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Who’s the Most Popular YouTuber in Every Country?
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Who’s the Most Popular YouTuber in Every Country?
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Forgot about becoming an astronaut—these days, kids are three times more likely to dream of becoming a professional YouTuber.
And who can blame them? With a big enough fan base, vlogging can be a lucrative business. Who exactly are these professional content creators, and how do they make their money?
This graphic by Accredited Debt Relief shows the most popular YouTuber in nearly every country. The list only considers individual YouTubers, so brands, bands, or shows didn’t make the cut.
How Do YouTubers Make Money?
Before diving into the list, it’s important to understand the basics of the business. How do these content creators generate revenue?
- Advertisements
If a YouTuber reaches 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours within a year, they can start to monetize their account with advertisements. YouTubers only get paid when a viewer watches the full ad, or clicks on it. - YouTube Premium
This is a monthly subscription service that allows fans to watch their favourite content without ads. YouTubers get a cut of subscription profits, based on how many views their channel attracts. - Corporate Sponsorships
Also known as influencer marketing, this is when brands pay content creators to promote their product. A vlogger typically needs a large following before brands are willing to work with them, but expectations from brands vary based on the company and their marketing objectives. - Merchandise Sales
If an influencer has a loyal fan base, they can make a pretty penny selling branded swag. It’s estimated that PewDiePie, the world’s most popular YouTuber, makes over $6 million a month from merch sales.
While there are several options for making money on YouTube, it’s nearly impossible to make a living without a large following.
The Full Breakdown
With over 50 million content creators on YouTube, getting noticed is no easy feat. Here’s a look at the most popular YouTubers in 187 different countries, based on their total subscribers:
| Country | YouTuber | Category | Subscribers | Est. Monthly Earnings (USD$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | Sorelle Amore | Entertainment | 965,000 | $3,300 |
| 🇧🇸 Bahamas | Crypto Beadles | Tech | 92,600 | $2,400 |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | TumkaGames / Тумка:3 | Gaming | 900,000 | $7,900 |
| 🇲🇿 Mozambique | Arte e Vida | Entertainment | 86,800 | $655 |
| 🇹🇿 Tanzania | Young Tubers | Kids | 828,000 | $63,100 |
| 🇱🇾 Libya | King GTA | Gaming | 812,000 | $69,900 |
| 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | Amharic Cooking | How To | 81,700 | $872 |
| 🇧🇼 Botswana | Shree craft place | How To | 80,800 | $11,000 |
| 🇳🇷 Nauru | JerseySurvivor | Entertainment | 80,700 | $2,800 |
| 🇹🇴 Tonga | TasteoftheSouthPacific | How To | 8,700 | $281 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | はじめしゃちょー（hajime） | Entertainment | 8,710,000 | $238,800 |
| 🇻🇳 Vietnam | NTN Vlogs | Entertainment | 8,610,000 | $19,600 |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | Narins Beauty | Beauty & Style | 8,310,000 | $203,300 |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | Life Hacks & Experiments | How To | 8,040,000 | $318,400 |
| 🇫🇲 Micronesia, Federated States of | dxd101 | Entertainment | 79,300 | $2,700 |
| 🇯🇲 Jamaica | Yanrique | Gaming | 785,000 | $50,300 |
| 🇬🇾 Guyana | Pro Marathi | Tech | 77,000 | $29 |
| 🇵🇸 Palestine | Fozi Mozi | Kids | 7,700,000 | $723,900 |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | Marzia | Entertainment | 7,660,000 | $1,800 |
| 🇩🇿 Algeria | Oum Walid | How To | 7,470,000 | $217,700 |
| 🇹🇱 Timor Leste | king_vieira OFFICIAL | Music | 7,300 | $221 |
| 🇮🇶 Iraq | قناة منوعات الكوميدية العراقيه | People & Blogs | 7,260,000 | $593,000 |
| 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | Resul Abbasov Official | Entertainment | 668,000 | $33,400 |
