As YouTube turns 20, here are the numbers you need to know

YouTube has become huge

Over the past 20 years, YouTube has cemented itself as one of the most dominant platforms in the digital landscape. Launched in 2005, the same year as Reddit and just a year after Facebook, it emerged at a time when social media was still a novelty.

Fast forward to 2025, and YouTube is a content powerhouse. Every minute, an average of 500 hours of video is uploaded, according to the platform. A growing share of that (35%) is in 4k resolution, a trend YouTube actively encourages, especially as more people watch on TV screens.

YouTube reaches over 100 countries in 80 different languages. In several EMEA markets, for example, the majority of watch time comes from international audiences — more than 70% of YouTube viewing in the U.K., Spain and Nigeria happens outside of those countries.

It shows that language barriers are becoming less of an issue on the platform. AI-powered dubbing technology is reshaping how users consume content, with watch time increasing by 40% when viewers opt for dubbed videos.

Like other platforms, YouTube’s success relies on its algorithm. When the company introduced its first recommendation engine in 2008, it simply prioritized popular videos. Today, the system is far more sophisticated, leveraging over 80 billion signals to match users with content they’re most likely to engage with.

YouTube considers itself to be the new television

This narrative isn’t new, but it’s certainly something YouTube is proudly shouting about, especially after Nielsen ranked it as the No. 1 streaming platform in the U.S. for 12 consecutive months when it comes to watch time. Nielsen’s report, which came out in February 2024, revealed that YouTube took an average of 9.2% of total TV usage, ahead of other major streamers including Netflix (8.2%), Amazon Prime (3.5%) and Disney+ (2%). YouTube has since backed that status up with its claim that more than 1 billion hours of YouTube content are watched daily on TV screens in the U.S.

When YouTube launched in 2005, the platform had about 30,000 viewers a day. But today, the streaming giant boasts more than 2 billion daily active users and over 1 billion monthly podcast users.

And it’s not just YouTube’s long-form content that is watched on TV screens. Despite Shorts being a vertical video format, 15% of Shorts videos are now watched in the living room.

YouTube is still king when it comes to creator monetization

Most platforms keep their revenue sharing deals and creator fund participation numbers under wraps, but YouTube takes a different approach.

Currently, YouTube’s Partner Program (YPP), which is a well-established revenue share program, has 3 million creators. And 500,000 of those have been on YouTube for more than a decade.

YouTube is doing pretty well when it comes to subscriptions

Subscriptions are often seen as an alternative revenue stream so platforms don’t have to be solely reliant on ad dollars, but making subscriptions a sustainable business remains a challenge for many, from Meta to X.

But for YouTube, since introducing its Premium and Music subscription plans in 2014 and 2015 respectively, the platform has been able to reach 125 million global subscribers so far, including trials.

YouTube impacts the economy, and its got creators to thank for that

Twenty years ago, being a creator was considered more of a hobby alongside school or a full-time job, rather than a real career.

That’s no longer the case. With Europe’s creator economy projected to reach $41.17 billion by 2030 and U.S. influencer marketing expected to grow 14.2% to $9.29 billion this year, according to eMarketer, it’s clear why YouTube is focused on staying ahead in the creator space.

Part of that plan involves doubling down on YouTube’s ability to thrust creators into the cultural mainstream. Which is why the platform has said that creators are becoming the startups of Hollywood. Whether it’s scripting, editing behind the scenes or creators are hiring various staff as part of their new business — YouTube wants to be the launchpad.

As such, YouTube contributed more than $45 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2023, according to Oxford Economics, and it created more than 430,000 full-time jobs.

Similarly, in Europe, YouTube contributed €6.4 billion ($6.94 billion) to the EU’s GDP in 2023, according to the platform’s latest Impact report, not including the jobs created by the 100,000 creators in the region that have built their own businesses including hiring staff.