YouTube Users, Stats, Data & Trends for 2025

This page contains all the data, insights, and trends you need to help you understand YouTube adoption and use around the world in January 2025.

You’ll find DataReportal’s latest complete report on YouTube use towards the bottom of this article, but first, we’ll explore some key headlines and trends for global YouTube use.

Just before you dive into the findings, you may be interested to know that all of the data and analysis on this page has been curated by real humans, without the use of generative AI (click here to learn why we include this statement).

Please also note that we publish regular updates to this page, so the content featured below may change at any time.

As a result, if you’d like to reference or link to specific stats or content that won’t change over time, you might find our flagship Global Overview Reports, our regular Statshot Reports, or one of our local country reports to be a better choice.

Essential YouTube statistics and trends for 2025

Data published in Google’s own tools^(a) show that YouTube ads reached 2.53 billion users in January 2025.

This figure places YouTube 1st in DataReportal’s latest ranking of social media platforms by reported ad reach outside of China, and confirms that YouTube was one of the most popular services on the internet in early 2025.^(b)

However, it’s important to highlight that advertising reach figures are not a direct proxy for a platform’s overall user base, and — as we’ll explain later — YouTube’s total active user count may be quite different to these ad audience figures.

Caveats aside though, these latest audience numbers indicate that YouTube ads reached 30.9 percent of all the people on Earth in January 2025, based on the latest population data from the United Nations.^(c)

And what’s more, Google’s own data shows that YouTube’s advertising reach enjoyed gentle growth in the twelve months ending in January 2025.^(a)

More specifically, the total number of users that marketers could reach with YouTube ads increased by 39.7 million (+1.6 percent) between January 2024 and January 2025.^(a)

Note: The figures reported above are based on YouTube’s advertising audience only, and may not be representative of the platform’s total active user base.

Digging deeper

Want the full story? Scroll down to find the latest data, insights, and trends you need to understand YouTube use all over the world, including:

• Figures for YouTube adoption

• How quickly YouTube use is growing

• Countries with the highest rates of YouTube use

• YouTube’s audience demographics

Towards the bottom of this page, you’ll also find a comprehensive report on YouTube adoption and use all over the world.

And if you’re looking for even more perspective, you can learn how YouTube compares to other social media platforms on our popular Social Media Users overview page.

Important notes on data and methodology

Unless stated otherwise, all of the figures that we report in this article represent Kepios’s analysis of data sourced directly from Google’s own tools, resources, and statements.

You can find details of individual data sources listed at the bottom of this article.

Where we reference “ad reach” or “ad audience”, please note that the associated figures only identify the number of users or accounts that marketers may be able to reach with YouTube ads.

These ad reach figures can be a useful indicator of trends in YouTube adoption and use, but they are not a direct proxy for metrics like monthly active users, and should not be viewed as such.

Indeed, Kepios’s analysis shows that the ad reach figures published by most of the major social media platforms tend to be lower than the overall monthly active user figures that the same companies may publish from time to time in resources such as their investor earnings reports.

Meanwhile, ad reach figures may include duplicate and “inauthentic” accounts, as well as accounts that represent legitimate but “non-human” entities, including pets, businesses, brands, places of interest, music groups, and more.

Consequently, it’s important to stress that the figures you’ll find in this article may not be representative of YouTube use by unique individuals.

As such, please pay careful attention to the definitions and labels that we use to describe each data point, in order to avoid any potential confusion or misrepresentation.

How many YouTube users are there in 2025?

YouTube is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms^(b), but just how many people use YouTube today?

Based on data published in its own ad planning resources, YouTube had at least 2.53 billion users around the world in January 2025.^(a)

This figure suggests that 30.9 percent of the world’s total population used YouTube at the time of report production.^(c)

And for further context, Kepios’s analysis indicates that YouTube ads reached 45.5 percent of the world’s internet users at the beginning of 2025.^(b)

Note: The figures reported above are based on YouTube’s advertising audience only, and may not be representative of the platform’s total active user base.

How fast is YouTube growing in 2025?

Data published in Google’s ad planning tools suggests that YouTube’s global potential audience reach figure increased by 1.6 percent in the 12 months leading up to report production.^(a)

To put that figure in perspective, marketers were able to reach 39.7 million more users with YouTube ads in January 2025 than they were one year prior.^(a)

However, on a quarter-by-quarter basis, YouTube’s potential ad reach remained unchanged in the three months between October 2024 and January 2025.^(a)

But how do changes in YouTube’s potential ad reach compare with growth trends for other platforms over the past year?

Well, Kepios’s analysis suggests that TikTok’s global ad reach increased by 31.2 million (+2.0 percent) in the twelve months leading up to January 2025, indicating that YouTube’s reported reach increased less quickly than TikTok’s reported reach increased during this period.^(d)

Meanwhile, data reported in Instagram’s ad planning tools tools shows that the platform’s total potential reach increased by 90.8 million (+5.5 percent) between January 2024 and January 2025, suggesting that YouTube’s reported reach increased noticeably less quickly than Instagram’s reported reach increased over the past year.^(d)

Note: The figures reported above are based on each platform’s advertising audience only, and may not be representative of their respective active user bases.

