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Podcast Statistics You Need To Know

Backlinko Team

Written by Backlinko TeamIn collaboration with Semrush

Podcast statistics – Blog Post Header Image

In recent years, podcasts have taken the digital world by storm.

With more than 546 million listeners worldwide, the podcast industry provides lucrative opportunities for both podcasters and marketers alike and offers an effective way for you to connect with your target audience.

To put it into perspective, there are currently over 6 million podcasts in the world. Crazy right?

In this guide, I’ll give you some fascinating stats about:

Podcast Statistics at a Glance

The podcasting landscape is booming, with millions tuning in for their fix of audio entertainment and education. Taking a look through all of our statistics will benefit your podcast, but if you don’t have time to go through everything, here are a few of the top podcast stats you should know.

  • There are over 546 million podcast listeners worldwide.
  • 47% of the US population 12+ listen to a podcast at least once a month.
  • In 2024, worldwide podcast ad spending is estimated to hit $4.02 billion.
  • Video podcasts are on the rise, with as many as 33% of US podcast listeners opting for watchable podcasts.
  • YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts lead the pack for global podcast dominance.

Now it’s time to take a look at some fascinating podcast statistics. While podcasting may have originated in the United States, there are now listeners in every corner of the globe, and these stats highlight just how popular it is.

Let’s dive into all the latest podcast stats:

Podcast Listener Demographics

When it comes to podcasts, it’s interesting to unpack who is listening to the content. If you’re planning on starting your own podcast, you’ll need to determine your target audience from the get-go.

By age:

  • Millennials and Gen Z make up 61.6% of US podcast listeners
    Millennials and Gen Z make up 61.6% of US podcast listeners
  • According to a 2024 Edison Research study, 59% of consumers in the US aged 12-34 had listened to a podcast in the last month.
  • In the same study, 55% of Americans aged 35-54 had listened to a podcast in the past month.
  • 27% of Americans aged over 55 are monthly podcast listeners.
  • 29% of kids ages 6 to 12 listened to a podcast in the past month.

By gender:

  • 51% of monthly podcast listeners in the US are male.
  • 48% of American podcast listeners are female.
  • Non-binary Americans make up 1% of monthly podcast consumers.

Source: Edison Research

Podcast Listeners by Country

Podcasts are popular worldwide, but some countries spend more time tuning into podcasts than others. Let’s have a look at how these are distributed around the globe.

The following countries have the highest share of adults listening to podcasts at least 1 hour per week:

Note: Includes select markets.
Country Podcast Listening (1h+ per week)
South Africa 68%
Saudi Arabia 59%
Indonesia 57%
Thailand 52%
Brazil 44%
Spain 41%
USA 39%
China 38%
Ireland 37%
Poland 36%
Italy 31%
Canada 31%
Germany 27%
Netherlands 24%
Japan 10%

Source: YouGov

In the US alone, there are an estimated 129.9 million podcast listeners, followed by China (117.1 million) and Brazil (51.8 million).

Podcast Listeners by Country

Here’s a table with the number of podcast listeners in select countries:

Country Monthly Podcast Listeners
US 129.9 million
China 117.1 million
Brazil 51.8 million
Mexico 27.5 million
Germany 22.1 million
UK 18.3 million
France 16.4 million
Japan 15.0 million
Spain 14.7 million
Italy 13.6 million
Canada 13.4 million
Argentina 10.4 million
Australia 9.2 million
South Korea 6.8 million

Source: eMarketer

Video Podcast Statistics

Also known as vodcasts, video podcasts are also making waves in the podcasting industry. They combine audio and visual content, tailoring it to diverse audiences while offering something unique.

Since the podcasting industry is growing rapidly, so is vodcasting.

Here are some stats to prove it:

  • As of April 2024, 33% of US weekly podcast listeners prefer watching a podcast, that’s up from 30% in April 2022.
  • As of 2024, Spotify content library includes over 250,000 video podcasts, up from 100,000 in 2023.
  • On Spotify, over 170 million users have watched a video podcast to date.
    On Spotify, over 170 million users have watched a video podcast to date
  • In the US, close to one in three podcast monthly active users on Spotify engage with video.

Sources: Cumulus Media, Spotify

Podcast Advertising Revenue

The number of people who listen to podcasts continues to rise astronomically. But what does this mean for the amount of revenue that’s generated?

Let’s take a look at some intriguing statistics that illustrate the podcast boom!

  • US podcast ad spending is estimated to reach $2.56 billion in 2024, showing a 16.4% year-over-year increase.
  • In 2024, worldwide podcast ad spending is estimated to hit $4.02 billion, that’s a 16.18% increase since 2023.
  • By 2027, podcast ad spending is forecasted to reach $5.03 billion.
    By 2027, podcast ad spending is forecasted to reach $5.03 billion

Sources: eMarketer, Statista

How Podcast Creators Make Money

There’s clearly money to be made in podcasting.

Payment for these ads typically depends on the number of impressions the ads get, and the more listeners you have, the more impressions you’ll get.

This is how much revenue the most common types of podcast ads make:

  • Host-read ads: Adverts read by hosts account for around 55% of podcasting ad revenue
  • Announcer-read ads: 40% of podcast ad revenue comes from ads read by announcers
  • Brand or Agency read ads: Adverts produced by brands or agencies make up only 3% of podcast advertising revenue.

But, if you don’t have many listeners yet, there are alternative methods to kickstart your earnings. These include:

  • Affiliate marketing: This involves promoting a service or product and earning commissions for the sales made via your affiliate link.
  • Premium content: You could try charging an extra fee for listeners to access exclusive content that’s not available on your regular podcast feed. You could set up a subscription, having certain episodes that are only available to paying subscribers. Many podcast hosts release free episodes on platforms like Apple Podcasts and also release episodes on Patreon for their paying subscribers.
  • Video monetization: You could make video recordings of your podcast as well as audio recordings and then upload your videos to YouTube, where you can monetize them with YouTube ads.

Source: IAB

Leveraging Podcast Statistics

Judging by the statistics alone, it’s clear that podcasts are incredibly popular all around the world.

Judging by the statistics alone, it’s clear that podcasts are incredibly popular all around the world.

Reviewing industry stats can be a valuable way to discover insights that can inspire your content strategy. You can find out what’s trending, generate content ideas, and find new ways to outdo your competition.

An awesome way to find content ideas is by using Semrush’s Topic Research tool. The tool will show you the most trending topics related to your niche.

All you need to do is type in your topic (I went with “running shoes”), select a region, and click “Get content ideas”.

Semrush – Topic Research Tool

On the next page, toggle “See trending subtopics first” on, and you get a collection of “cards” containing trending topics related to your keyword.

Semrush – Topic Research – Results

You can then take these trends into podcast topics for upcoming podcast episodes.

Final Thoughts

From connecting with your audience to boosting your ad revenue, podcasts offer a whole new range of possibilities.

Plus, the numbers show a skyrocketing audience, diverse tastes, and some serious ad potential.