| 🇲🇪 Montenegro | AdnanBro | Gaming | 626,000 | $18,000 |
| 🇸🇨 Seychelles | Rosa Gruner | Gaming | 60,900 | $7,100 |
| 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | Editing ki Dukan | How To | 60,500 | $635 |
| 🇷🇴 Romania | Be Inspired | Education | 6,690,000 | $86,500 |
| 🇳🇬 Nigeria | MarkAngelComedy | Comedy | 6,340,000 | $326,800 |
| 🇵🇦 Panama | Mimonona Stories | Kids | 6,230,000 | $7,900 |
| 🇱🇦 Laos | Bigyai Seehalad | Entertainment | 582,000 | $114,300 |
| 🇧🇧 Barbados | Brilliant News | Entertainment | 580,000 | $158,500 |
| 🇧🇹 Bhutan | Cigano Ramires | People & Blogs | 56,900 | $7,200 |
| 🇺🇸 United States of America | Like Nastya | Kids | 56,900,000 | $7,730,000 |
| 🇧🇿 Belize | ngashigi kangleipak | People & Blogs | 56,300 | $806 |
| 🇩🇯 Djibouti | Eman Lotfi | Entertainment | 55,700 | $1,400 |
| 🇨🇺 Cuba | Lifeples | Entertainment | 538,000 | $70,700 |
| 🇧🇳 Brunei | Bernardo Werneck | Entertainment | 52,800 | n/a |
| 🇸🇲 San Marino | BlackJack997 | Autos | 51,500 | $222 |
| 🇲🇳 Mongolia | Mesmerism Official | Comedy | 504,000 | $16,300 |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | TheRelaxingEnd | Gaming | 5,800,000 | $128,600 |
| 🇦🇩 Andorra | Tri-line | Entertainment | 5,700,000 | $127,900 |
| 🇺🇾 Uruguay | Dosogas | Entertainment | 5,600,000 | $55,800 |
| 🇪🇬 Egypt | Ahmed Hassan Family | Entertainment | 5,450,000 | $218,200 |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | মায়াজাল | Entertainment | 5,320,000 | $19,000 |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Rainbow Learning | Kids | 5,250,000 | $5,100 |
| 🇬🇪 Georgia | Guka Family Show | Kids | 5,210,000 | $339,800 |
| 🇰🇼 Kuwait | AboFlah | Gaming | 5,130,000 | $786,800 |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | SirKazzio | Entertainment | 5,060,000 | $11,600 |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | Fabio Wibmer | Sports | 5,020,000 | $317,000 |
| 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | The Motivator 2 | Sports | 48,100 | $60 |
| 🇲🇬 Madagascar | Philippe MARRONE | Sports | 47,700 | $3,800 |
| 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | Caroline Elizabeth | Entertainment | 45,400 | $54 |
| 🇬🇭 Ghana | RakGhana | Comedy | 448,000 | $12,600 |
| 🇲🇼 Malawi | Dj Àmit Áligarh | Music | 44,100 | $468 |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | Badabun | Entertainment | 43,000,000 | $299,100 |
| 🇧🇯 Benin | Ma Chaîne | How To | 42,000 | $611 |
| 🇨🇱 Chile | HolaSoyGerman | Entertainment | 41,100,000 | $208,400 |
| 🇮🇱 Israel | Jamal alimwase ـ جمال العمواسي | Nature | 4,730,000 | $89,100 |
| 🏴 Wales | Ben Phillips | Entertainment | 4,610,000 | $53,600 |
| 🇲🇾 Malaysia | PlataBush | Gaming | 4,590,000 | $70,000 |
| 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | Farjana Drawing Academy | How To | 4,580,000 | $225,300 |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | Blowek | Entertainment | 4,530,000 | $87,700 |
| 🇲🇦 Morocco | YassPlays | Gaming | 4,460,000 | $322,900 |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | TimKo Kid | Kids | 4,450,000 | $58,200 |
| 🇻🇪 Venezuela | KeiferMC | Gaming | 4,310,000 | $210,000 |
| 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | ElFlacoWTF | Entertainment | 4,270,000 | $54,000 |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | Akosi Dogie | Entertainment | 4,210,000 | $415,400 |
| 🇸🇩 Sudan | المنهج السلفي بالسودان | People & Blogs | 398,000 | $20,400 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | whinderssonnunes | Comedy | 39,800,000 | $62,400 |
| 🇸🇴 Somalia | Balanbaalis Studio | Music | 384,000 | $1,500 |
| 🇳🇦 Namibia | Namiban gospel music | Entertainment | 38,800 | $1,200 |
| 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | Jackson Oliveira | Entertainment | 38,700 | $333 |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | elrubiusOMG | Entertainment | 38,000,000 | $204,400 |
| 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | BlackPearl | How To | 36,800 | $327 |
| 🇸🇻 El Salvador | Fernanfloo | Gaming | 36,600,000 | $730,900 |
