35+ Latest Podcast Statistics For 2023: Users, Facts & More

If you’re looking for a powerful medium to attract high-paying customers, podcasting is an excellent choice. The BEST part about podcasting is that people can listen even while working or commuting to work.

Want to know how many people listen to podcasts and other exciting podcast statistics? 

Have a look at the popularity of the term “Podcast” (Google Trends);

The podcast’s popularity is growing rapidly, especially after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Do you know why? You can listen to podcasts on any device, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops.

What are podcasts?

Podcasts are audio or video recordings that are usually streamed on platforms like Spotify, YouTube, etc. These can be considered pre-recorded talk radio shows covering a specific topic, such as marketing, fitness, lifestyle, travel, real estate, and more. 

In this post, we’ll talk about;

• podcast listener statistics
• how many podcasts are there
• podcast ad revenue numbers and much more

Are you ready? Let’s jump into the details. 

Podcast Statistics [Latest Data & Trends for 2023]

Podcast Listener Statistics

Here are some of the latest podcast listener stats around the world.

1. How many people listen to podcasts globally?

In 2021, the number of podcast listeners worldwide amounted to 383.7 million internet users, which grew to 464.7 million in 2023. The number of podcast listeners worldwide will reach 504.9 million by 2024, around 23.5% of Internet users. (Source: Statista)

Here’s the growth of podcast listeners in the last couple of years.

• 2019: 274.8 million listeners (14.4% of Internet users)
• 2020: 332.2 million listeners (16.5% of Internet users)
• 2021: 383.7 million listeners (18.7% of Internet users)
• 2022: 424.2 million listeners (20.3% of Internet users)
• 2023: 464.7 million listeners ( 22% of Internet users)
• 2024* (projected): 504.9 million listeners (23.5%  of Internet users)

2. Which country has the largest share of podcast listeners?

Statista reveals that Sweden has the largest share of podcast listeners (a whopping 47%) from 54 surveyed nations.

Some of the popular Sweden podcasts include;

• Simple Swedish Podcast
• Sweden in Focus
• A Flatpack History of Sweden
• Swedish podcast for beginners (Lätt svenska med Oskar)
• Coffee Break Swedish
• Teach Me Sweden

3. Where do most people listen to podcasts?

According to the Discover Pods report, 79.8% of people listen to podcasts while driving. 69.3% while doing housework and 58.9% during their free time.

As you can see above, most of the listeners tune into their favorite podcast shows while commuting. This is the PRIMARY reason for the rapid growth of podcasting worldwide.

4. How many people listen to the whole podcast?

68% of podcast listeners listen to the whole episode. The impressive thing about podcasts is that 70% of people listen to almost all the episodes they’ve downloaded. (Source: The MIDAS Survey)

5. What device do most people use to listen to podcasts?

The common device for podcast listening is a smartphone (73%). It is followed by desktop/laptop (13%). (Exploding Topics)

6. How many men and women listen to podcasts?

The majority of podcast listeners are male (53%). Female listeners make up 46%. (Source: Exploding Topics)

Here’s the breakdown for the last few years;

• 2019: Male (36%), female (29%)
• 2020: Male (39%), female (36%)
• 2021: Male 43%, female (39%)
• 2022: Male (41%), female (36%)

7. How many podcasts do people listen to per week?

82.4% of podcast listeners spend over 7 hours per week listening to their favorite podcast listening app. 22.4% listen to more than 22 hours weekly — more than 3 hours daily.  (Source: Discover Pods)

8. How valuable are podcast listeners?

Forbes says that 45% of podcast listeners have a household income of over $250,000. They are also highly educated, as 45% of podcast listeners have a college degree, and 68%  have a post-graduate degree.

If you plan to target high-net-worth educated individuals, you should definitely get into podcasting. 

9. How do listeners discover new podcasts?

Edison Research reveals that 30% of new podcast listeners search the internet to find new podcast shows.

Here’s the breakdown of how people find new podcasts;

• 19% ask friends and family for podcast recommendations
• 17% use social media networks such as Twitter, Instagram, etc
• Nearly 6% take podcast host recommendations
• Almost 7% find new podcasts from advertisements on other audio programs

SEO and word of mouth are TWO big strategies you can use as a podcast creator to find more audiences. 

