Pakistan Tops World in YouTube Viewership, PTA Says
Pakistan YouTube viewership leads the world, according to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Major General (retired) Hafeez Ur Rehman. He said 560 million videos are watched on the platform in Pakistan every day.
He shared the figures while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication on Tuesday. The claim puts Pakistan ahead of far larger countries in daily YouTube watching, and it underlines how central video has become to daily internet use in the country.
About 96 million Pakistanis currently use YouTube, according to the PTA chief. That figure is striking on its own, but the daily viewing count is higher still, because many users watch several videos each day. The gap between users and views is the point: YouTube in Pakistan is not a niche habit, it is a mass daily activity.
Pakistan YouTube viewership in context: TikTok and WhatsApp
The same briefing gave figures for other major platforms, which help place YouTube in context. TikTok has 100 million user accounts in Pakistan, while around 150 million Pakistanis watch videos on the app. That distinction matters, because accounts and viewers are not the same thing. A person can watch TikTok videos without holding an account, and the viewer figure captures that wider audience.
WhatsApp also has 100 million user accounts in the country. Pakistanis make about one billion WhatsApp calls and send around 12 billion messages on the app every day. Those numbers show a different kind of use: short, frequent, and personal, rather than the longer video sessions that drive YouTube viewing.
Taken together, the figures describe a country where video, messaging, and calls all run at very large scale. The network load that follows is also large, which is why the committee discussion turned quickly to data use, spectrum, and service quality.
Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja told the committee that social media and artificial intelligence have sharply increased data use in the country. She said no spectrum auction was held after Nawaz Sharif’s government left office, noting that his government gave the country 4G, while the current government has held the 5G spectrum auction.
The 5G link: 1.8 million users in 24 cities
According to the minister, 1.8 million people are now using 5G, which is being rolled out in 24 cities. Feature Pakistan reported that figure in detail earlier on Tuesday: Pakistan Has Around 1.8 Million 5G Users Across 24 Cities. That report also recorded the committee’s pushback on service quality, with lawmakers complaining about weak 4G service in several areas.
The YouTube figures and the 5G figures belong together. Video is the heaviest common use of mobile data, and 560 million daily views create a load that 4G networks in some areas already struggle to carry. If 5G stays limited to 24 cities and 1.8 million users, then most YouTube viewing will continue to run on 4G, and service quality in those areas will decide the viewing experience.
The minister also explained why services often suffer. She said entire telecom towers get stolen, along with the diesel and generators that keep them running. That is a stark operational problem, and it affects rural and remote sites first, where a stolen generator can take a tower offline for days.
PTA has also recently started blocking WhatsApp accounts linked to inactive SIMs, according to the briefing. That step is aimed at reducing misuse, but it also shows how closely platform use, SIM registration, and network management are now linked in Pakistan.
What 560 million views a day actually means
A daily count of 560 million videos does not mean 560 million different people watch YouTube each day. It means the total number of video plays across the country reaches that figure. A single user who watches ten short videos in an evening counts ten times in that total.
What happens next
The committee did not announce a new policy on video platforms in this briefing. The figures themselves, however, set the terms for the next debate. If Pakistan leads the world in YouTube viewing, then network investment, spectrum policy, and service quality are not abstract telecom issues. They decide whether the country’s most popular online activity works well or buffers, drops, and frustrates users.
The next test will be whether 5G expansion and tower protection improve daily service in the areas where complaints are sharpest. Until then, the headline stands on its own: Pakistan watches more YouTube, day by day, than any other country in the world, according to the regulator’s own figures.
The viewership figures come as the New York Times sued Brave over AI content scraping, Samsung launched new Galaxy phones, and Apple Music launched in Pakistan.
Frequently asked questions
How many YouTube videos are watched in Pakistan each day?
About 560 million videos are watched on YouTube in Pakistan every day, according to PTA Chairman Hafeez Ur Rehman.
How many Pakistanis use YouTube?
About 96 million Pakistanis currently use YouTube, according to the PTA chief.
How many TikTok and WhatsApp users are there in Pakistan?
TikTok has 100 million user accounts in Pakistan, with around 150 million viewers, while WhatsApp has 100 million user accounts, with about one billion calls and 12 billion messages a day.
How many 5G users are there in Pakistan?
About 1.8 million people are using 5G, which is being rolled out in 24 cities, according to IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja.
Why did the minister say mobile services suffer?
She cited infrastructure theft, including stolen towers, generators, and diesel, along with rising data use from social media and artificial intelligence.