| 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | King Gryph | Gaming | 334,000 | $639 |
| 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis | Dr.Mungli | Education | 33,500 | $873 |
| 🇰🇪 Kenya | Henry DeSagu | Entertainment | 328,000 | $8,800 |
| 🇹🇬 Togo | Fortnite Fantasy | Gaming | 310,000 | $2,900 |
| 🇹🇻 Tuvalu | GuruKidHD | Gaming | 31,800 | $9 |
| 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | Ned Tocino | Entertainment | 31,200 | n/a |
| 🇲🇴 Macau | 籽岷 | Gaming | 300,000 | $1,200 |
| 🇬🇳 Guinea | Faits - Divers GUINEE | News | 30,600 | $11 |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | SYBO TV | Gaming | 3,750,000 | $76,400 |
| 🇹🇳 Tunisia | Born2Kill | Gaming | 3,690,000 | $232,300 |
| 🇧🇭 Bahrain | عمر فاروق Omar Farooq | Entertainment | 3,500,000 | $23,800 |
| 🇦🇱 Albania | Co Vines | Entertainment | 3,440,000 | $81,700 |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistan | Kitchen with Amna | How To | 3,420,000 | $101,700 |
| 🇵🇼 Palau | Ananda Kelly | How To | 3,300 | $26 |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwan | TGOP (This Group Of People) | Entertainment | 3,260,000 | $15,300 |
| 🇯🇴 Jordan | Rozzah | Entertainment | 3,210,000 | $38,200 |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | Life of Boris | Entertainment | 3,040,000 | $56,200 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | LE GRAND JD | Entertainment | 3,020,000 | $65,300 |
| 🇨🇲 Cameroon | BYSNESS Comédie Club | Comedy | 292,000 | $7,300 |
| 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia | The Dating Guru | How To | 28,000 | $32 |
| 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | caracol3000 | News | 27,200 | $818 |
| 🇰🇵 North Korea | Making ASMR | How To | 260,000 | $15 |
| 🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe | Anrita Melchizedek | Education | 25,300 | $95 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | VanossGaming | Gaming | 25,100,000 | $429,000 |
| 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | Certified sampson | Comedy | 241,000 | $19,400 |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland (Republic of) | jacksepticeye | Gaming | 24,300,000 | $991,700 |
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | Atta Halilintar | Entertainment | 24,100,000 | $218,900 |
| 🇨🇬 Congo (Republic of the) | ASTUCES NATURELLES - DR KOLO | Education | 230,000 | $1,300 |
| 🇩🇲 Dominica | Chanel Raphael. | People & Blogs | 23,500 | $1,900 |
| 🇬🇩 Grenada | Laura Forde | How To | 23,200 | $611 |
| 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | Jasur Hamroyev | People & Blogs | 220,000 | $2,000 |
| 🇮🇳 India | CarryMinati | Comedy | 22,700,000 | $66,100 |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | shfa | Kids | 22,200,000 | $287,200 |
| 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | Shava TuBe | People & Blogs | 215,000 | $674 |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | LuxGamer | Gaming | 215,000 | $269 |
| 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | Tech Zaada | Tech | 206,000 | $8,100 |
| 🇨🇻 Cape Verde | Fred walkthrough | Gaming | 203,000 | $1,800 |
| 🇹🇩 Chad | twifacetube | Entertainment | 20,100 | $130 |
| 🇧🇾 Belarus | A4 | Entertainment | 20,000,000 | $2,210,000 |
| 🇬🇧 Ireland (Northern) | Adam B | People & Blogs | 2,930,0000 | $47,600 |
| 🇾🇪 Yemen | صدام العزي | Entertainment | 2,890,0000 | $92,000 |
| 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | ViralBrothers | Entertainment | 2,780,000 | $7,800 |
| 🇱🇷 Liberia | مهووس عضلات/كمال الاجسام | How To | 2,770,000 | $136,900 |
| 🇸🇰 Slovakia | Peter PlutaX | How To | 2,700,000 | $169,000 |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | Grandayy | Entertainment | 2,690,000 | $133,300 |
| 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | JR INN | Comedy | 2,670,000 | $65,200 |
| 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | Emi Wong | People & Blogs | 2,540,000 | $42,700 |
| 🏴 Scotland | Mike Boyd | Entertainment | 2,440,000 | $31,500 |
| 🇲🇩 Moldova | GurinelTV | Kids | 2,410,000 | $460,700 |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | KM Music | Entertainment | 2,260,000 | $317,100 |
