwide in 2022, desktop devices generate the most YouTube traffic. 71.66 billion visits are generated by mobile devices. Mobile devices develop more visits when accessing YouTube via the web than desktop devices. In total, 80.06 billion access YouTube every month.

YouTube Premium is expected to reach 128 million subscribers worldwide in 2023, up by 48 million or 60% from the previous year. It is a subscription service where you can enjoy YouTube videos and YouTube music without video ads.

There are anticipated 26.7 million subscribers in the United States in 2023, accounting for 20.85% of the total subscribers globally.

Note: *Number of subscribers was estimated at Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR 40% 2021-2022).

The table above displays the total number of YouTube Premium subscribers worldwide from 2015 to 2023. It is expected to have 128 million subscribers by 2023. YouTube Premium had 1.5 million subscribers in 2015 and will reach 128 million subscribers in 2023, a 126.5 billion increase in 9 years.

YouTube Premium subscribers reached 80 billion in 2022, showing a growth of 30 billion or 60% from the previous year. With 60% year-on-year (YoY) growth, the number of YouTube Premium subscribers will be 128 billion by 2023.

Today, you can subscribe to YouTube Premium for $11.99 per month. It will allow you to watch and download YouTube videos and stream YouTube Music without ads.

368.21 million accessed YouTube daily on Android and iOS devices in 2021. It is reported that 6.98 million YouTube daily active users (DAU) come from Android devices, while iOS devices account for the largest share with 361.23 million DAU.

YouTube, daily active users from Android devices declined by 870 thousand or 11.08%, while iOS devices show a significant growth of 38.96% or over 100 million added DAU in just a year.

YouTube Shorts, where you can watch short video content, has 50 billion active users daily in 2022, a vast 20 billion or 66% increase from its initial release last year. They first trialed this feature in the Indian market following the ban of TikTok in the country.

In 2023, most YouTube users are 25 to 34 years old, accounting for 20.70%. Males comprise 11.9% of this age group, while females comprise 8.8%. In support of this, 54.4% of YouTube users are male, while 45.6% are female.

Gen Z (ages 18-24) appears less fond of watching YouTube, ranking third in the age distribution with only 15%, lagging 1.7% behind the percentage of 35 to 44-year-olds.

Other age groups include 45 to 54 years old (11.90% of the YouTube demographics), 55 to 64 years old (8.80%), and over 65 years old (9%).

According to YouTube usage statistics in the United States, 35% of parents allow their under-11-year-old kids watch YouTube numerous times per day, even though the online platform explicitly states that it is not recommended for users under the age of 13. In comparison, only 5% of parents encourage their children under 11 to watch YouTube videos more than once every few weeks.

India has the most significant number of YouTube users, with 467 million accessing one of the popular social media platforms in 2023. It is also worth mentioning that two Indian YouTube channels are in the top 10 of the most viewed videos worldwide.

Regarding monthly traffic to YouTube.com, the platform is visited by most internet users in the United States, with 11.7 billion visits in 2022. South Korea came in second, with 8.25 billion visits to the video-sharing and live-streaming platform. Users in India and Brazil visited YouTube.com approximately 4.2 billion and 3.6 billion times, respectively.

In 2023, India will have the most YouTube users, with 467 million people accessing the popular social media platform. The United States came in second, with 246 million users. Brazil occupied the third spot with 142 million users, Indonesia with 139 million, and Mexico with 81.80 million.

The United Arab Emirates has the highest YouTube penetration in 2023, with 98% of its digital population being platform users. The Netherlands came in second, with active YouTube users increasing steadily, making it one of the country’s most popular social media platforms. The global YouTube reach was around 37%.

There are 246 million YouTube viewers in the United States. It is the second country with the world’s most extensive YouTube user base. With projected 2.8514 billion users this 2023, the United States has an 8.62% expected YouTube penetration.

Wiz Khalifa Music’s YouTube channel has enormous monthly views, with 5.99 billion in 2022. Its music video for See You Again with Charlie Puth dethroned Gangnam Style of Psy in the charts of most watched YouTube video in 2017. As of today, the Furious 7 movie soundtrack has received over 5 billion views on YouTube.

Wiz Khalifa Music’s YouTube channel has the most monthly views, with 5.99 billion in 2022, followed by Wow Kidz, who has 5.02 billion monthly views. Most popular YouTube channels with over a billion monthly views today have children and music videos uploaded.

T-Series, an Indian music record label that had previously dominated the most viewed YouTube channels worldwide in 2021, came in third with 2.72 billion video views in 2022. However, the YouTube channel has the most subscribers, with 229 million subscribers in the same year.

Baby Shark from Pinkfong Kids’ Songs & Stories YouTube channel is the most viewed YouTube video in the world with 12.3 billion views in 2023, surpassing Luis Fonsie featuring Daddy Yankee’s Despacito a year before.

Users watch music videos actively, especially those fresh releases, reaching immense traffic within 24 hours. The rise of Korean pop, commonly known as K-pop, in 2012, when Gangnam Style became a hit, made way for the genre to enter the Western music industry. BTS, Blackpink, and Twice are among the famous artists who drive global internet users to open the YouTube app.