YouTube’s rapid rise to the top in the early 2000s felt like it will not leave the pedestal at any point in its lifetime.

This held true for quite a long until people started getting the hang of listening to podcasts. 

How many podcast listeners are there? What are the most popular genres? And why do people listen to this type of mass media?

Tune in until the end of the article to find out interesting facts about podcasts.

How Many People Listen to Podcasts in 2023?

Today, driving along the Bayshore Freeway, cooking a falafel for a family dinner, and getting into a spin class is made easier and *better* by listening to some valuable content.

Podcasting’s ubiquitous presence is behind its humongous number of listeners, with the industry forecasted to hit 464.7 million listeners in 2023.

This year’s figure is a significant increase from 2019 when the number was still at 274.8 million listeners.

Similarly, 464.7 million listeners represent more than a fourth of all internet users, sealing podcasting’s growing popularity across many geographic locations.

Number of Podcast Listeners Over the Years

Take a look at this data published by eMarketer on the number of podcast listeners from 2019 to 2022.

Included is a projection for 2023 and 2024.

• 2019 – there were 274.8 million podcast listeners globally during the period
• 2020 – there were 332.2 million podcast listeners globally during the period
• 2021 – there were 383.7 million podcast listeners globally during the period
• 2022 – there were 424.2 million podcast listeners globally during the period
• 2023 – the number of podcast listeners is expected to come to 464.7 million this year
• 2024 – the number of podcast listeners is expected to come to 504.9 million during the year

Podcasting by Country

How many people listen to podcasts by country?

A 2022 study shows countries like Sweden, Spain, and the United States have the highest podcast-listening population during the year.

• Sweden – 44% of all survey participants from the country said they listened to podcasts at least once within a month
• Spain – 41% of all survey participants from the country said they listened to podcasts at least once within a month
• United States – 37% of all survey participants from the country said they listened to podcasts at least once within a month
• Canada – 36% of all survey participants from the country said they listened to podcasts at least once within a month
• France – 29% of all survey participants from the country said they listened to podcasts at least once within a month
• Germany – 29% of all survey participants from the country said they listened to podcasts at least once within a month
• Japan – 27% of all survey participants from the country said they listened to podcasts at least once within a month
• United Kingdom – 25% of all survey participants from the country said they listened to podcasts at least once within a month

Fact-based Reasons Why People Listen to Podcasts 

Aside from knowing how many people listen to podcasts in 2023, it is also important to know the reason behind their habits.

According to an article published by LinkedIn, 67% of general listeners note they get inspiration and motivation from listening to podcasts.

The percentage is much higher at 74% for heavy podcast listeners belonging to the top 25% with the longest listening hours per week. 

Moreover, 71% of general podcast listeners turn to this type of mass media for education and learning something new.

Whereas the same motivating factor holds true for 79% of all heavy listeners.

From this data, we can infer that motivation and education draw people into listening to podcasts, regardless of the frequency.

Other top reasons include entertainment, staying informed about the latest news and trends globally, relaxation, escape, and companionship. 

Top Podcast Channels Across Different Platforms 

Some podcast channels are more popular on Spotify than they are on Apple Podcasts.

Still, we will give you a glimpse at the top performers on both platforms to see which are topping the charts lately. 

Top Podcast Channels on Apple as of January 2023

1. New Heights by Jason & Travis Kelce
2. Huberman Lab
3. Dateline
4. Cup of Justice
5. The Daily 
6. Morbid
7. Crime Junkee
8. On Purpose with Jay Shetty
9. Erika Taught Me
10. Mardaugh Murders Podcast

Top Podcast Channels on Spotify as of January 2023

1. The Joe Rogan Experience
2. New Heights by Jason and Travis Kelce
3. Huberman Lab
4. HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast
5. Cup of Justice
6. This Past Weekend
7. Crime Junkee
8. On Purpose by Jay Shetty

Podcast Platforms and their Market Share

Which podcasting platform captured the biggest share in the industry?

Which among them gets the most number of downloads? Take a look at the data below.

• Spotify – this platform captured 31.7% of the entire podcast market in 2021, generating 25 million monthly downloads during the year
• Apple Podcast – this platform captured 26.9% of the entire podcast market in 2021, generating 21.1 million monthly downloads during the year
• Google Podcast – this platform captured 2.9% of the entire podcast market in 2021, generating 2.2 million monthly downloads during the year
• Castbox – this platform produces its own podcasts and generates an average of 2 million downloads every year

Growing Podcast Markets 

Sweden’s listening penetration is the highest across the world, making it among the top podcast markets in the world.

Meanwhile, countries in Latin America like Chile and Argentina are witnessing a significant increase in the population of their podcast listeners in 2022.

• Chile – the number of podcast listeners in the country grew by 84% from the same period a year ago
• Argentina – the number of podcast listeners in the country grew by 55% from the same period a year ago
• Peru – the number of podcast listeners in the country grew by 49% from the same period a year ago
• Mexico – the number of podcast listeners in the country grew by 48% from the same period a year ago
• China – the number of podcast listeners in the country grew by 44% from the same period a year ago

Conclusion

How many people listen to podcasts in 2023? Recent data published by eMarketer shows there will be 464.7 million podcast listeners globally this year.

Audio content increasingly gets people’s support due to the value it brings to the table.

Experts, scientists, academicians, and even the famous “chimpanzee lady” Jane Goodall are starting their own podcast channels.

I hope you have listened to one of her channel’s episodes because you are missing a lot if not.

This makes fact-based information easily within the grasp of the general masses. 

Sources