You’ve probably spent an afternoon falling into a rabbit hole with YouTube videos.
I sure have, and I think I would be pretty embarrassed to see how much total time I spent on the platform.
While YouTube is a great source of entertainment, it has also proven to be a valuable tool for marketers. In fact, 70% of viewers bought from a brand after viewing content on YouTube. With a global user base of more than 2 billion people, you can also assume that your target group is on the platform.
However, as with all social networks, building a presence on YouTube requires understanding Which Parts of your audience are already there. With this information, it’s easier to create content that suits your interests, maximize ROI, and achieve overall marketing success. In this post, we’re going to cover the top YouTube stats you’ll need in 2021 to make your marketing efforts successful.
2021 YouTube demographics
The following are key YouTube stats that show marketers how the global audience is using the platform.
General YouTube user demographics
- YouTube is the second most visited website in the world. (Hootsuite)
- YouTube accounts for more than 25% of the world’s mobile traffic. (Sand vine)
- YouTube has more than 2 billion users and makes up almost a third of the entire internet. (YouTube for the press)
- These more than 2 billion users are represented in over 100 countries and consume content in 80 different languages. (YouTube for the press)
- YouTube users see a billion hours of content every day. (Hootsuite)
- YouTube is the second most popular channel for businesses sharing video content. (Buffer)
- 70% of viewers bought from a brand after viewing content on YouTube. (Google Ads)
- YouTube will generate $ 5.6 billion in advertising revenue in the US in 2021 (eMarketer)
- YouTube is the best video streaming app and the average user spends 23.2 hours per month watching content. (App Annie)
- The most popular YouTube search query is “song”. (Hootsuite)
- The most popular YouTube video is Pinkfong’s Kids Songs & Stories Baby Shark Dance with 7.85 billion views. (Statista)
- The three most popular videos on YouTube are commentary videos (like vlogs), product reviews (like unboxings), and how-to / tutorial-style videos. (MediaKix)
- Worldwide users saw over 100 billion hours of game content in 2020. (YouTube)
- YouTube TV ended the third quarter of 2020 with 3 million subscribers. (Alphabet)
- 70% of people used YouTube to exercise in 2020. (YouTube)
- Live streams on YouTube increased 45% in the first half of 2020. (YouTube)
YouTube age demographics
- In the third quarter of 2020, 77% of 15-25 year olds and 70% of 45 to 64 year olds in the US were using YouTube. (Statista)
- 21.2% of the global YouTube audience are between 25 and 34 years old, and 17% are between 35 and 44 years old. (Hootsuite)
- 80% of US parents with a child 11 years of age or younger report their child watches videos on YouTube, and 53% of those children use the platform on a daily basis. (Pew Research Center)
- Outside of China, 77% of Gen Z, 75% of Millennials, 61% of Gen X, and 44% of Baby Boomers visit YouTube every day. (GlobalWebIndex)
- 18- to 34-year-olds use YouTube to view video content on their TVs 7.9% more often than with basic cables and 14.5% more often with premium cables. (Diversity)
- 46% of Gen Z and Millennials in the US and UK say they saw a virtual event on YouTube. (GlobalWebIndex)
YouTube Gender Demographics
Please note that audience data for people who do not identify themselves as cisgender men and women will not be reported.
- 45.8% of YouTube’s total advertising audience are female. (Hootsuite)
- 54.2% of YouTube’s total advertising audience are men. (Hootsuite)
- Male and female internet users in the United States use YouTube equally. (Statista)
YouTube Geography Demographics
- As of February 2021, 16.6% of YouTube visits are from the US, 9.4% from India and 4.9% from Japan. (Alexa)
- YouTube has released local versions of the platform in more than 100 countries. (YouTube for the press)
- eMarketer predicts that the number of YouTube users in India will reach 342 million in 2021. (eMarketer)
- 86% of US viewers say they use YouTube a lot to learn new things. (Think with google)
Let data drive your YouTube strategy
Use these statistics to craft a YouTube marketing strategy that will suit your audience’s interests, drive sales, and increase conversions.