YouTube expected to reach 30 billion videos by early 2026
YouTube reached a total of 29 billion videos as of December 30, 2025, following a massive surge in content driven by Shorts, artificial intelligence, and significant expansion in the Indian market, according to research firm Omdia.
YouTube is the most popular video service globally and is on track to reach 30 billion videos in early 2026, said Daoud Jackson.
Omdia research shows the least-watched 99 per cent of videos account for just 9 per cent of total viewing time, Jackson noted.
Yet YouTube continues to host the equivalent of 280,000 years of video content, most of which is rarely watched – a fascinating aspect of the platform’s strategy, Jackson remarked.
This content also forms the backbone of Google’s video training data for Gemini, Jackson added.
While user-generated content drives perceptions of success, our research shows the reality is more complex, Jackson explained.
YouTube has become a highly diverse platform in 2026, with professional content, music, news, and podcasts all shaping viewing patterns, Jackson stated.
The platform is experiencing accelerated growth as 25 per cent of all 2025 YouTube videos were uploaded during the first ten months of the year.
This increase is largely due to short-form video because Shorts now represent over 90 per cent of all new uploads.
The top 1 per cent of videos generate 91 per cent of total viewing time.
The remaining 99 per cent of videos account for just 9 per cent of viewing but still play a critical role in the ecosystem of the platform.
Music videos remain a primary draw for the site and account for 33 per cent of all YouTube viewing time.
Professionally filmed content makes up 46 per cent of the total time spent watching on the platform.
Video podcasts are a rapidly growing format and now represent 5 per cent of total viewing.
Finally, the report showed that news content captures 10 per cent of viewing and currently ranks as the third most popular category on the service.