51+ Mind-Blowing Netflix Statistics for 2021

Netflix statistics are of huge importance to understanding its success, goals, as well as its impact on our lives.

The video streaming platform has been expanding with an incredible pace in the last decade, and it keeps finding new ways to grow. It’s no surprise it has become almost a daily routine, essential for tens of millions of internet users.

That’s why TechJury decided to gather a few facts, to give you a taste of what Netflix is all about:

• As of Q1 2020, Netflix had over 182 million paying subscribers.
• 47% of Americans prefer Netflix over any other video streaming service.
• Netflix has set up 1,300 recommendation clusters, based on our viewing preferences.
• Netflix is responsible for 8% of all time spent watching videos worldwide.
• The median age of Netflix users is between 35-44 years.
• 41% of Netflix users use the platform without paying.
• Extraction was the most-watched Netflix movie in 2020.

These are just an appetizer, now here comes the main dish.

Fascinating Netflix Statistics for 2021

Have you realized that more people use video streaming services lately?

Owing to the lockdown and the recent “stay at home” rule, billions of people have resorted to online streaming services. Recent stats have proven Netflix to be the people’s choice.

Dive into our Netflix statistics to learn how much impact this has had on the company. 

1. As of Q1 2020, Netflix had over 182 million paying subscribers. 

(Source: Statista)

Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Netflix statistics reveal that the company has recorded an increase of over 16 million subscribers across the world. This has earned it the title of the most-used video streaming service of 2020.

2. More than 40% (67 million) of Netflix subscribers are based in the US and Canada.

(Source: Compari Tech)

Netflix statistics by country reveal that Europe, the Middle East, and Africa account for 47 million (30%), while Latin America makes up for 29 million (18%) of its users. The remaining 14 million (9%) stems from the Asia-Pacific region. However, Netflix statistics for 2020 showed that the number of users in the US has skyrocketed to 69.97 million in the first quarter of the year.

3. 47% of Americans prefer to use Netflix over other video streaming services.

(Source: News 10)

Netflix is king.

But what about the competition?

Amazon Prime Video comes in second at 14%, while Hulu and Disney+ accounted for 13.6% and 13% respectively.

4. 41% of Netflix users use the platform without paying. 

(Source: Compari Tech)

Due to account and password sharing, a large number of people have somewhat free access to Neflix. About 14% watch using the password sent to them by friends or family. Also, 27% of users watch using the paid subscription of someone in their household.

5. The median age of Netflix users is between 35-44 years.

(Source: Business of Apps)

Back in 2015, millennials were the median users of the video-streaming service. Netflix stats for 2021, however, show that more adults and middle-aged people are getting interested in the video streaming platform.

6. 12.4 million households use Netflix in the UK.

(Source: Statista)

The number of households using Netflix in the United Kingdom has been increasing since 2015. Netflix statistics show an addition of over 1 million new subscribers in the country since 2019.

7. By the end of 2019, Netflix had employed about 8,600 full-time employees.

(Source: Statista)

Between 2018 and 2019, Netflix recorded a 17.81% increase in its number of employees. This is explained by the continuous growth in the company’s revenue year in, year out. Also, recent Netflix statistics show the average Netflix employee yearly salary to be $104,135.

Netflix Shows Statistics

A large number of TV shows and movies are being streamed daily on Netflix. 

Want to know if your favorite show has a high number of views?

Or which movie is the most popular?

Read on to find out!

8. Extraction was the most-watched Netflix movie in 2020.

(Source: Deadline)

The action movie featuring Chris Hemsworth was released amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Netflix statistics for 2020 suggest that the movie has been viewed in more than 90 million households in the first 4 weeks of its release. It is well on its way to becoming the biggest movie premiere on the platform so far.

9. Money Heist 4 is the most-watched non-English TV show on Netflix.

(Source: The Guardian)

This Spanish TV show’s new season was the most anticipated one so far. The fact that it was also released amidst the coronavirus pandemic further fueled people’s anticipation for the series. Netflix user statistics for 2020 recorded over 65 million viewers of the show across the whole world in its first month only.

10. The longest-running show is Grey’s Anatomy.

(Source: Insider)

This American medical drama show has been on air since 2005. There are currently 341 episodes across 15 seasons.

