YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed Rs 18,000 crore to India’s GDP in 2025: Report

New Delhi, Sep 29 (IANS) YouTube’s creative ecosystem contributed more than Rs 18,000 crore to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025 and supported the equivalent of over 960,000 full-time jobs, according to YouTube’s 2025 Impact Report released on Tuesday. 

The report, based on research conducted by Oxford Economics, found that the platform’s ecosystem generated employment opportunities across a wide range of creative and technical professions, including cinematographers, sound engineers, scriptwriters and production specialists.

The contribution marks an increase from the previous year, when YouTube’s creative ecosystem added over Rs 16,000 crore to India’s GDP and supported more than 930,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

According to the report, YouTube’s economic impact is no longer limited to metro cities, with emerging creative clusters in non-metro centres such as Jaipur, Lucknow and Kochi helping local talent build technical and professional skills. 

The platform said that monetising creators on YouTube supported more than 300,000 apprentices during the past year, further strengthening opportunities for workforce development.

India remains YouTube’s largest market, with more than half a billion users, making it a key growth engine for the platform globally. 

The company has also witnessed significant growth in creator participation and earnings on the platform.

Earlier this month, YouTube said that more than 20,000 channels in India had crossed one million subscribers as of June 2026. 

It also noted that over 15 per cent of watch time for content produced by Indian channels comes from audiences outside the country, highlighting the increasing global reach of Indian creators.

The platform added that more than 200,000 channels in India earned revenue for the first time over the last year. 

At the same time, the number of channels generating Rs 10 lakh or more in annual revenue increased by over 20 per cent year-on-year.

The report further highlighted the platform’s importance as a source of livelihood, with 73 per cent of monetising creators stating that YouTube serves as their primary source of income.

In May 2025, YouTube Chief Executive Officer Neal Mohan announced an investment of Rs 850 crore over two years to accelerate the growth of India’s creator economy. 

He had also revealed that the platform paid more than Rs 21,000 crore to Indian creators, artists and media companies during the previous three years.

Looking ahead, YouTube said it is focusing on three strategic areas to drive the next phase of growth: AI-powered creation tools, ecosystem partnerships and responsible AI deployment.

The company is expanding creator tools through features such as conversational AI-assisted editing for Shorts and agentic channel management capabilities through Ask Studio. 

It is also strengthening partnerships through skilling initiatives with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), while broadening programmes such as YouTube Creator Collectives that help emerging creators access mentorship, peer learning and monetisation opportunities.

--IANS

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