10. Which countries hold the top spot for podcast listenership or growth?

North America and Asia Pacific have the highest podcast listening rates. Also, 58% of South Korean people listen to podcasts every month.

Interesting Podcast Statistics

Here’s a list of interesting podcast stats that will amaze you.

1. How many podcasts are there?

According to Podcast Index, there are an estimated 4,096,419 podcast episodes as of 2023.

Here’s the breakdown of the total number of podcasts;

• 375,055 podcast shows published (in the last 30 days)
• 459,812 podcast shows published (in the last 60 days)
• 522,019 podcast shows published (in the last 90 days)

2. What is the number 1 most listened-to podcast?

“The Joe Rogan Experience,” hosted by Joe Rogan, is the world’s #1 most-listened podcast.

Each of Joe’s episodes gets about 11 million listeners, and Rogan does podcasts with people like  Edward Snowden, Mike Tyson, Elon Musk, and more.

Here are some of the most popular podcasts worldwide;

• The Joe Rogan Experience, Joe Rogan
• Call Her Daddy, Alex Cooper
• The Always Sunny Podcast
• Welcome to Our Show, Iheartpodcast
• Murder, Mystery & Makeup, Audioboom studios

If you’re curious, read our case study of Joe Rogan’s net worth to find interesting details about his podcasting journey.

3. What is the most popular genre of podcast?

“Comedy” is the #1 podcast genre listened to by most people in the U.S. (Source: Edison’s Weekly Insights).

It is followed by;

• Society & Culture
• News
• True crime
• Sports
• Business 

4. In which languages are most podcasts created?

Most podcasts are in English (over 1.8 million podcasts). (Source: Listen Notes)

Here’s the breakdown of the podcasts by language;

5. What are the popular podcast listening platforms?

Spotify and Apple Podcasts are the two most popular podcast platforms. In total, 1 in 4 podcast listeners use Spotify for podcast listening. While 1 in 5 use Apple Podcasts. 

Here are some of the popular podcast platforms;

• Spotify, with a 25% market share
• Apple podcast with a 20% market share 
• Google Podcast, with a 16% market share
• Pandora, with a 15% market share
• Audible, with a 10% market share

6. How many people prefer podcasts over other channels?

28% of podcast listeners prefer podcasts over other audio content types, including YouTube, FM radio, Spotify, etc. 

Semrush also reveals that by 2024, it’s estimated there will be 100 million podcast listeners in the U.S. alone.

7. What percentage of people listen to podcasts for learning?

74% of podcast listeners tune in to learn something new.

Here’s a quick breakdown of podcast listeners;

• 71% listen to podcasts to be entertained
• 60% to stay up-to-date with the latest topics and news
• 51% are for relaxation
• 47% to feel inspired

8. Do people prefer to hear new podcast episodes?

40% of podcast listeners prefer to hear new episodes every 8 to 14 days. 51.1% of podcast listeners prefer podcasts with studio-quality audio. (The Podcast Host)

The Podcast Host also reveals that 49% of podcast listeners are happy to listen to podcasts with low-quality sound, provided the content is good.

9. Do podcast listeners pay for a podcasting service?

Yes, 21% of podcast listeners subscribe to a paid podcast service. 

Nearly 30% of frequent podcast listeners were more open to paying for a podcasting service (such as Spotify or Apple Music) than casual listeners. Also, 32.5% of podcast listeners said their favorite podcast platform is Spotify.

10. What is the ethnicity of podcast listeners in the US?

58% of Americans are white, 13% African-American, 18% Hispanic, 11% Hispanic, and 4% Asian. There is also 17% of other ethnicities. (Source: Edison Research)

General Podcast Stats

Here are some general stats on the podcast market size, its growth, etc.

1. How big is the podcasting market?

According to Grand View Research, the global podcasting market size was valued at $18.52 billion in 2022 and is estimated to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 27.6% from 2023 to 2030.

As you can see, the podcast industry is growing HUGE every year.

“Research and Markets” estimate that the global podcasting market will reach $130.63 billion by 2030.

2. Which podcast genre has the biggest market share?

“Research and Markets” reveals that the “news and politics” segment dominated with a revenue share of more than 27% of the overall market in 2022 and will expand at a CAGR above 29% from 2023 to 2030.