11. Two Netflix movies won awards at the 2020 Oscars.

(Source: Business of Apps)

Although a whopping 24 Netflix movies were nominated in the 2020 Oscar award ceremony across different categories, only a couple were able to clinch awards. Netflix stats for 2020 went further to reveal that so far, the company has won a total of 12 Golden Globe Awards out of a jawbreaking 75 nominations.

Streaming Netflix Statistics

Yes, Netflix is huge on streaming, duh. But these stats show exactly how massive they are, and it’s not looking like they’re slowing down anytime soon.

12. Netflix is the second most used video streaming service in the US.

(Source: Statista)

Youtube leads the way with 197.5 million monthly users on average. Netflix comes second with 72.9 million. However, Netflix is first among the video streaming services when it comes to paid subscribers.

13. Netflix is responsible for 14.92% of global application traffic share.

(Source: Sandvine)

A Sandvine report from 2018 points Netflix as the top video streaming site in the world. After all, users can access Netflix programs in 190 countries. This percentage is even higher in the States alone at 19.1%.

Depending on the US network operator, Netflix’ total downstream traffic can reach 40% in peak hours.

14. 23% of US adults stream Netflix on a daily basis.

(Source: Statista)

In comparison, this number was just 6% in 2011. And just to put this percentage in context, this equals over 57 million daily Neflix users in the US alone.

15. 51% of all US streaming service subscribers use Netflix.

(Source: CNBC)

Here are some US-related Netflix facts – 57% of all US citizens are using some form of streaming services, according to a CNBC survey. Over half of those (51%) stream Netflix. And 81% of those 51% stream it on a TV.

36% of all surveyed own both a cable and a streaming subscription.

16. In January 2018, Netflix US offered 5,559 unique titles.

(Source: Comparitech)

In 2014, that number was a bit above 8,000. A big drop by any means. However, 2018 numbers are still marginally better than those of 2016 – there were 5,532 different titles back then.

17. There were only 9.1 million Netflix subscribers in the UK in 2019.

(Source: BusinessofApps)

The Netflix versus cable competition is exciting in the UK. The people that have a streaming service there are more than those using satellite or cable – 15.4 million and 15.1 million respectively in 2018. The majority of them use Netflix, while Amazon is second with 4.8 million.

18. Netflix is the Titan of Video-on-Demand in the United States.

(Source: Statista)

Statista survey from 2018 shows 77% of the VoD userbase have Netflix subscriptions.

19. By the end of 2020, experts predicted Netflix will be present in over 114 million households.

(Source: Forbes)

With a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 8.96%, Netflix is expected to increase its reach from 81.5 million households today to 114 million worldwide next year. The authentic locations used for filming their Netflix shows in 2018 are among the main reasons for such growth.

20. Netflix was streaming 1,000 titles at first.

(Source: Thrillist)

That collection may seem small now, but in 2007 that was a lot. Netflix initiated the move because of the massive competition between DVD rental services at the time.

21. 58% of US users state Netflix Originals as the main reason for a subscription.

(Source: eMarketer)

Original content is vital for the success of any streaming service. In the case of Netflix, having no ads helps as well. 51% of all subscribers sign up to avoid watching ads.

Viewing Netflix Statistics

Now, let’ see how all this streaming translates into viewing stats. From DVDs to binge-watching,  Netflix has a vast menu of notable accomplishments.

22. Netflix’ total viewer pool is estimated at over 300 million worldwide.

(Source: BusinessInsider)

Todd Yellin, Product and Innovation VP at Netflix, recently stated their total users go above 300 million. This happened in an interview preceding the second season premiere of “Stranger Things”. This includes people, who share an account as well.

23. 37% of users binge-watch at work.

(Source: ThePlaylist)

A Netflix report showed that over a third of their users are okay with binge-watching shows at work. In addition, 27 percent binge while waiting for other services, and 12% have even used Netflix in public restrooms. And in case you don’t want your employees watching Netflix, you can always use an employee monitoring solution. 

24. Almost 50% of Netflix users, who have watched “The Kissing Booth”, have also rewatched it.

(Source: The Playlist)

Although Netflix has more popular titles in other genres, “The Kissing Booth” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” were leading the rewatch list on Netflix in 2018. Their overall cost was nowhere near that of the top original Netflix films, so the two romantic comedies did great.