| 🇵🇾 Paraguay | TÍO RICZER | Entertainment | 2,200,000 | $15,600 |
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | Maria OMG | Entertainment | 2,160,000 | $128,100 |
| 🇴🇲 Oman | قرية العجائب | Entertainment | 2,150,000 | $13,000 |
| 🇱🇧 Lebanon | Laila Mourad | Entertainment | 2,140,000 | $7,200 |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | Bodil40 | Gaming | 2,030,000 | $14,800 |
| 🇰🇲 Comoros | Vallenatos En Vivo Oficial | Entertainment | 199,000 | $152 |
| 🇭🇹 Haiti | Komedyen Lakay Official | Comedy | 197,000 | $4,300 |
| 🇦🇴 Angola | ShiryuAmigo龍 | Comedy | 196,000 | $316 |
| 🇲🇱 Mali | MS2A FUNNY | Comedy | 195,000 | $5,600 |
| 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | THE TRUE ROYAL FAMILY | Education | 19,700 | $311 |
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | DrossRotzank | Entertainment | 19,600,000 | $131,100 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | HaerteTest | Entertainment | 18,900,000 | $25,600 |
| 🇲🇺 Mauritius | Ikhlaas MJ | Entertainment | 170,000 | $34,900 |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | mmoshaya | Entertainment | 17,300,000 | $913,300 |
| 🇺🇦 Ukraine | SlivkiShow | Entertainment | 16,900,000 | $620,200 |
| 🇧🇮 Burundi | Gasore Ismael Comedien | Comedy | 16,400 | $429 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | CKN Toys | Kids | 15,400,000 | $838,700 |
| 🇸🇷 Suriname | SRJ Musik | Music | 146,000 | $820 |
| 🇫🇷 France | SQUEEZIE | Entertainment | 14,700,000 | $325,200 |
| 🇮🇷 Iran | KhanAga Alireza Alibabaei Jabbari | Entertainment | 138,000 | $63 |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | TheBrianMaps | Entertainment | 13,900,000 | $126,900 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | Boram Tube ToysReview [보람튜브 토이리뷰] | Kids | 13,800,000 | $13,400 |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | Kaykai Salaider | Entertainment | 13,600,000 | $194,600 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | NikkieTutorials | Beauty & Style | 13,400,000 | $90,500 |
| 🇵🇪 Peru | Shidory Drawblogs | Entertainment | 13,300,000 | $195,900 |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | Enes Batur | Entertainment | 13,100,000 | $1,120,000 |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | Ranz Kyle | Entertainment | 12,000,000 | $52,400 |
| 🇲🇲 Myanmar | khunThinmg pao | Comedy | 119,000 | $4,800 |
| 🇬🇦 Gabon | Xavier HUBERT-BRIERRE | Nature | 113,000 | $7,000 |
| 🇨🇴 Colombia | Ami Rodriguez | Entertainment | 11,700,000 | $244,000 |
| 🇬🇲 The Gambia | ebrohaugh | People & Blogs | 11,400 | $159 |
| 🇨🇳 China | 李子柒 Liziqi | How To | 11,100,000 | $810,000 |
| 🇷🇼 Rwanda | Shangazi Emma-Claudine | People & Blogs | 108,000 | $2,900 |
| 🏴 England | PewDiePie | Entertainment | 105,000,000 | $1,160,000 |
| 🇲🇷 Mauritania | INFOS AABD | Tech | 102,000 | $236 |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | SaraBeautyCorner - DIY, Comedy, Makeup, Nail Art | Beauty & Style | 10,600,000 | $100,900 |
| 🇪🇨 Ecuador | Doc Tops | Entertainment | 10,500,000 | $307,500 |
| 🇰🇮 Kiribati | TV WULKAN - లొఽథటలలొప్రఠఽరగల్వ | Entertainment | 10,200 | $2 |
| 🇱🇸 Lesotho | Omnia Stars | How To | 1,900 | $2 |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | R3D 1 | Entertainment | 1,990,000 | $56,200 |
| 🇰🇭 Cambodia | fanKID | Entertainment | 1,940,000 | $38,000 |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia | Little Movies Games & Fun | Gaming | 1,940,000 | $19,800 |
| 🇳🇵 Nepal | Tattato Khabar | News | 1,850,000 | $69,800 |
| 🇬🇹 Guatemala | Jexs | Comedy | 1,810,000 | $102,000 |
| 🇿🇦 South Africa | morecaspar | Entertainment | 1,750,000 | $205 |
| 🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | video whatsapptube | Entertainment | 1,700,000 | $5,100 |
| 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | Germán Rodezel | Entertainment | 1,690,000 | $13,600 |
| 🇧🇴 Bolivia | Edson FDB | Gaming | 1,640,000 | $48,800 |
| 🇶🇦 Qatar | Kareemtime Official | Comedy | 1,530,000 | $40,000 |
| 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina | Omco | Comedy | 1,480,000 | $227,000 |
