160+ YouTube Stats and Facts (May 2018) | By the Numbers

In this “By the Numbers” statistic post, we take a look at some statistics and facts about YouTube, the world’s largest video network.

YouTube is a true American success story. It began as the brainchild of Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim: three PayPal employees that wanted to create a platform where users could post and share video clips. As a startup, YouTube attracted users and funding fairly quickly and was snatched up by the almighty Google roughly a year and a half after it was launched for $1.65 billion.

When a social network has over a billion users that spend amazing amounts of time on it daily, there is no shortage of aspects of and facts about YouTube that can be measured and reported. I have been collecting YouTube stats and facts for about 6 years now in this curated collection. Below is a lengthy sampling of what I have put together over the years and if you like what you see, you can purchase the entire downloadable report at the bottom of this post. As always, I will be adding to and updating these stats as often as they are made available.

YouTube Facts

• YouTube URL: youtube.com
• YouTube release date: 2005
• YouTube Headquarters: San Bruno, Ca

YouTube Stats

How many YouTube users are there?

1.8 billion logged-in monthly users

Last updated 5/4/18

How many people in the US watch YouTube?

180.1 million 

Last updated 1/27/17

Number of countries YouTube has users in:

90 countries

Last updated 11/29/17

Amount of content YouTube users watch annually: 

46,000 years worth of content 

Last updated 10/9/16

Percentage of YouTube traffic from mobile: 

70% 

Last updated 2/27/17

YouTube overall reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S.

Average amount of video content watched on YouTube daily:

1 billion hours per day 

Last updated 2/27/17

Average time spent on YouTube per session: 

40 minutes 

Last updated 10/3/16

How many YouTube videos are uploaded every minute?

400 hours worth 

Last updated 11/5/17

How many YouTube videos are uploaded every day?

576,000 hours worth 

Last updated 11/5/17

Number of YouTube channels with more than 1 million subscribers:

1,500 

Last updated 2/3/16

Percentage of US Internet users, aged 13-17 (teens) that use YouTube: 

91% 

Last updated 8/24/16

Percentage of US enterprise companies that use YouTube:

61% 

Last updated 7/13/16

Type of YouTube content most preferred by Millennials: 

Videos uploaded by people

Percentage of YouTube views that come from mobile devices:

more than 50% 

Last updated 10/3/16

Average amount of time YouTube logged-in users spend watching on mobile daily:

more than one hour per day

Last updated 6/22/17

Number of signals YouTube users have created over time:

80 billion 

Last updated 6/20/17

What is the most-viewed YouTube video ever? 

Despacito w/over 5 billion views 

Last updated 4/6/18

How many people in India watch YouTube?

400 million 

Last updated 8/1/17

Percentage of US millennials that visit YouTube daily: 

54% 

Last updated 1/6/17

YouTube makes up over half of people’s time watching online video on television.

Last updated 9/1/16

Percentage of US teen boys (aged 13-17) that use YouTube daily:

85%

Last updated May 2017

Percentage of US teen girls (aged 13-17) that use YouTube daily:

70%

Last updated May 2017

Estimated amount that US YouTube creators earned in 2016:

$3.2 billion

Number of weekly active YouTube Kids viewers:

8 million

Last updated 2/13/17

Number of revenue-earning YouTube users in the US:

1.8 million

Last updated 2/1/18

Video with the most YouTube views in its first 24 hours:

Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” (43.2 million views)

Last updated 8/29/17

Number of markets that YouTube TV is available in:

100 markets

Last updated 3/12/18

Number of people that use the YouTube TV app:

300,000

Last updated 3/12/18

Amount Google paid in 2006 to purchase YouTube:

$1.65 billion

Top video on YouTube in 2017:

Until We Will Become Dust – Oyster Masked (ตราบธุลีดิน – หน้ากากหอยนางรม) | THE MASK SINGER 2

Be sure to check out my other Google Stat Posts:

• Google Company and Search Statistics
• Gmail Statistics
• Google Advertising Statistics
• Google Chrome & App Statistics
• Android Statistics
• Google+ Statistics
• Chromecast Statistics

Image credit:  Rego Korosi  via flickr

Please note that some of these Youtube stats are easier to find than others. A few of these stats come from YouTube/Google’s own reports, but some are based on news reports and not official company tallies. Basically, this is the best I can find and I don’t guarantee anything to be 100% accurate.