National Geographic YouTube Stats

@natgeo · History & Documentary · Updated Nov 5, 2026

National Geographic channel overview

National Geographic (@natgeo) is a YouTube channel in the History & Documentary niche created in 2006. It has 27M subscribers and 7.3B total views across 12K videos, an average of 629K views per video over its lifetime.

Its last 30 uploads averaged 274K views, and a typical video (the median) gets 366K views. Over the last 12 months, National Geographic published 65 videos (43% Shorts), and 6 of them (9%) reached at least 3× the channel's typical views.

Subscriber growth

Over the last 19 days, National Geographic gained 100K subscribers and 42M views, about 2.2M views a day.

How much does National Geographic make?

Returbe estimates National Geographic's YouTube ad revenue at $170K – $566K per month. The estimate uses an RPM (revenue per 1,000 views, after YouTube's share) of $2.81 to $9.37, typically $5.15, based on the channel's niche, audience language and the share of its views coming from Shorts. At that rate, 1 million long-form views earn about $5.2K.

Ad revenue is only part of the picture: sponsorships, affiliate links, memberships and merch often pay more than ads. Learn how RPM varies by niche in how much YouTubers make per 1,000 views, or check any channel with the free monetization checker.

Upload schedule

National Geographic publishes about 44.5 videos a month. Based on its last 65 uploads, its most common upload day is Thursday (22% of uploads), usually around 13:00 UTC. The last video went out on Nov 5, 2026.

National Geographic's best outlier videos

An outlier is a video that beats the channel's own typical views. These are National Geographic's biggest hits relative to its normal, the ideas its audience responded to most. What is an outlier video?

• Searching for Amelia Earhart (Full Episode) | SPECIAL | National Geographic3.6M views · Oct 7, 20269.9× typical views
• Presented by @ROLEX. National Geographic photographer Marcus Westberg filmed a pangolin feeding.242K views · Oct 22, 20268.7× typical views
• Investigating the Hidden Chamber (Full Episode) | Kingdom of the Mummies | National Geographic3M views · Oct 18, 20268.3× typical views
• Presented by @ROLEX. National Geographic photographer Marcus Westberg filmed a pangolin hydrating.201K views · Oct 19, 20267.3× typical views
• Lending a helping hand to a young pangolin foraging for food #PerpetualPlanet #AfricaEarthsWildHome137K views · Oct 16, 20264.9× typical views
• Foraging with pangolins #Rolex #PerpetualPlanet #AfricaEarthsWildHome131K views · Sep 27, 20264.7× typical views
• A baby pangolin is rehabilitated #Rolex #PerpetualPlanet #AfricaEarthsWildHome74K views · Oct 7, 20262.7× typical views
• Crypto Scams (Full Episode) | Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller | Nat Geo1.5M views · Mar 2, 20252.5× typical views

Latest videos

8 of National Geographic's last 30 uploads did at least 1.5× the channel's typical views.

• Easygoing lakeside adventures in Madison, Wisconsin #BestOfTheWorld1K views · Nov 5, 20260× typical views
• Hi-Tech Sex (Full Episode) | Original Sin: Sex76K views · Nov 5, 20260.2× typical views
• Discover one of the world's tallest waterfalls in Northern Peru #BestOfTheWorld19K views · Nov 4, 20260.7× typical views
• King Tut in Color (Full Episode) | SPECIAL | National Geographic426K views · Nov 1, 20261.2× typical views
• Blackbeard: History's Most Well-Known Pirate (Full Episode) | Pirates: Behind the Legends | Nat Geo159K views · Oct 31, 20260.4× typical views
• Reconnect with nature in Grenada #BestOfTheWorld35K views · Oct 30, 20261.3× typical views
• David Blaine Uncovers Magic Around the Globe | Do Not Attempt MEGA Episode | National Geographic420K views · Oct 30, 20261.1× typical views
• How the Unsinkable Ship Went Down (Full Episode) | Titanic Sinks Tonight | National Geographic53K views · Oct 29, 20260.1× typical views
• Still looking for a Halloween costume? Try dressing up as the most terrifying thing in the universe.19K views · Oct 28, 20260.7× typical views
• Disney+ Special Look | Everest: The Other Side | National Geographic150K views · Oct 27, 20260.4× typical views

The History & Documentary niche on YouTube

In the last 30 days, Returbe tracked 3.5K videos from 373 channels in this niche. 13.5% of them reached 3× their channel's typical views, and a typical long video got 11K views. Estimated RPM for the niche: $3 to $10.

Smaller channels breaking out in this niche right now: Armed Sphere (273K subs, best video 206.5×), Para Historica (20K subs, best video 26.7×), Military Exposed Shorts (140K subs, best video 43.7×), Phantom Expedition (37K subs, best video 63.4×), James Sullivan (6.7K subs, best video 12×), ViralVerseUSA (9.4K subs, best video 39×).

Channels similar to National Geographic

• Sam and Colby17M subscribers · 10M typical views
• HISTORY16M subscribers · 59K typical views
• Best Documentary8.4M subscribers · 47K typical views
• Weird History4.7M subscribers · 83K typical views
• Origins Explained3.9M subscribers · 77K typical views
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• Fire of Learning904K subscribers · 139K typical views
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• FINAiUS804K subscribers · 504K typical views

Frequently asked questions

Data from Returbe's index of YouTube channels, collected from public YouTube data. Earnings are estimates from views and RPM benchmarks, not figures from the channel. Returbe is not affiliated with National Geographic or YouTube.