25. The billionth Netflix DVD was delivered in 2007.

(Source: Fox News)

Although the company focuses on streaming right now, it has come a long way since the beginning. The lucky customer was awarded a lifetime subscription in celebration of the milestone.

26. Netflix stats reported 164.8 million hours of video were watched every day.

(Source: Streaming Observer)

To manage this volume, Netflix servers need to process nearly 500 GB of bandwidth. To put that in perspective, that’s 15% of global bandwidth capacity!

27. In 2019, the most binge-watched Netflix show was “Lucifer”.

(Source: WhatCulture)

The show was canceled by Fox in May 2018. However, Netflix picking up the series proved successful. Second place went to “Friends”, and third – to“Grey’s Anatomy”.

28. The total number of Netflix subscribers across the world reached 163.5 million in 2019.

(Source: Statista)

158 million of those are paying subscribers and over 5.5 million – free trial customers. Keep in mind the statistic in 2007 stood at just 7 million subscribers globally.

29. 80% of subscribers’ watch choices come from their personal recommendation engine.

(Source: BusinessInsider)

In 2016, Netflix estimated that just 20% of all subscribed title choices were made on their own. The others came from the AI-driven engine.

30. 45 million separate accounts have watched “Bird Box”.

(Source: TheVerge)

One of the most successful Netflix movies came out at the end of 2018. It got the attention of 45 million accounts in the span of one week.

31. The most-watched show in 2018 according to TV Time was “13 Reason Why”.

(Source: Forbes)

TV Time is a tracking app, showing how much time we’ve spent in front of the screen watching a show/movie. Based on their global user data in 2018, the teen drama claims the №1 spot. It’s worth mentioning the only one of the Top 20 shows wasn’t streamed on Netflix.

Netflix Finance Stats

We’ve covered the screen numbers, now come the coins.  All of Netflix’s efforts are surely paying off despite some contradictory stats.

32. Netflix revenue for 2018 was $15.794 billion.

(Source: MacroTrends)

This shows 35.08% growth, compared to 2017. Not only did their revenue increase, but the year-over-year growth rate is also up – it was 30.26% for 2016 and 32.41% for 2017.

33. Netflix still makes the best of DVD rentals.

(Source: Observer)

In 2017 alone, Netflix earned close to $450 million in revenue just from DVD rental services. This is only natural, considering 4 million of their users had DVD rental subscriptions in 2016.

34. Netflix spent $12.04 billion on content in 2018.

(Source: Variety)

Original content cost Netflix “only” $8.9 billion in 2017, so we can safely assume the company thinks original productions are the way to go. Analysis from Wall Street confirms this, as its authors expect those numbers went even higher in 2019 – to $15 billion.

35. In 2016, Netflix paid nearly $300 million to stream Disney’s content exclusively.

(Source: Forbes)

Netflix’ offering back then raised their total long-term debt to $3 billion, but it didn’t affect their debt/equity ratio – .939 was enough to earn analysts’ trust. The streaming platform seems to be following a certain line of development, and they’re apparently fine with being in debt for now. However, with the release of Disney Plus in 2019, Netflix may lose viewers.

36. Netflix reported $10.4 billion of debt at the end of 2018.

(Source: Forbes)

Some users may wonder “is Netflix profitable enough?”

The streaming giant’s spending on unique series and films takes its toll. However, Netflix stands its ground regardless of the expected $3 billion in negative free cash flow for 2019. They aim to further build up their user base, and production costs don’t seem to be an issue for them.

37. Netflix was valued at $153 billion in Q2 of 2018.

(Source: CNET)

For a brief moment, Netflix was the most valuable media company in the world. On May 24th, 2018, Netflix passed Disney and Comcast in the leaderboard. Netflix profit fell slightly, later on, to leave them in second, but still remain ahead of Comcast ($145.5 million).

38. Netflix saves up $1 billion a year via its personalized recommendation engine.

(Source: BusinessInsider)

In an interview with Tech Insider Australia, Carlos Gomez-Uribe, product innovation VP at Netflix, stated they could correlate any user with their genre preferences. An academic paper by Gomez-Uribe and Neil Hunt claims “personalization and recommendations” save them at least a billion per year.

