Pakistan leads the world in YouTube viewing, with 96 million users watching 560 million videos on the platform every day, the country’s telecom regulator has told parliament.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority chairman Hafeez Ur Rehman gave the figures while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology on Tuesday. He said the daily viewing total puts Pakistan at the top globally for YouTube viewership.
The committee was also told that TikTok has 100 million registered accounts in Pakistan, while 150 million people in the country watch videos on the platform. WhatsApp, meanwhile, has 100 million accounts, with users making one billion calls and sending 12 billion messages each day.
Federal Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja told the committee that social media and artificial intelligence use has sharply increased data consumption across the country.
She said no spectrum auction had taken place after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif left office, adding that his government had introduced 4G services, while the present government had conducted a 5G spectrum auction.
The minister said 1.8 million people are now using 5G services in Pakistan, with the technology being rolled out in 24 cities, and steps under way to improve service quality.
She also pointed to practical problems behind service disruptions, including the theft of entire mobile towers as well as diesel and generators from telecom sites. Such incidents, she said, are among the factors affecting the quality and continuity of services for users.
