YouTube ecosystem adds Rs 18,000 crore to India's GDP

A report commissioned by YouTube and conducted by Oxford Economics states that YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed more than Rs 18,000 crore to India’s GDP in 2025. This represents an increase from the previous year, when the contribution was over Rs 16,000 crore.

The ecosystem supported more than 960,000 full-time equivalent jobs, spanning various creative and technical roles such as cinematographers, sound engineers, scriptwriters, and production specialists. Additionally, the platform supported over 300,000 apprentices in the preceding year.

India remains YouTube’s largest market with over half a billion users. The report highlights significant growth in creator earnings, noting that the number of channels generating six-figure annual revenue in rupees rose by more than 30 percent year-on-year. Furthermore, more than 18,000 to 20,000 channels have surpassed one million subscribers. The platform's impact is also expanding geographically, with emerging creative clusters in non-metro cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, and Kochi, and a growing global reach as over 15 percent of watch time for Indian content comes from viewers outside the country.