39. Netflix’ expected 2020 revenue in the US is $7.2 billion.

(Source: Forbes)

Netflix facts show this number was $1.6 billion in 2011 and then grew to $3.4 billion in 2014. 2017 showed another increase as the revenue was at $5.4 billion.

40. Netflix subscribers today pay an average of $11.56 monthly for the service.

(Source: FromeDome)

This is over 40% less than what they used to pay 10 years ago. The price back then was almost $20 per subscriber. Additionally, Netflix used to spend close to $48 to acquire a new customer. Acquiring a new customer now costs them $15.25 on average.

41. The first Netflix shares cost $15 per piece in 2002.

(Source: CrunchBase)

No more wondering when did Netflix go public.

The company introduces its initial public offering in 2002 by placing 5.5 million shares for sale. Netflix was evaluated at $82.5 million back then. Today, the company’s estimated value of $147 billion puts the share price at $339.

Some Curious Netflix Stats

Movie hunting, victory podiums, expansion, record breakers, and a bit more. Here are the facts, which formed the last, somewhat crazy section of this piece.

42. Netflix has over 76,000 hidden TV show/Movie categories.

(Source: Dayton Daily News)

It’s hard to place every category on the main page, so Netflix has prepared an Easter hunt for their users. In order to access silent movies, slapstick comedies, or B-Horror Netflix movies in 2019, you need to use a specific genre code.

Once acquired, simply log in and use it to browse.

43. Netflix earned 112 Emmy nominations in 2018.

(Source: TheWeek)

After 17 years of HBO reigning over the nominations, Netflix managed to beat the giant in 2018. Although HBO’s Game of Thrones won most (22) awards, followed by another HBO series – Westworld (21), this was still a big milestone for Netflix.

44. It takes 5 days on average to binge-watch a series on Netflix.

(Source: CreditDonkey)

Keep in mind this is “on average”. I was quite surprised by these Netflix binge-watching stats, but there are binge racers who will try to finish a series in the first 24 hours after it’s released. There are 8.4 million of those enthusiasts across the globe.

45. Netflix came to the Canadian market in 2010.

(Source: CBC)

The Canadian Netflix only has around 3,500 titles, unfortunately. Well, still better than nothing, eh?

46. A user managed to watch the same movie 352 times in 2017.

(Source: News.com.au)

In the last week of November 2017, Netflix shared that a user has watched “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” a total of 352 times since the beginning of the year. Netflix didn’t disclose the user profile, however.

47. Blockbuster refused to buy the Netflix company in 2000.

(Source: BusinessInsider)

The offer was $50 million. Blockbuster didn’t take the chance because they viewed this business niche as too tiny.

48. A Netflix user watches an average of 60 films annually.

(Source: Much Needed)

Which equals one movie every six days. Or five movies per month.

49. The cheapest Netflix subscription is found in Turkey.

(Source: TheInsider)

A basic monthly subscription there costs $3.27 a month. The same service charges $12.37 per month on average in Denmark.

50. Chris Rock earned $40 million for his work with Netflix.

(Source: Engadget)

The comedy actor produced two stand-up comedy specials – “Tamborine” debuted in February 2018, while the second one hasn’t premiered yet.

51. At the end of 2018, Netflix facts show they had 5,500 employees.

(Source: Forbes)

In October 2018, Netflix employed 4,700 people. The usual starting salary was $17-$18 an hour (+ a free Netflix subscription). Considering that Netflix had 8,600 full-time employees by the end of 2019, the company is growing at a lightning-fast pace. 

52. Three out of ten VPN users accessing Netflix.

(Source: Global Web Index)

According to Global Web Index, 29% of VPN users have accessed the platform. This creates a strong competition among VPN providers, who are now trying to provide the best VPN for Netflix.

Conclusion

You probably already knew Netflix was getting big. It employs a lot of people and has a wealth of in-house productions – the company is in it to win it. It’s not surprising, then, that Netflix is chasing the 170-million subscriber mark.

What you probably didn’t know (and you needed those Netflix statistics to tell you) was the exact details of how successful this company is. Well, now you know. It’s a money machine that runs on your watching habits. What you do with this information is up to you.