YouTube users watch over a billion hours of video each day. The platform's advertising revenue reached $30.4 billion last year, yet 90% of that total went to just the top 1% of creators.
Key Takeaways
- 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute as of 2024
- Videos under 60 seconds account for 25% of all YouTube uploads in 2024
- The number of YouTube channels earning six figures per year grew 40% in 2023
- The average YouTube user watches 1.5 hours of video per day as of 2024
- 70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices as of 2024
- 1 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube every day as of 2024
- YouTube generated $30.4 billion in advertising revenue in 2023
- The top 1% of YouTube creators earned 90% of total channel revenue in 2023
- YouTube Premium has 80 million subscribers as of 2024
- YouTube is available in over 100 countries and 80 languages as of 2024
- YouTube’s app is the second most downloaded mobile app globally in 2024
- YouTube’s children’s app, YouTube Kids, has 40 million monthly active users in 2024
- The average YouTube video retention rate is 50-60% within the first 2 minutes in 2024
- YouTube videos with a custom thumbnail get 30% more views than those without in 2024
- The most viewed video on YouTube as of 2024 is “Baby Shark Dance” with 14 billion views
YouTube is exploding with billions of daily views, rapid mobile growth, and fierce creator monetization opportunities in 2024.
Related reading
01 · Category
Content Creation8 stats
01
500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute as of 2024
02
Videos under 60 seconds account for 25% of all YouTube uploads in 2024
03
The number of YouTube channels earning six figures per year grew 40% in 2023
04
The gaming category on YouTube has over 1.4 billion monthly viewers as of 2024
05
58% of YouTube creators are between the ages of 25 and 44 as of 2024
06
The number of YouTube channels with over 1 million subscribers is 200,000 as of 2024
07
YouTube’s average video definition is now 1080p HD for over 60% of uploads in 2024
08
The average YouTube creator spends 8 hours per week producing a single video in 2024
02 · Category
User Behavior7 stats
01
The average YouTube user watches 1.5 hours of video per day as of 2024
02
70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile devices as of 2024
03
1 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube every day as of 2024
04
70% of YouTube viewers are male as of 2024
05
44% of online shoppers in the US have made a purchase decision based on a YouTube video in 2024
06
72% of US adults say YouTube is their most-used video platform in 2024
07
YouTube users in the US spend an average of 23 minutes per day on the platform in 2024
03 · Category
Monetization10 stats
01
YouTube generated $30.4 billion in advertising revenue in 2023
02
The top 1% of YouTube creators earned 90% of total channel revenue in 2023
03
YouTube Premium has 80 million subscribers as of 2024
04
YouTube’s ad revenue in the US alone was $7.2 billion in 2023
05
YouTube’s branded content market size is estimated at $5 billion in 2024
06
YouTube’s ad load per video averages 10-15% of the watch time in 2024
07
70% of YouTube creators use multiple monetization features (ads, memberships, Super Chat) in 2024
08
YouTube’s average annual earnings for a mid-sized creator (100k subscribers) is $100,000in 2024
09
YouTube's average revenue per user (ARPU) in the US is $9.48per quarter in 2024
10
70% of YouTube creators say ad revenue is their top monetization method in 2024
Interpretation
Monetization Interpretation
While YouTube generated $30.4 billion in advertising revenue in 2023, the fact that the top 1% of creators earned 90% of that total reveals an extreme concentration of wealth that makes monetization a winner-take-all game for the platform's vast majority of creators.
04 · Category
Platform Trends5 stats
01
YouTube is available in over 100 countries and 80 languages as of 2024
02
YouTube’s app is the second most downloaded mobile app globally in 2024
03
YouTube’s children’s app, YouTube Kids, has 40 million monthly active users in 2024
04
YouTube’s search volume is the second largest after Google in 2024
05
YouTube’s mobile app has a 4.7-star rating on the App Store and Google Play in 2024
Interpretation
Platform Trends Interpretation
YouTube's position as the second largest search engine after Google in 2024 underscores its evolution from a video hosting site into a dominant platform for information discovery and trendsetting.
More related reading
05 · Category
Video Performance7 stats
01
The average YouTube video retention rate is 50-60% within the first 2 minutes in 2024
02
YouTube videos with a custom thumbnail get 30% more views than those without in 2024
03
The most viewed video on YouTube as of 2024 is “Baby Shark Dance” with 14 billion views
04
The average YouTube video gets 15 minutes of views within 24 hours of upload in 2024
05
The average YouTube video has a 7% engagement rate (likes, comments, shares) in 2024
06
The first YouTube video titled “Me at the zoo” has over 300 million views as of 2024
07
The average YouTube video has 1,200 comments per 1 million views in 2024
Interpretation
Video Performance Interpretation
The fact that the average YouTube video loses 50 to 60 percent of its viewers within the first two minutes underscores how essential it is to capture attention immediately for strong video performance.
06 · Category
Demographics2 stats
01
75% of YouTube creators are from outside the US as of 2024
02
72% of YouTube creators are male as of 2023
Interpretation
Demographics Interpretation
The demographics of YouTube creators show a clear global dominance with 75% based outside the US, while the platform remains heavily male‑skewed at 72% as of 2023.
07 · Category
Performance Metrics1 stats
01
The average completion rate for YouTube pre-roll ads is 74% in 2024
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
The 74% average completion rate for YouTube pre-roll ads in 2024 shows that most viewers stay through the entire ad, making this a strong performance metric for advertisers to track.
08 · Category
Market Size1 stats
01
YouTube's ad revenue from Latin America grew 45% in 2023
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The 45% growth in YouTube's ad revenue from Latin America in 2023 highlights a booming market size in the region.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Felix Zimmermann. (2026, February 13). Youtube Video Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/youtube-video-statistics
MLA
Felix Zimmermann. "Youtube Video Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/youtube-video-statistics.
Chicago
Felix Zimmermann. 2026. "Youtube Video Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/youtube-video-statistics.
Sources & references
41 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+29 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)