Also, it estimates that Latin America will see the fastest podcast growth, registering a CAGR of more than 37%.

3. What percentage of podcast listeners have purchased after hearing about an advertised product on a podcast?

Discover Pods reveals that 55.6% of podcast listeners are either somewhat or more likely to consider buying from a brand after hearing its advertisement on a podcast.

Here’s a quick breakdown;

• 86.5% – Listen to podcast ads
• 55.6% – Have purchased an item advertised on a podcast

4. What is the most crucial metric for podcast creators?

Here are the top metrics considered by most podcast creators;

• Producing a Quality Podcast: 97.7%
• Engaged Listeners: 96.5%
• Publishing Podcasts consistently: 89.7%

Also, 73.8% of podcasters consider earning revenue important, which ranked fourth on the list of important metrics for most podcasters, according to Discover Pods.

5. What are the biggest challenges faced by podcast creators?

72.8% of podcast creators struggle with podcast discovery, 49.8% with podcast awareness, and 32.9% with low podcast quality. 

6. How much is podcast ad revenue in the US?

eMarketers reveals that marketers in the US spent $1.3 billion on podcast ads, and the ad spend on podcasts is expected to surpass $2 billion annually by 2023. 

7. Is podcasting ad revenue increasing or declining each year?

Podcasting ad revenue is growing faster (72%) than the total internet ad revenue (35%). In case you’re curious, podcast advertising revenues in the US surpassed the $1 billion mark (in the year 2021) for the first time and are growing rapidly.

8. What are the podcast trends in Canada?

Over 9 million Canadian adults are monthly podcast consumers. 34% of Canadian adults and 46% of adults aged 18-49 listened in the past month.

Nearly 40% of adult Canadians have listened to a podcast in the last year. 28.58% of Canadian listeners earn $100,000 or more annually.

9. Do people in India listen to podcasts?

Yes, India is ranked third in the podcasting industry after USA and China. Currently, India has over 150 million podcast listeners. 

According to Live Mint, the top three podcast genres in India are;

• News policy (62%)
• Comedy and entertainment (53%)
• Business and finance (47%)

If you plan to target a superfast developing country, you shouldn’t miss out on the Indian audience, as there’s a HUGE popular of over 1.4 billion.

10. Which countries are seeing the fastest podcasting growth?

Podcasting is growing fastest in the following 5 countries:

• Chile +83.9%
• Argentina +55.3%
• Peru +49.1%
• Mexico +47.8%
• China +43.6%

Fascinating Facts about Podcasts

Looking for podcast facts? This section is for you.

1. Who named it “podcast”?

BBC journalist Ben Hammersley is the one who coined the term “Podcast” in February 2004, combining the words “iPod” and “broadcast.” It was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2005.

2. What is the average length of a podcast episode?

Most podcasts (31%) are between 20 to 40 minutes.

Here’s the breakdown of the length of most podcasts (according to Buzzsprout)

• 15% of podcasts are less than 10 minutes
• 14% are between 10-20 minutes
• 22% are between 40-60 minutes
• 17% are over 60 minutes

3. When do most people listen to podcasts?

According to a MIDAS survey, most podcast listeners listen to podcasts more in the morning than at any other time. 

Here’s the breakdown of the timings;

• The peak listening time for podcasts is between 08:15 and 08:30 a.m. (EST)
• Other popular podcast times are between 11:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. and again at 5:30 p.m.

4. Why do people start podcasts?

38.4% of people start podcasting as hobby. (Source: The Podcast Host)

Here are some other common reasons for starting a podcast;

• Build a personal brand (21%)
• Grow a business (19.7%)
• For a cause (13.8%
• For employers (7.1%)

5. What software most podcasts use to create podcasts?

The Podcast Host reveals that 48% of respondents use Audacity to edit their podcasts, with Adobe Audition in 2nd place (31%).

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FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about podcast stats and user growth.

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Final Thoughts

Undoubtedly, the podcast industry is growing year after year. It is a multi-billion dollar industry and will reach over 500 million podcast listeners globally by 2024.

If you’re looking for the BEST way to reach your audience, podcasts are an excellent choice. 

What are your thoughts on the podcast popularity and stats mentioned here? Do you listen to podcasts? Have any questions? Let us know in the comments.