YouTube was introduced in 2005 and has grown to gargantuan proportions. It’s doubtful that the founders and former PayPal employees imagined how big this video sharing platform would become.
Google acquired YouTube in 2006 after seeing how fast it was growing over just a year. Today, Youtube is second only to Google as a search engine and is the second-most visited site.
Over the past year, YouTube has provided its users new features like YouTube Shorts and Live Streaming.
These new features show that YouTube isn’t afraid to grow and change with the times. In the next few paragraphs we plan to share with you the answer to the question at hand and related data.
Let’s talk about how many hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute in 2025.
How Many Hours of Video are Uploaded to YouTube Every Minute?
The most recent data reveals that 500 hours of video content is uploaded to the platform every minute.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise since there are over 2 billion users on the platform looking for new content at least every month.
YouTubers need to keep up with their competitors by creating fresh video content all the time. The most consistent YouTube channels add new videos at least twice per week. It helps keep them relevant and active.
The fact that video watchers are four times more likely to watch videos on YouTube than any other platform is enough to remind brands, businesses, and marketers how important this platform is to them.
Did you know that between 21014 and 2020 the number of YouTube video hours increased by 40%?
That is a significant.percentage to consider. It’s a sign that YouTube is still on top and that it’s constantly growing in uploaded video hours and in new users and YouTubers.
What are Some Popular Genres on YouTube?
YouTube is diverse in multiple ways. It has a diverse user base, diverse genres, and diverse methods of engagement.
Since the goal of most YouTubers is to attract attention to a specific target audience, you need to know the genres of videos that people find most attractive.
We’ll discuss the top ten most popular video genres in the following.
1. Gaming Videos
Gaming is still on top of the list for the most popular video genre on YouTube. Gaming channels aren’t generic, but often have different niches like game type or an even tighter niche, specific games.
The production of new gaming channels has slowed, but the existing dedicated gaming channels are still going strong. If anything, the live steaming method is creating new life for video gamers on YouTube. Some are even eligible for getting sponsorships.
Play-through gaming videos with engaging commentary is the most popular form of gaming channel on the platform. One of the most popular gaming channels is Markiplier with 32.3 million subscribers and a total of 17,833,033,513 views across all videos on the channel since May 2012.
2. Makeup & Beauty Videos
Make-up tutorials account for most of the beauty and makeup channels on YouTube. Many of these channels are operated by experts in skincare and makeup. They use a variety of methods for making their videos.
The YouTubers with makeup and skincare tutorials are sometimes offering product reviews as well as tutorials, which gives them more punch to the audience. The brands used are important to the audience as much as to the influencer showing them.
Zoella is one of the most popular beauty channels with 10.9 million subscribers and 1,116,468,904 total views since February 2007.
3. Unboxing & Reviews
When it comes to unboxing videos you may envision technology products, but there are more niches in this video genre than you might think. Unboxing has attracted a lot of attention over the past few years bringing it up to third of all most popular types of videos on YouTube.
Unboxing shows people how a product is packaged and then how it works. Based on the review and what they see, they can determine if they want to buy something. Some popular unboxing channels include technology, cameras, computers, smartphones, outdoorsy stuff, toys, and others.
Wranglerstar is a popular unboxing channel with 1.88 subscribers and 701,511,215 total views since September 2010.
4. ASMR Videos
What is ASMR? For one thing this is one of the fastest-growing YouTube video niches on the platform. ASMR is short for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It functions on the concept of the sensation you get when someone lightly brushes your skin with their fingers or softly whispers in your ear.
The main goal is to provide soothing imagery and sounds to generate relaxation like you get from the above sense of touch. ASMR Darling is one of the most popular in this video genre. She has 2.5 million subscribers and 598,.565,473 total views since December 2014.
5. Vlogging
Vlogging is the term used for video bloggers putting the two words together. Daily vloggers are popular since they capture their day while turning their normal daily events into memorable moments.
CaseyNeistat is a popular vlogger with 12.4 million subscribers and 3,024,096,580 total views since February 2010. This video genre offers a lot of niche opportunities.
If you’re considering a niche, here are five more to consider, numbers six through ten on the popularity scale.
6. Health & Fitness
7. Challenges or Pranks
8. Music
9. Comedy or Parody
10.Tutorials
What About Live Streaming?
So, there are more than 500 hours of YouTube video uploads every minute, but who’s watching or using live streams?
More than likely subscribers of specific channels are watching their favorite channels.
Loyal subscribers also get notifications when their favorite YouTubers upload new videos.