| 🇲🇨 Monaco | Jon Olsson | People & Blogs | 1,470,000 | $24,900 |
| 🇿🇲 Zambia | Cartoon Club | Kids | 1,440,000 | $3,400 |
| 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | Apé Amma | People & Blogs | 1,430,000 | $94,500 |
| 🇦🇲 Armenia | Arin أرين | Entertainment | 1,410,000 | $145,500 |
| 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | Ekaterina Saibel | People & Blogs | 1,310,000 | $20,600 |
| 🇭🇳 Honduras | músicos Cínicos 鯉 | Music | 1,270,000 | $139,600 |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | Doctor DS | Autos | 1,260,000 | $86,400 |
| 🇸🇳 Senegal | Hussein and Zeinab. | Kids | 1,230,000 | $184,700 |
| 🇺🇬 Uganda | Masaka Kids Afrikana | Kids | 1,140,000 | $103,600 |
| 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | Сань Янь | Kids | 1,140,000 | $475 |
| 🇸🇾 Syria | OtakuGamer - أوتاكو قيمر | Gaming | 1,130,000 | $114,900 |
| 🇸🇿 Swaziland (Eswatini) | OuSSama MiZani | Entertainment | 779 | n/a |
*Note: Estimated earnings were calculated via NoxInfluencer. Actual earnings may vary.
As mentioned earlier, the world’s most popular YouTuber is Swedish-born vlogger PewDiePie. He’s well known for his “Let’s Play” videos, which document him playing various video games. PewDiePie joined YouTube in 2010, and has now amassed 105 million subscribers. While he’s based in England, his channel is registered under the United States.
It’s worth noting the vast discrepancies between certain countries. For example, while the U.S.’s most popular YouTuber, Like Nastya boasts 57 million subscribers, Eswatini’s top vlogger, OuSSama MiZani has less than 800. Clearly, some markets are more saturated than others.
Categories, Ranked by Popularity
Geography isn’t the only factor that impacts popularity—the type of content is important as well. Which 10 categories do the top earning YouTubers fall into?
| Rank | Category | Number of Top Earning YouTubers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Entertainment | 72 |
| 2 | Gaming | 25 |
| 3 | How To | 18 |
| 4 | Comedy | 16 |
| 5 | Kids | 15 |
| 6 | People & Blogs | 14 |
| 7 | Education | 5 |
| 8 | Music | 5 |
| 9 | Tech | 4 |
| 10 | Beauty & Style | 3 |
Not surprisingly, the most popular category is entertainment, which has 72 of the top earning YouTubers. Some of the biggest YouTube personalities fall under this category, such as PewDiePie and Chilean YouTuber HolaSoyGerman, who has 41 million subscribers.
The second most popular category is gaming, which has 25 of YouTube’s top earners. Some big names in this category include Ireland’s jacksepticeye with 24.7 million subscribers, and Canada’s VanossGaming, who has 25.2 million.
In third place are “How To” videos—18 of the 187 top earners fall into this category. Life Hacks & Experiments is the most popular YouTuber in this group, with 8.3 million subscribers.
Categories, Ranked by Earnings
Here’s the highest earning YouTuber on this list for each category.
| Rank | Category | Top Earner in Category | Est. Monthly Earnings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kids | Like Nastya | $7.73M | |||
| 2 | Entertainment | A4 | $2.21M | |||
| 3 | Gaming | jacksepticeye | $991.7K | |||
| 4 | How To | 李子柒 Liziqi | $810.0K | |||
| 5 | People & Blogs | قناة منوعات الكوميدية العراقيه | $593.0K | |||
| 6 | Comedy | MarkAngelComedy | $326.8K | |||
| 7 | Sports | Fabio Wibmer | $317.0K | |||
| 8 | Beauty & Style | Narins Beauty | $203.3K | |||
| 9 | Nature | Jamal alimwase ـ جمال العمواسي | $89.1K | |||
| 10 | Education | Be Inspired | $86.5K | |||
| 11 | Auto | Doctor DS | $86.4K | |||
| 12 | News | Tattato Khabar | $69.8K | |||
| 13 | Tech | Tech Zaada | $8.1K | |||
| 14 | Music | Balanbaalis Studio | $1.5K |
When ranked by monthly earnings, the kids category comes in at first place. Six-year-old Like Nastya makes an estimated $7.73 million per month—that’s over 5 million more than the second ranking category, which is entertainment. The third most lucrative category is gaming, with the highest earner, jacksepticeye grossing an estimated $990,000 a month.
