Netflix's global subscriber base has reached an impressive milestone, surpassing 300 million paid subscribers worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2024. This marks a significant increase of nearly 20 million subscribers compared to the previous quarter, solidifying Netflix's position as a dominant force in the streaming industry. Adapting to customer losses Netflix's growth has not always been consistent. During the first half of 2022, the streaming giant lost over one million customers. In response to these losses, Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier in November of that same year. This strategic move has paid off, with the lower-cost plan attracting 70 million monthly active users globally by November 2024, demonstrating Netflix's ability to adapt to changing market conditions and consumer preferences. Global expansion Netflix continues to focus on international markets, with a forecast suggesting that the Asia Pacific region is expected to see the most substantial growth in the upcoming years, potentially reaching around 70.1 million subscribers by 2029. To correspond to the needs of the non-American target group, the company has heavily invested in international content in recent years, with Korean, Spanish, and Japanese being the most watched non-English content languages on the platform.

Netflix reported approximately 90 million subscribers across the U.S. and Canada in the fourth quarter of 2024, making North America its second-largest global market after Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Netflix reports its first subscriber loss in decades After a decline in the number of paid Netflix subscribers worldwide during the first two quarters of 2022, the streaming giant seems to be back on track, adding over 30 million net subscribers in only one year. The United States and Canada experienced the most substantial combined subscriber loss, which is particularly noteworthy considering that Netflix generates the highest average monthly revenue per user (ARPU) in these countries. When asked about the main reasons for canceling their subscription, many former Netflix users listed the price as their main incentive for leaving. The service’s average monthly fee has increased significantly over the past few years, leading audiences to switch to more affordable (ad-supported) video streaming options or cut down on subscriptions altogether. Expanding global influence and content catalogs Netflix remains the leading subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service worldwide, outperforming all other international streaming powerhouses and local providers by a significant margin. To maintain its global lead, Netflix allocates impressive sums toward marketing while also expanding its regional content. In 2021, for example, the Seattle-based company opened its first office in Stockholm to serve as a hub for the Nordics region. In addition to that, Netflix also produces more original content outside the U.S. to appeal to its diverse international user base.

In 2024, Netflix revealed that it had 89.63 million paying streaming subscribers in the United States and Canada. North America had long been Netflix's biggest market, though subscriber numbers in the EMEA region surpassed that in the U.S. and Canada for the first time during 2022. The number of paid streaming memberships in Asia Pacific grew the most, by 13 percent compared with the previous year.

Forecasts made in late 2017 suggest that by 2023 the United States will have the highest number of Netflix subscribers in the world, with sources anticipating a total of 69.1 million subscribers in the country by this time. Given that the United States was the leading Netflix market worldwide in 2018 with over 64 percent of digital video viewers watching Netflix at least once per month, the predictions for 2023 could indeed come to fruition.

Following closely behind will be the United Kingdom with around 12 million subscribers, whereas Mexico, France and India are all expected to have fewer than six million Netflix subscribers by 2023.

Netflix’s global position

With a wealth of original content flooding onto the platform every month, Netflix has established itself not only as an industry leader when it comes to sourcing existing content for its subscribers to enjoy, but also in terms of its dedication to creating quality shows of its own. Some of the most successful shows in the market include Netflix originals, such as ‘Orange is the New Black’ and ‘Stranger Things’.

According to its company reports, Netflix’s worldwide subscribers in early 2019 amounted to over 155 million, more than triple the number recorded five years earlier. As well a subscriber increase, the company also announced further growth in its average monthly revenue per paying customer worldwide. Estimates foresee a growth in Netflix subscribers not only in North America and Western Europe, but also a surge in Netflix subscribers in Latin America over the coming years, as well as significant increases in developing markets.

Netflix was estimated to reach 2.6 million subscriptions in Africa by the end of 2021, accounting for about half of the subscribers of streaming on demand in Africa. In 2026, the number of subscribers is projected to double, reaching 5.8 million.

This statistic shows the number of Netflix subscribers in Australia and New Zealand in 2014 and 2015, as well as a forecast until 2025. The source projected that there would be more than 3.09 million Netflix subscribers in Australia and New Zealand in 2020.

This statistic shows the number of Netflix subscribers in India in 2014 and 2015, as well as a forecast until 2025. The source projected that there would be more than 2.3 million Netflix subscribers in India in 2020.

A forecast projected that over 35 million of Netflix's subscribers will be using the ad-supported tier worldwide by 2027, up from an estimated 400,000 in 2022. The EMEA region is projected to surpass the number of ad-supported subscribers in the U.S. and Canada by 2026, amassing 9.4 million customers that year. After losing a substantial number of customers at the beginning of 2022, the streaming giant announced the launch of an ad-supported tier at the end of the year to offset more subscriber and income losses.

It was estimated that, by the end of 2023, the number of subscribers of Netflix in Latin America will have surpassed 40 million. It is further expected that Netflix will gather more than 52 million subscribers in the region at the end of 2027.

The United Kingdom (UK) has the highest number of Netflix subscribers in Europe, with around 13 million subscribers as of the second quarter of 2010. The country with the second highest number was Germany with around 10.7 million, closely followed by France with 8.4 million.

Netflix catalogues across Europe

Not only does the UK have the highest number of Netflix subscribers in Europe, it’s also the country with the highest number of TV series on the SVoD (Subscription Video-on-Demand) platform. As of September 2019, there were 542 series available in the UK but just 350 in Germany.  

SVoD market share

 At 39 percent, Netflix had the largest share of the SVoD market in Europe in 2020. Their closest competitor was Amazon Prime Video, which had over a quarter of the market share in Europe that year. The fourth largest and one of the newest services, Disney+, reached a market share of seven percent. In the European Union, its revenue amounted to nearly 365 million euros as of 2020.

