A Dive Into the Madness of YouTube’s 2024 Stats
Here, in this digital sandbox where dreams can thrive or maybe even thrive and implode at the same time, stands YouTube, a video titan rivaled by none in the world, and lately, even in America. And just by looking at these numbers, you can see why. So let’s peel back some layers.
The Red and White Behemoth
YouTube, with 2.7 billion active users, is practically the world’s digital town square. Cat videos, political rants, and how-to tutorials echo off this vast virtual coliseum in all the world’s major languages. One can hardly think of another site that tens of thousands of people visit every hour working in such alluring and unsought ways. Yet, for all of this, hardly anyone thanks the site’s founding fathers or even knows who they are. And who are they? They are Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim.
And let’s not overlook Google, the kind-hearted overlord that acquired YouTube for a mere $1.65 billion in 2006. By the reckoning of today’s standards, that’s a sum so small you could almost mistake it for chump change, especially when you consider YouTube Revised (now with voluminous ad revenue) and the way it hauls in over $30 billion a year. Google’s accountants must dream nightly of that return on investment.
Engagement That Defies Logic
If you have ever questioned whether humanity might love wasting time more than anything else, consider these figures: 500 hours of video are uploaded every minute. The equivalent of someone filming two weeks of content every 60 seconds. Who’s consuming all this? More than 5 billion videos are viewed daily. A number so absurd it feels like a glitch in the Matrix.
And, of course, a discussion of YouTube’s absurdities would be lacking if it didn’t include Despacito. At 8.3 billion views and counting, this song somehow has the entire planet under its spell. It is essentially the YouTube version of “Happy Birthday,” performed at a staggering number of public and private events, from the solemn to the celebratory, around the world.
Users: Everybody and Their Grandma
An astonishing 122 million daily users take in YouTube sustenance. That’s almost the population of Japan consuming makeup and gaming content on an everyday basis. So who are these people? Pretty much everyone. As of its first quarter in 2022, YouTube had a staggering 2.5 million people watching daily. It’s worth noting that 95% of internet users aged 18 in Japan have hopped on this virtual gravy train. Meanwhile, YouTube has localized versions in over 100 different countries, guaranteeing a watching population that is as amped up and inclusive as you can get.
Children are also involved in this action, but not by choice, really, since 80% of parents confess to letting their offspring watch YouTube videos. The new “babysitter,” it seems, is a Cocomelon nursery rhyme loop. And speaking of Cocomelon, we’ll reach those numbers shortly then brace yourself.
YouTube on the Go: The Mobile Juggernaut
Assuming that people only watch YouTube on their computers is a common misconception. Indeed, the platform’s mobile watch time is an astounding 70%. You can be sure, then, that some of your customers watch YouTube while holding an iPhone. And it can be presumed that they watch for about 40 minutes the same time it takes to finish an entire meal from start to finish, with no appetizing pauses, and to scroll through Instagram with some degree of focus.
For individuals with brief attention spans: app downloads have exceeded 10 billion, and mobile content consumption is at a staggering 1 billion hours daily. That’s right, hours. We as humans aren’t just tipping toward YouTube, though we are doing that in impressive numbers: We’re embracing mobile video consumption across the board.
Humble Beginnings
As far as glitz and glamor go, YouTube has them in spades today. Yet, it began with a simple offering: a video in which an awkward Jawed Karim stands not unlike a caveman in front of a couple of elephants and talks about, well, you’ll just have to watch it. If one were to equate a founding video with a founding work of art, the Louvre would have to take the prize as the first important human-makes-cool-stuff-to-look-at eMPIRE.
Gender Wars and Demographics
It might seem that YouTube’s viewership is lopsided in favor of one gender, but it is not. The user base almost splits down the middle, with 54.4% male and 45.6% female. Talk about an even distribution! These are some of the most gender-inclusive stats I have ever encountered.
The age distribution is just as enlightening. YouTube content isn’t just the realm of teenage idleness. The 25-34-year-old demo is out in front, making up a mind-boggling 20.7% of content creators. Even the 65 and older demo gets in on the not-so-grandpa-friendly action, accounting for 3.9% of YouTube content. That’s right, this content is serving up some real suspects for “#OKBoomer.”
Which Countries Watch the Most
The fact that India has the world’s largest number of users, a ridiculous 467 million, is almost too obvious to state. That’s about the same number of people in the U.S. and Canada who are busy watching YouTube, but a whole lot more are using JioSaavn to enjoy Bollywood music and to watch pretty much the same number of repeat telecasts of cricket matches as there are in the U.S. and Canada. After India, the next highest number of users comes from, in order: the U.S., and then, going southeast from the U.S., we find Indonesia, followed by Brazil, and flipping around to the east, Russia.
These numbers are not just figures; they are global evidence of how YouTube has become the ever-present cure for boredom.
The Gods of YouTube: The Top Channels
No discussion of YouTube can neglect its reigning rulers. Reigning atop it all is T-Series, the Indian music and film behemoth, with 259 million subscribers. Not far behind, in the second slot, is MrBeast, with 237 million subscribers, demonstrating once again that watching someone give away millions of dollars is a popular form of entertainment.
Cocomelon (171M), SET India (168M), and Kids Diana Show (119M) are another trio of champions. Notice anything? Three of the top five channels cater to children. That’s not a niche that’s a global daycare center.
Top Kids’ Channels: Toddlers Rule the Internet
One must confront the titans of toddler amusement when talking about children. With 171 million followers, Cocomelon sits atop the mountain. The next closest is the Kids Diana Show, with 118 million. Following her is a narrative, and a space, controlled by Like Nastya, who colors with a palette of 112 million. To be honest, this makes Sesame Street look as though it isn’t even in the same league.
Channels like these demonstrate that all kinds of mothers and fathers are now sharing their phones with their children just to get back those five elusive minutes of peace.
The Most Watched Videos: Brace Yourself
Holding court at the very top of the list is Baby Shark Dance, with 14 billion views. Some frenzy across the globe has our parents somewhere hitting “replay” for approximately the 300th time. A staggering 8.3 billion views puts Despacito in a more mature, distant, and second place. After that, we leave the adult world entirely for what is not even a top five but a top four of kid-friendly content: Johny Johny Yes Papa and The Bath Song, both with 6 and 5 billion views, respectively.
The fifth most-watched video, Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You, is a reminder that even grown-ups sometimes partake of the media.
A Digital Obsession
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The good, the bad, and the completely strange: YouTube. And the rest of us? Good luck finding time to do anything else.
