YouTube's revenue from adverts surged by more than 400% from 2017 to 2024.

Key Takeaways

- YouTube generated $7B in ad revenue in 2017, which jumped to $11B in 2018, an approximate 57% increase in just one year.
- By 2019, revenue reached $15B, reflecting steady growth as digital ad spending increased.
- Between 2020 and 2021, revenues leaped from $20B to $29B, marking a remarkable 45% year-over-year increase.
- Despite a plateau at $29B in 2022, revenue rebounded to $32B in 2023 and climbed to $36B by 2024.

Between 2017 and 2024, YouTube's ad revenue charted a compelling ascent, from $7B in 2017 to an impressive $36B in 2024, marking a more than 400% increase. The journey began with early momentum, as revenue jumped 57% from $7B in 2017 to $11B in 2018. This was followed by a consistent climb, with revenue reaching $15B in 2019.
The most striking phase occurred between 2020 and 2021, when ad revenue surged from $20B to $29B, a 45% leap that highlighted a dramatic acceleration in advertiser investment. Even after a brief pause at $29B in 2022, the revenue trajectory remained resilient, rebounding to $32B in 2023 and advancing to $36B by 2024. This sustained growth not only reflects YouTube’s evolving ad strategies and broadening advertiser base but also cements its position as a dominant force in digital advertising.

Source:

Business of Apps

Period:

2017 - 2024
HTML code to embed chart
Want a bespoke report?
Reach out
Click to copy HTML embed code
Tags
Related Insights
Nathaniel Bassey's livestream crosses one million concurrent viewers, ranking among YouTube’s global top 10 in 2025
  • Nathaniel Bassey Main peaked at 1.02 million concurrent viewers, ranking 6th globally among YouTube’s most-watched livestreams in 2025.
  • Nigeria is one of the few countries to cross the one-million peak viewer mark, alongside major global entertainment creators.
  • Religious livestreams account for multiple top-ranking events, indicating strong real-time engagement beyond music and entertainment.
  • Peak viewership is tightly clustered at the top, with only about 700,000 viewers separating 1st and 10th place.
Pastor Jerry Eze places Nigeria in the global top three YouTube livestreams for 2025, with 105 million watch hours
  • Pastor Jerry Eze ranks 3rd globally, with 105 million hours watched, outperforming most entertainment and music livestream channels.
  • Faith-based livestreaming dominates the top tier, with religious creators accounting for four of the top ten.
  • Nigeria is the only African country represented in the global top ten, signalling a strong international reach.
  • Live spiritual content competes directly with relaxation and music streams, traditionally among YouTube’s most-watched formats.
Flutterwave’s UK arm quadruples turnover since 2021, hitting £6.6 million in 2024
  • Flutterwave UK’s turnover rose from £0.93M in 2021 to £6.61M in 2024, showing consistent expansion.
  • Growth cooled from 311% in 2022 to 21% in 2024, reflecting market maturity.
  • The UK unit’s performance is now tied to Flutterwave’s global surge, with over $31 billion in payments processed in 2024.
  • The focus is shifting from rapid scaling to sustainable growth, compliance, and strengthening cross-border infrastructure.
South Africa leads as Africa’s digitally delivered services exports hit $41.3 billion in 2024, less than 1 percent of the world total
  • Africa exported $41.3 billion in digital services in 2024, less than 1 percent of the world total.
  • South Africa was the continent’s top exporter with $7.05 billion.
  • Morocco ($6.74 billion) and Ghana ($5.18 billion) followed closely.
  • Egypt ($4.03 billion) and Mauritius ($3.53 billion) also ranked among the top five.
  • The top five countries together made up about two-thirds of Africa’s exports.
For every $1 Nigeria earned from exporting digital services between 2005 and 2024, it spent almost $10 on imports
  • Nigeria exported $10.81 billion in digital services between 2005 and 2024.
  • Imports during the same period reached $105.34 billion.
  • The result was a trade deficit of $94.53 billion over 20 years.
  • Exports rose from just $40 million in 2005 to $1.55 billion in 2024.
  • Imports were almost ten times larger than exports, showing a persistent imbalance.
South Africa dominates Africa’s data centre scene with a total of 320 Mega watts capacity across two data centres
  • Teraco in South Africa is Africa’s largest data centre with 200 MW capacity.
  • Nigeria follows with a combined 110 MW from Rack Centre and MainOne.
  • Kenya leads East Africa with a 50 MW facility by Liquid Intelligent Technologies.
  • Morocco’s 40 MW Maroc Datacenter tops North Africa.
POPULAR TOPICS
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
Get periodic updates about the African startup space, access to our reports, among others.
Subscribe Here
Subscription Form
A product of Techpoint Africa. All rights reserved