ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s YouTube creator economy is expanding rapidly, with more than 1,200 local channels now surpassing one million subscribers and a majority of their watch time coming from audiences outside the country, according to figures shared by YouTube.

The platform said more than 140,000 channels in Pakistan have crossed 10,000 subscribers, while over 19,000 have accumulated at least 100,000 subscribers.

Pakistani channels uploaded more than 20 million hours of content during the past year, reflecting the growing scale of digital production across entertainment, travel, food, education and cultural commentary.

The data also points to the increasingly international reach of Pakistani content. More than 60% of watch time on videos produced by Pakistan-based channels reportedly came from viewers abroad, including audiences in South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.

The trend suggests that local creators are no longer relying solely on domestic audiences and are increasingly building content formats capable of attracting viewers across borders.

Farhan Qureshi, Google’s cluster director for Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and frontier markets, said Pakistani creators were using YouTube to share the country’s culture and creativity while building businesses and creating employment opportunities.

Among the creators highlighted was Shahveer Jafry, whose channel has nearly four million subscribers. His long-form reality and entertainment videos use recurring casts and familiar situations to create episodic content designed to retain viewers.

Travel creator Abrar Hassan, who runs WildLens by Abrar, has attracted more than 2.2 million subscribers. A former aerospace engineer, Hassan moved into full-time content creation after documenting a motorcycle journey from Germany to Pakistan during the Covid-19 period.

He has since travelled to more than 90 countries and produces travel videos primarily in Urdu and Punjabi for audiences in Pakistan and overseas.

Food content has also emerged as one of Pakistan’s strongest digital categories. Food Fusion, which has more than five million subscribers, became the first Pakistani food channel to cross one billion views, according to the platform.

Its short, visually driven recipe videos have gained viewers beyond Pakistan and are widely followed by home cooks and small food businesses.

Rana Hamza Saif, another prominent food creator, has built an audience of more than 1.6 million subscribers through city food tours, personality-led formats and professionally produced culinary content.

Educational and analytical videos are also gaining ground. Minoqtopus, created by Minahil Temur, produces detailed video essays on technical, cultural and social subjects, showing that longer and research-based content can also attract substantial audiences.

Entertainment platform Something Haute, founded by journalists Aamna Haider Isani and Hassan Choudary, has built a strong following through television drama reviews, interviews and discussions on Pakistan’s film and fashion industries.

The growth of these channels reflects a broader shift in Pakistan’s media landscape, where independent creators are increasingly competing with conventional broadcasters for audiences, advertising and cultural influence.

With new channels entering the market and established creators improving production standards, Pakistan’s digital content industry is expected to play a larger role in the country’s creative economy and global cultural reach.

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