YouTube creators add over Rs 18,000 crore to India's GDP in 2025, report says

YouTube's creator ecosystem is fast becoming a major economic sector in India. According to YouTube's 2025 Impact Report, the platform's creative ecosystem contributed more than Rs 18,000 crore to India's GDP in 2025. It also provided employment equal to more than 9,60,000 full-time jobs.

The report is based on research by Oxford Economics. It says the ecosystem is not benefiting only content creators. Work opportunities are also emerging in creative and technical fields such as cinematography, sound engineering, script writing and production.

The contribution has grown from last year. According to the report, the ecosystem contributed more than Rs 16,000 crore last year and provided employment equal to more than 9.3 lakh full-time jobs.

YouTube says the platform's economic impact is no longer limited to the big metros. New creators are emerging in cities such as Jaipur, Lucknow and Kochi. Local creators in these cities are getting the chance to learn technology and business skills through the digital platform and to grow their work and businesses.

The report says the YouTube creator ecosystem supported more than 3,00,000 apprentices in the past year. This shows that training and employment opportunities for young people are growing in the digital creator economy.

India is YouTube's biggest market. The platform has more than 50 crore users in the country, which has made India a major growth centre for YouTube worldwide. The company says more than 20,000 Indian YouTube channels will cross the 10 lakh subscriber mark by June 2026.

The reach of Indian creators is no longer confined to audiences at home. According to YouTube, more than 15% of the total watch time of Indian channels' content comes from viewers outside the country.

YouTube says more than 2 lakh channels in India began earning on the platform for the first time in the past year. The number of channels earning Rs 10 lakh or more a year has grown by more than 20% year on year. Of these earning creators, 73% said YouTube is their main source of income.