We also need to take notice of video watchers on YouTube who don’t subscribe, but still watch videos.
Subscribers are a good measure of how well you’re doing with your content, but views create revenue and show you what’s working on your channel.
Let’s talk about who’s watching ;live videos on YouTube.
45% of consumers surveyed reported that they would like to see more live videos from their favorite brands on social media.
63% of marketers on social media think that live video content will be more important over the next year.
Brands receive 7 times more reactions and 24 times more comments on live streams on LinkedIn. 17% of companies use live videos for social media marketing. 14% of marketers are using live streams on YouTube compared to 30% that use Facebook Live.
Live videos on YouTube are vastly underused, which is a good sign now is the time to jump in the water.
Who’s Watching YouTube?
Currently, men are spending 40% more of their time watching videos online compared to women. On YouTube, 56% of users are male and 44% are female.
The age range of YouTube users is wide ranging from 15 years old to over 56 years old. Here is how the US age range data looks:
- 77% 15 to 25
- 77% 26 to 35
- 73% 36 to 45
- 70% 46 to 55
- 67% 56+
In the US, about 75% of all adults and teenagers over 15 are watching YouTube videos.
India has more YouTube users than the rest of the world with 225 million users. The United States comes in second with 197 million.
According to UK data, about 24% of YouTube users are between 16 and 24 years old. Another 44% of users range between 25 and 44 years old. UK users are also responsible for the most views per person.
The age range of YouTube users is pretty wide since the content on this platform can appeal to people of all ages, including children and the elderly.
Where are People Watching From?
This data will cover how and where people are watching from.
For instance, 41% of the video watch time on YouTube happens via mobile devices like tablets and mobile phones. Since YouTube is optimized for mobile as well as desktop use, this statistic makes sense.
There is a whole streaming service user base that watches on a variety of platforms, but 94.5% of them are choosing YouTube. Another interesting fact is that the YouTube video watch time has grown by 80% over the past year for TV watch time.
An average of 42 minutes is spent watching YouTube videos each day by viewers 18 and older.
So, people aren’t mostly watching short videos, or turning them off after a few minutes.
However, there are some who watch no more than 12 minutes on average.
The average YouTube visitor looks at 8.89 pages on the platform daily. It’s rare that anyone visits YouTube with the intention of watching one video. This data shows that most will visit almost 9 pages.
When it comes to YouTube’s algorithms, 70% of what internet users watch is based on the algorithms.
This means that 70% of users will watch whatever YouTube recommends for them.This is based on trends and your own former activities on the platform.
Data from 2020 revealed that 70% of YouTube users watched YouTube instead of live events.
The pandemic really pushed our boundaries and changed when and how we get entertainment.
What’s Trending?
So, during the pandemic, what started trending seems to be sticking around a bit, so we’ll discuss that here.
“Home Office” was a phrase that experienced a 210% increase in 2020 on YouTube videos.
That is how big the impact was from the pandemic on YouTubers. This phrase was targeted by the algorithm due to its wide usage.
Gaming videos gained in popularity in 2020 with more than 100 billion watch hours. Minecraft was the most viewed game on the platform.
The word “beginner” did very well on YouTube videos in 2020 with 50% more viewers between March and July 2020.
There were so many under mandatory quarantine during 2020 that a surge in certain keywords occurred. The beginner video seems to relate to people wanting to use their quarantine to learn something new.
Some of the learning videos that got the most attention in 2020 include beauty tutorials, gardening, self-care, haircuts, playing guitar, baking bread, and raising chickens.
This may seem strange, but the pandemic really gave people a reason to look into things they neve did before.
These statistics are still pretty high in 2022 because the pandemic forever changed how people think about their lives. In some ways, it’s been an awakening.
Conclusion
Now you know the scoop on the number of video hours that are uploaded to YouTube every minute. That number is 500 hours.
You also have some data related to videos on YouTube over the course of a couple of years. Some things changed, some didn’t.
What people watched on YouTube changed a lot. People were seeking to learn new things, so they watched more tutorials and educational videos. Those numbers are still growing even in the post pandemic phase.
People also watched more videos about working from home and home offices to help them change jobs, or prepare to work from home in their existing jobs as the work dynamic changed from working in an office to working from home in your own home office.
You now know who’s watching what on the YouTube platform. From the viewpoint of a digital marketer, you need to have this information on hand. This is the kind of data that can help you create better content for your YouTube audience.
If you’re not including YouTube in your digital or social media marketing strategy, it’s time to get started.
