YouTube Shorts Statistics 2025: Users, Views & Engagement

YouTube Shorts is exploding.

In 2025, people watch more than 200 billion Shorts every single day. That’s nearly triple the 70 billion daily views recorded just a year earlier.

With over 2 billion monthly active users, Shorts has become one of the fastest-growing parts of YouTube and a serious rival to TikTok and Instagram Reels. For creators, it’s now the quickest way to get discovered. For brands, it’s a goldmine for reaching Millennials and Gen Z at scale.

This guide pulls together the most important YouTube Shorts statistics for 2025. You’ll see how big the platform really is, who’s using it, what types of content perform best, and where it’s headed next.

Top Picks: YouTube Shorts Statistics 2025

• YouTube Shorts receives over 200 billion daily views in 2025.
• The platform has more than 2 billion monthly active users.
• The United States has 164.5 million Shorts users.
• Ages 25–34 represent the largest audience at 21.5%.
• Average Shorts length is 20–40 seconds.
• Engagement rate stands at 5.91%.
• 54.3% male vs 46.7% female audience.
• Creators earn $0.01–$0.06 per 1,000 views.
• Most-viewed Short: 1.5B views (@DanielLaBelle).
• Most-liked Short: 49M likes (@MrBeast).

How Many YouTube Shorts Users Are There?

By 2025, Shorts has surpassed the 2 billion monthly user milestone, with viewers consuming more than 200 billion Shorts every single day.

That’s a level of engagement unmatched by most social platforms and proof that YouTube successfully transformed its user base into a short-form powerhouse.

Source: TheWrap, Statista

How Many YouTube Shorts Are There?

YouTube Shorts isn’t just being watched at scale it’s being produced at scale too. By 2024, creators had uploaded more than 910 million Shorts, reflecting just how quickly the format has become the centerpiece of YouTube’s creator economy.

The growth of uploads parallels user demand: as engagement soared past billions of daily views, creators responded by posting Shorts at record-breaking rates. By 2025, the number of Shorts is expected to cross the 1 billion mark, making it one of the largest short-form content libraries in the world.

Here’s the full breakdown:

Source: YouTube, SocialInsider

YouTube Shorts Growth Over Time

YouTube Shorts hasn’t just grown it has exploded in scale over the past four years. What started as a small experiment in 2020 has turned into a global phenomenon with hundreds of billions of views per day.

In 2021, Shorts averaged around 15 billion daily views, doubling to more than 30 billion in 2022. By 2024, that number had jumped to 70 billion daily views. In 2025, Shorts shattered all previous records, crossing the 200 billion daily views milestone.

Here’s the full breakdown:

Source: TheWrap, Statista

YouTube Shorts Users by Country

Adoption of YouTube Shorts is global, but a handful of countries dominate. India leads the way with more than 460 million users, making it the platform’s largest single market. The United States ranks second with 164.5 million users, while Brazil and Indonesia are also home to hundreds of millions of Shorts viewers.

Together, these top five countries represent the bulk of Shorts’ user base, underscoring how important both developed and mobile-first markets are to YouTube’s strategy.

Here’s the full 2025 breakdown:

Source: Statista

YouTube Shorts Views & Engagement

Engagement is where Shorts shines. In 2025, the platform boasts an average engagement rate of 5.91%, with a watch rate of 2.52%.

Most Shorts last between 20 and 40 seconds, but the highest-performing videos are closer to the maximum limit: 50–60 second Shorts average 1.7M–4.1M views.

Interestingly, more than 70% of Shorts exceed 15 seconds, suggesting creators are deliberately optimizing for retention. Entertainment leads as the top category, but humor, food, pets, and lifestyle niches also attract millions of viewers daily.

Source: Statista, Inflow Network, TubeBuddy

Which Types of Shorts Are Most Viewed on YouTube?

Not all Shorts perform equally. In 2025, humor and entertainment dominate viewer preferences, accounting for the largest share of engagement on the platform. Nearly half of viewers (48.2%) say they prefer funny or gag content, while 39.1% choose general entertainment.

But the platform is broader than comedy alone. Pet videos (27%), food content (23.5%), and celebrity daily life (22.1%) have carved out significant audiences, proving Shorts can drive engagement across lifestyle niches.

Here’s the full 2025 breakdown:

Source: Statista, TubeBuddy

YouTube Shorts Demographics

Millennials, not Gen Z, dominate YouTube Shorts in 2025. The 25–34 age group makes up 21.5% of the audience, followed by 35–44 (17.9%) and 18–24 (15.7%). This makes Shorts especially appealing to advertisers looking to reach young adults with spending power.

Gender distribution is relatively balanced, though slightly male-skewed: 54.3% men vs 46.7% women.

Here’s the full 2025 breakdown by age:

Source: Oberlo, Statista

YouTube Shorts for Creators & Monetization

For creators, Shorts offers visibility but still lags behind long-form content in revenue. In 2025, the typical payout is $0.01–$0.06 per 1,000 views—equivalent to $10–$60 per million views. To earn just $100, a creator needs around 3.3 million views.

Average Shorts RPM (revenue per thousand impressions) is $0.05–$0.07, compared to long-form YouTube videos, which can pay $1.61–$29.30 per 1,000 views.

Consistency is crucial: the average creator uploads 7 Shorts per month, with the best posting window between 6–10 PM on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Here’s the 2025 monetization comparison:

Source: Riverside.fm, SocialInsider

Most Viewed Shorts on YouTube (2025)

YouTube Shorts has already produced viral hits at a scale that rivals mainstream media. The most successful creators have managed to pull in billions of views and tens of millions of likes with a single video.

In 2025, Daniel LaBelle holds the record for the most-viewed Short with 1.5 billion views, while MrBeast leads in engagement with the most-liked Short at 49 million likes. These records highlight just how much viral potential Shorts carries.

Here’s the 2025 record-breaker list:

Source: Fandom, Wikipedia

Forecast & Trends

YouTube Shorts is projected to keep growing steadily in the years ahead. Adoption in India, Latin America, and Asia will continue to drive user numbers, while AI-powered recommendations keep engagement high. By 2030, Shorts could approach 3 billion monthly users and nearly 400 billion daily views.

Here’s the estimated forecast:

Source: AllOutSEO dataset analysis, projections

Conclusion

YouTube Shorts has transformed how video is created, discovered, and consumed. With 200 billion daily views, over 2 billion users, and high engagement rates, it’s one of the most important short-form platforms of 2025.

For creators, Shorts is the fastest way to build visibility. For marketers, it’s a chance to reach highly engaged Millennials and Gen Z audiences with cost-efficient campaigns.

Explore related AllOutSEO research: YouTube Statistics, TikTok Statistics, Ecommerce Statistics, and AI SEO Statistics.