Netflix Subscriber and Growth Statistics: How Many People Watch Netflix in 2023?
Find Keyword Ideas in Seconds

Boost SEO results with powerful keyword research

Free Keyword Research Tool

Netflix Subscriber and Growth Statistics: How Many People Watch Netflix in 2023?

Brian Dean

Written by Brian Dean

Netflix Usage and Growth Statistics: How Many People Watch Netflix?

Netflix was founded in 1997 as a service that shipped DVDs to customers by mail. In 2007, Netflix launched the product we’re most familiar with today: streaming movies and TV over the Internet.

In 2001, Netflix had fewer than half a million subscribers. Today, it has 209.18 million paying members, and the company’s market cap is closing in on $300 billion.

Read on to find all of the latest Netflix statistics for 2023.

Here’s a breakdown of what we’ll cover:

Netflix Statistics (Top Picks)

  • Netflix currently has 209.18 million subscribers. Up from only 24.30 million subscribers in 2011.
  • Netflix generated $24.99 billion in 2020. As of June 2021, Netflix has generated $14.5 billion in revenue so far in 2021.
  • Netflix has 5,800 content titles in their US library.
  • 64.65% of Netflix subscribers are based outside of the US & Canada.
  • In 2020, 80% of the most watched original series in the US belonged to Netflix.
  • Netflix subscribers spend an average of 3.2 hours per day watching content on the platform.
  • Netflix’s mobile app for iOS & Android was downloaded 16.4 million times in June 2021 alone.

How many subscribers does Netflix have?

According to company-reported data, Netflix has 209.18 million subscribers worldwide.

Netflix has 209.18 million subscribers worldwide

Since June 2020, the number of Netflix paying members has grown by 8.4%.

How many subscribers does Netflix have?

We’ve charted the growth of Netflix’s subscriber base since 2001:

Note: After 2011, data only includes streaming subscribers (not Netflix’s DVD business).
Year Number of paid subscribers
2001 400 thousand
2002 796 thousand
2003 1.41 million
2004 2.48 million
2005 4.02 million
2006 6.15 million
2007 7.32 million
2008 9.16 million
2009 11.89 million
2010 18.26 million
2011 24.30 million
2012 30.36 million
2013 41.43 million
2014 54.47 million
2015 70.83 million
2016 89.09 million
2017 110.64 million
2018 139.25 million
2019 167.09 million
2020 203.66 million
Q1+Q2 2021 209.18 million

Source: Netflix, Statista

Netflix paid subscriber growth

As of June 2021, only 5.5 million paying members have joined Netflix’s user base. During the same period last year, Netflix had already accumulated 25 million users.

Netflix paid subscriber growth

Over the past 3 years (2018-2020), Netflix has added a total of 100.97 million new members to the streaming service.

Year New subscriber additions
2014 8.34 million
2015 16.36 million
2016 18.25 million
2017 21.55 million
2018 28.62 million
2019 27.83 million
2020 36.57 million
2021 (Q1 & Q2) 5.5 million

Sources: Netflix, Statista, Comparitech

Netflix subscribers by region

According to company data, Netflix has 73.95 million paying subscribers based in the US & Canada. Netflix’s user base in the US & Canada accounts for a 35.3% share of global Netflix subscribers.

US & Canada accounts for a 35.3% share of global Netflix subscribers

In fact, Netflix added 9.2 million new subscribers based in the US & Canada over the past two years. But since then, growth has slowed: Netflix has added only 15,000 users in the U.S. and Canada since the end of 2020.

Here’s an overview of Netflix subscribers growth in the US & Canada since 2018:

Year Paid subscribers
2018 64.76 million
2019 67.66 million
2020 73.94 million
2021 (Q1 & Q2) 73.95 million

Netflix has 68.6 million paying subscribers based in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. 32.84% of worldwide Netflix paying members are based in the EMEA region.

In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Netflix gained 28.89 million new memberships which makes it their fastest-growing region from 2018 to 2020. As of June 2021, Netflix has added almost 2 million new subscribers in the EMEA region since the end of 2020.

Here’s an overview of Netflix paid member growth in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa since 2018:

Year Paid subscribers
2018 37.82 million
2019 51.78 million
2020 66.7 million
2021 (Q1 & Q2) 68.7 million

In Latin America, Netflix has 38.65 million paid members. LATAM is responsible for 18.48% of global Netflix users.

From 2018 to 2020, Netflix recorded 11.46 million new members based in Latin America, which is 24.56% higher than the number of new additions in the US & Canada. As of June 2021, Netflix has gained 1.12 million more new subscribers in the Latin American region.

Here’s an overview of Netflix paying audience located in Latin America since 2018:

Year Paid subscribers
2018 26.08 million
2019 31.42 million
2020 37.54 million
2021 (Q1 & Q2) 38.66 million

In Asia, 27.87 million digital streaming subscribers pay for a Netflix membership. 13.32% of Netflix global subscribers are based in the Asia-Pacific region.

Since June of 2019 (or Q2 of 2019), Netflix has gained 14.93 million new additions to its membership base from customers in the Asia-Pacific region.

In fact, 53.57% of all Netflix Asia-Pacific subscribers signed up for the service in the past two years.

Here’s the table with Netflix subscriber growth in the Asia-Pacific region since 2018:

Year Paid subscribers
2018 10.61 million
2019 16.23 million
2020 25.49 million
2021 (Q1 & Q2) 27.87 million

Source: Netflix.

What’s the average Netflix monthly revenue per membership by region?

As of June 2021, Netflix’s average monthly revenue per paying subscriber worldwide is $10.86. An increase of 26.13% since 2016.

Netflix’s average monthly revenue per paying subscriber is $10.86

Here’s a table with Netflix’s average monthly revenue per paying customer since 2016:

Year Average revenue per user
2016 $8.61
2017 $9.43
2018 $10.31
2019 $10.82
2020 $10.91
2021 (Q1 & Q2) $10.86

According to company data, Netflix’s average monthly revenue per paying member in the US & Canada as of June 2021 is $14.40, which is 93.28% higher than the per-member revenue in Latin America.

Here’s historical data on average monthly revenue per Netflix subscriber in the US & