Despacito still reigns: The most-viewed videos in YouTube history as of February 2026

Two decades after YouTube launched, a handful of music videos have achieved something once unimaginable: view counts in the billions, far beyond what television audiences ever reached.

Based on YouTube’s all-time public view counts, the current top 10 stands as follows:

1. Despacito – Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee (8.9B)
2. See You Again – Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth (6.9B)
3. Shape of You – Ed Sheeran (6.6B)
4. Gangnam Style – PSY (5.8B)
5. Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars (5.7B)
6. Axel F – Crazy Frog (5.7B)
7. Dame Tu Cosita – El Chombo ft. Cutty Ranks (5.3B)
8. Shree Hanuman Chalisa – Hariharan/Gulshan Kumar (5.1B)
9. Waka Waka – Shakira (4.4B)
10. Counting Stars – OneRepublic (4.3B)

At the top of the list is still the record-breaking Latin hit Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, which continues to dominate as YouTube’s most-viewed video of all time with 8.9 billion views.

This figure is more significant as it is even bigger than the world's total population. According to Worldometer, the global population stood at roughly 8.2 billion in early 2026.

TIME previously described the song’s rise as a defining moment for the global mainstreaming of Spanish-language pop, marking a turning point in how music crosses borders in the streaming era.

These numbers underline the truly global nature of YouTube’s audience, spanning Latin pop, K-pop, devotional music, novelty animation, and international football anthems.

YouTube has become far more than a video platform. It is now one of the world’s most influential music distribution systems.

The streaming platform plays a central role in shaping modern hits, particularly outside the traditional Western music industry pipeline. Artists can break through globally without radio dominance, driven instead by algorithms, fan communities, and shareable visuals.