Which countries have the most YouTube users in 2025?

Our analysis indicates that YouTube has users all over the world, but some countries see much higher levels of YouTube use than others.^(b)

Focusing specifically on the platform’s “top ten territories” by ad reach, audience figures published in Google’s own tools^(a) in January 2025 show that:

1. India had 491 million active YouTube users
2. The United States of America had 253 million active YouTube users
3. Brazil had 144 million active YouTube users
4. Indonesia had 143 million active YouTube users
5. Mexico had 83.6 million active YouTube users
6. Japan had 78.7 million active YouTube users
7. Germany had 65.5 million active YouTube users
8. Vietnam had 62.3 million active YouTube users
9. The Philippines had 57.7 million active YouTube users
10. Turkey had 57.5 million active YouTube users

Note: The figures reported above are based on YouTube’s advertising audience only, and may not be representative of the platform’s total active user base.

What do YouTube’s audience demographics look like in 2025?

Data reported in Google’s planning tools^(a) in January 2025 indicate that:

• 46.0 percent of YouTube’s audience was “female”

• 54.0 percent of YouTube’s audience was “male”

Want to know what YouTube’s audience gender balance looks like in your country? Take a look at the complete report below, or check out our free reports library.

Note: The figures reported above are based on YouTube’s advertising audience only, and may not be representative of the platform’s total active user base. At the time of report production, Google’s ad planning tools only published audience data for the gender identifiers shown above. Associated gender names and the ascription of these identifiers to the platform’s users reflect Google’s approaches, definitions, and methodologies.

Guidance on interpreting Google’s gender data

One of the reasons why YouTube’s global user base skews male is that — around the world — men are more likely than women to have access to the internet (please refer to our latest global report for more details).^(b)

However, this phenomenon is largely driven by “digital demographics” in the world’s developing economies, and in fact — in some parts of the world — we may see female users outnumber male users.^(b)

Note: The figures reported above are based on YouTube’s advertising audience only, and may not be representative of the platform’s total active user base.

What’s the average age of YouTube’s users in 2025?

Based on the data reported in Google’s planning tools, DataReportal’s analysis suggests that the average age of YouTube users in January 2025 lay somewhere between 35 and 44 years old.^(a)

And for added perspective, the data published in Google’s ad planning tools suggests that male users aged 25 to 34 accounted for the greatest share of active YouTube users at that time.^(a)

It’s worth highlighting that the average age of YouTube users varies meaningfully by geography though, so we encourage you to check out the details for the specific countries that matter to you in our free reports library.

Note: The figures reported above are based on YouTube’s advertising audience only, and may not be representative of the platform’s total active user base.

What’s the age profile of YouTube’s audience in 2025?

Based on the available data published in Google’s own tools^(a) in January 2025, the demographic profile of YouTube’s ad audience is as follows:

• Users aged 18 to 24:

  • Female users aged 18 to 24 accounted for 6.9 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

  • Male users aged 18 to 24 accounted for 8.9 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

• Users aged 25 to 34:

  • Female users aged 25 to 34 accounted for 9.7 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

  • Male users aged 25 to 34 accounted for 12.0 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

• Users aged 35 to 44:

  • Female users aged 35 to 44 accounted for 8.4 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

  • Male users aged 35 to 44 accounted for 10.1 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

• Users aged 45 to 54:

  • Female users aged 45 to 54 accounted for 6.4 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

  • Male users aged 45 to 54 accounted for 7.6 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

• Users aged 55 to 64:

  • Female users aged 55 to 64 accounted for 4.7 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

  • Male users aged 55 to 64 accounted for 5.2 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

• Users aged 65 and above:

  • Female users aged 65 and above accounted for 4.9 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

  • Male users aged 65 and above accounted for 4.6 percent of YouTube’s global ad audience.

If you’d like to know more about the age profile of YouTube’s audience in your country, you’ll find more details in our free reports library.

Note: The figures reported above are based on YouTube’s advertising audience only, and may not be representative of the platform’s total active user base. Google’s advertising tools also publish limited data for audiences below the age of 18, so the percentage values shown in the list above and in the graphic below may not sum to 100 percent. Meanwhile, data rounding, anomalies in source data, and the varying availability of data for different demographic parameters also mean that values shown in the list above and in the graphic below may not sum to 100 percent, and may not correlate with gender share values reported earlier in this article.

Full report: YouTube use by country in January 2025

The embed below contains our latest in-depth report exploring YouTube’s advertising audience around the world (please click here if the embed isn’t showing, or doesn’t seem to be working properly).

This report contains global headlines, benchmarks, and audience overviews, as well as local data for all the countries and territories around the world for which YouTube’s advertising tools currently publish audience data.

How does YouTube use compare with the use of other platforms?

Want to compare these findings with similar data for other social media platforms?

Check out our data and trends for other top platforms via these links:

• Essential Facebook stats and trends

• Essential Instagram stats and trends

• Essential LinkedIn stats and trends

• Essential Messenger stats and trends

• Essential Pinterest stats and trends

• Essential Snapchat stats and trends

• Essential TikTok stats and trends

• Essential X stats and trends

Data sources for stats on this page

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