It’s important to note that figures are estimates of each YouTuber’s ad revenue, so it doesn’t account for corporate sponsorships, merchandise sales, or any fan donations.
So for all we know, these influencers could be making even more money. If that doesn’t inspire you to start posting amateur videos on YouTube, we don’t know what will.
Countries
Charted: The Number of Democracies Globally
How many democracies does the world have? This visual shows the change since 1945 and the top nations becoming more (and less) democratic.
Creator Program
Charted: The Number of Democracies Globally
The end of World War II in 1945 was a turning point for democracies around the world.
Before this critical turning point in geopolitics, democracies made up only a small number of the world’s countries, both legally and in practice. However, over the course of the next six decades, the number of democratic nations would more than quadruple.
Interestingly, studies have found that this trend has recently reversed as of the 2010s, with democracies and non-democracies now in a deadlock.
In this visualization, Staffan Landin uses data from V-DEM’s Electoral Democratic Index (EDI) to highlight the changing face of global politics over the past two decades and the nations that contributed the most to this change.
The Methodology
V-DEM’s EDI attempts to measure democratic development in a comprehensive way, through the contributions of 3,700 experts from countries around the world.
Instead of relying on each nation’s legally recognized system of government, the EDI analyzes the level of electoral democracy in countries on a range of indicators, including:
- Free and fair elections
- Rule of law
- Alternative sources of information and association
- Freedom of expression
Countries are assigned a score on a scale from 0 to 1, with higher scores indicating a higher level of democracy. Each is also categorized into four types of functional government, from liberal and electoral democracies to electoral and closed autocracies.
Which Countries Have Declined the Most?
The EDI found that numerous countries around the world saw declines in democracy over the past two decades. Here are the 10 countries that saw the steepest decline in EDI score since 2010:
| Country | Democracy Index (2010) | Democracy Index (2022) | Points Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | 0.80 | 0.46 | -34 |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 0.89 | 0.59 | -30 |
| 🇷🇸 Serbia | 0.61 | 0.34 | -27 |
| 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 0.55 | 0.28 | -27 |
| 🇮🇳 India | 0.71 | 0.44 | -27 |
| 🇲🇱 Mali | 0.51 | 0.25 | -26 |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | 0.44 | 0.20 | -24 |
| 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | 0.38 | 0.16 | -22 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 0.88 | 0.66 | -22 |
| 🇧🇯 Benin | 0.64 | 0.42 | -22 |
Central and Eastern Europe was home to three of the countries seeing the largest declines in democracy. Hungary, Poland, and Serbia lead the table, with Hungary and Serbia in particular dropping below scores of 0.5.
Some of the world’s largest countries by population also decreased significantly, including India and Brazil. Across most of the top 10, the “freedom of expression” indicator was hit particularly hard, with notable increases in media censorship to be found in Afghanistan and Brazil.
Countries Becoming More Democratic
Here are the 10 countries that saw the largest increase in EDI score since 2010:
| Country | Democracy Index (2010) | Democracy Index (2022) | Points Gained |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇲 Armenia | 0.34 | 0.74 | +40 |
| 🇫🇯 Fiji | 0.14 | 0.40 | +26 |
| 🇬🇲 The Gambia | 0.25 | 0.50 | +25 |
| 🇸🇨 Seychelles | 0.45 | 0.67 | +22 |
| 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 0.28 | 0.48 | +20 |
| 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 0.40 | 0.56 | +16 |
| 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 0.42 | 0.57 | +15 |
| 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | 0.41 | 0.56 | +15 |
| 🇲🇩 Moldova | 0.59 | 0.74 | +15 |
| 🇳🇵 Nepal | 0.46 | 0.59 | +13 |
Armenia, Fiji, and Seychelles saw significant improvement in the autonomy of their electoral management bodies in the last 10 years. Partially as a result, both Armenia and Seychelles have seen their scores rise above 0.5.
The Gambia also saw great improvement across many election indicators, including the quality of voter registries, vote buying, and election violence. It was one of five African countries to make the top 10 most improved democracies.
With the total number of democracies and non-democracies almost tied over the past four years, it is hard to predict the political atmosphere in the future.
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