The most-viewed YouTube videos reach a scale little else online matches — the leader has been watched more times than there are people on Earth, many times over. The ranking is dominated by two genres: children's nursery rhymes and global music hits. Below is the current top 20 with verified view counts, the milestones that shaped the list, and what the list shows about how views compound on YouTube.
All view counts are as of April 19, 2026, per Wikipedia's continuously-updated List of most-viewed YouTube videos, which tracks live counters. Figures grow daily and are rounded to the nearest 0.01 billion.
Quick answer
The most-viewed YouTube video of all time is "Baby Shark Dance" by Pinkfong, with about 16.87 billion views (as of April 2026) — roughly double the second-place video. The most-viewed conventional music video is "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi (~9.00 billion). As of April 2026, 30 videos have passed 4 billion views and 14 have passed 5 billion. The first video ever to reach 1 billion was Psy's "Gangnam Style," in December 2012.
The 20 most-viewed YouTube videos of all time
| # | Video | Channel / uploader | Views (billions) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baby Shark Dance | Pinkfong | 16.87 | 2016 |
| 2 | Despacito | Luis Fonsi | 9.00 | 2017 |
| 3 | Wheels on the Bus | Cocomelon | 8.81 | 2018 |
| 4 | Bath Song | Cocomelon | 7.44 | 2018 |
| 5 | Johny Johny Yes Papa | LooLoo Kids | 7.18 | 2016 |
| 6 | See You Again | Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth | 6.97 | 2015 |
| 7 | Phonics Song with Two Words | ChuChu TV | 6.94 | 2014 |
| 8 | Shape of You | Ed Sheeran | 6.70 | 2017 |
| 9 | Gangnam Style | Psy | 5.91 | 2012 |
| 10 | Axel F | Crazy Frog | 5.86 | 2009 |
| 11 | Uptown Funk | Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars | 5.79 | 2014 |
| 12 | Learning Colors – Colorful Eggs on a Farm | Miroshka TV | 5.45 | 2018 |
| 13 | Dame Tu Cosita | Ultra Records | 5.44 | 2018 |
| 14 | Shree Hanuman Chalisa | T-Series Bhakti Sagar | 5.35 | 2011 |
| 15 | Baa Baa Black Sheep | Cocomelon | 4.79 | 2018 |
| 16 | Masha and the Bear – Recipe for Disaster | Get Movies | 4.67 | 2012 |
| 17 | Lakdi Ki Kathi | Jingle Toons | 4.58 | 2018 |
| 18 | Temu's Big Game Ad | Temu | 4.53 | 2024 |
| 19 | Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) | Shakira | 4.50 | 2010 |
| 20 | Humpty the Train on a Fruits Ride | Kiddiestv Hindi | 4.41 | 2018 |
Source: Wikipedia — List of most-viewed YouTube videos (as of April 19, 2026).
What the list tells you
A few patterns explain why these videos sit at the top:
- Kids' content dominates. Nursery rhymes and learning songs (Pinkfong, Cocomelon, ChuChu TV, LooLoo Kids) fill most of the top 20. Young children rewatch the same video on loop, and autoplay keeps it running — so the same child generates new views again and again.
- Music is the other engine. Despacito, See You Again, Shape of You, Uptown Funk, and Gangnam Style show how a global hit turns radio and streaming ubiquity into repeat YouTube plays.
- Age compounds. Most of the list was uploaded between 2009 and 2018. View counts accumulate for years, so older videos that never stopped being watched keep climbing — the one exception here is the 2024 Temu ad, which bought its way up fast.
- The top is lopsided. "Baby Shark Dance" (16.87B) has nearly double the views of #2, an unusually wide gap for a #1.
Milestones in YouTube view history
- First to 1 billion: "Gangnam Style" (Psy), December 2012. In 2014 it also became the first video to pass roughly 2.15 billion views — the ceiling of YouTube's original 32-bit view counter — which prompted Google to rebuild the counter to hold larger numbers.
- The 4-billion-plus club: 30 videos have crossed 4 billion views as of April 2026; 14 of them are past 5 billion.
- The current leader: "Baby Shark Dance" has held #1 since late 2020, when it overtook "Despacito."
Frequently asked questions
"Baby Shark Dance" by Pinkfong is the most-viewed YouTube video of all time, with about 16.87 billion views as of April 2026 — nearly double the second-place video. It has held the top spot since late 2020.
Sources
- Wikipedia — List of most-viewed YouTube videos (view counts, channels, upload years, and milestone notes; as of April 19, 2026).
For the bigger picture on the platform, see our YouTube statistics for 2026 and how YouTube monetization and earnings actually work.
Put this into practice
Tools and services to help you act on the advice above.
YouTube Views
YouTube's algorithm uses watch time and velocity. Start new uploads with initial momentum.
YouTube Subscribers
A larger subscriber base means bigger initial reach on every new video.
YouTube Likes
Early likes signal quality to the algorithm and boost distribution.
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