In 2020, there were around 18 million Canadians using Netflix via app or website at least once per month, up from 16.2 million users the previous year. Between 2018 and 2019 the number of Netflix users in Canada increased by nearly three million, with 16.2 million Canadians using Netflix in 2019. The numbers are expected to steadily grow and it has been estimated that by 2025 there will be over 19 million Netflix users in Canada.

Netflix was introduced to Canadian audiences in 2010. By the end of 2011, the online video platform had 1.14 million paying subscribers, and four years later the number was to be roughly four times bigger. With such paying subscriber growth, Netflix revenue was also estimated to increase from 115 million Canadian dollars in 2011 to approximately 447 million in 2015. Geographically, Alberta was the province with the highest penetration of Netflix subscriptions - more than half of the population in the region were subscribing to the video service in 2015. On a national scale, the online video platform was believed to reach 47 percent of the Anglophone Canadian population and 19 percent of the Francophones in the country in early 2015.

This statistic illustrates the number of Netflix paying streaming subscribers in Brazil from the December 2011 to September 2014 and a forecast thereof for 2023. As of September 2014, there was an estimated 2.17 million Netflix paying streaming subscribers in Brazil.

By 2026, around 86 million Europeans are forecast to have a Netflix subscription. In 2020 this figure stood at just below 60 million Netflix subscribers in Europe. As of the first quarter of 2021, Netflix had almost 210 million paying subscribers worldwide.

History of Netflix Netflix was founded in the United States in 1997, offering media through online streams or through a DVD-by-mail service. Now, the service is available across more than 190 countries globally and boasts revenues of almost 25 billion U.S. dollars. As of the first quarter of 2020, its leading markets included the U.S., Brazil, and the UK, although it is popular across many European countries.

Video-on-Demand Despite some European countries having access to as many as around 600 legal options for Video-on-Demand services, in terms of use there are two clear front runners. As of 2020, Netflix held a market share of almost 40 percent of the Subscription Video-on-Demand services in the EU, while Amazon came second with about a third of the market.

At the end of 2024, Over 53 million people in Latin America paid for a Netflix subscription, up from approximately 46 million paying members recorded a year earlier. This represents an annual increase of 15.2 percent. Meanwhile, Netflix's average monthly revenue per paying streaming membership (ARPU) in Latin America dropped by five percent in 2024.

In 2020, there were approximately 54.16 million Netflix subscribers in Western Europe. By 2027, subscription numbers are forecast to increase by nearly eight million, reaching around 62 million subscribers.

As of December 31, 2019 Netflix had approximately 2.15 million DVD subscribers in the United States, down from 2.71 a year earlier. The company also had 106.05 million subscribers in countries outside the United States, but the U.S. remained Netflix's biggest market. In 2012, Netflix changed its reporting of subscriber figures. Historical figures can be found here.

The number of Netflix viewers in the United States was reportedly expected to reach 174.7 million as of 2021, and is forecast to increase annually. By the year 2025, it is projected that there will be over 188 million people in the U.S. watching content on the video on demand platform.

In 2021, Netflix had approximately 5.8 million subscribers in Eastern Europe. The user count is expected to grow and increase by nearly two million subscribers over the following six years, reaching roughly 8.2 million in 2027.

How many Dutch subscribers does Netflix have? According to survey information (as Netflix itself does not share this type of information), more than three million people used the streaming service in the fourth quarter of 2019. This in an overall population of over 17 million. Netflix ranked among the most frequently used online video platforms in the Netherlands. Subscriber numbers slowed down in the Netherlands, due to high penetration, but was still growing.

Users are most likely young, who watch Netflix on a smart TV

On average, Dutch consumers spent 85 minutes per day watching Netflix in 2017. Viewing time was highest among the 18-to 34-year-olds with roughly ten more minutes than respondents older than 50. People preferred to use a smart TV for watching Netflix movies and series. The use of a Google Chromecast or Apple TV was less common in the Netherlands.

What about other VOD platforms in the Netherlands?

Netflix subscriptions exceeded that of domestic streaming services in 2017. Roughly 2.4 million households paid a subscription fee to Netflix, whereas subscriber numbers of other providers (such as Videoland, NPO Start Plus or NLZIET) did not exceed 400,000. The Ziggo GO app (with which you can watch tv online on a smartphone, if you are a subscriber to cable operator Ziggo) had a penetration rate of 12 percent in 2017, which was lower than both Netflix and YouTube.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Netflix could add over 18 million new subscribers worldwide. This marks a positive turnaround for the streaming service, following a decline in net subscriber additions during the first two quarters of 2022, which was attributed to factors such as rising subscription costs and increased competition from more affordable, ad-supported streaming options. Shifting subscriber trends and revenue streams The customer churn at the beginning of 2022 prompted Netflix to introduce an ad-supported tier later in the year. This strategy seems to have paid off, as a study in the U.S. revealed that the addition of a basic plan with ads led to a significant increase in new subscriptions, accounting for 30 percent of total Netflix sign-ups in September 2023. Furthermore, while the subscription revenue of the streaming giant is expected to decrease in the coming years, the advertising revenue is forecast to grow, indicating the rising value of hybrid business models in the streaming market. Netflix’s content strategy Netflix's strategic focus on original TV programs appears to resonate well with American audiences. According to a survey from the third quarter of 2023, the majority of U.S. Netflix users preferred watching own productions over other content, demonstrating that content plays a crucial role in retaining and attracting subscribers. Additionally, the company's effort to expand its global influence has been evident, with Netflix increasingly investing in regional content to maintain its position as the leading video streaming service worldwide.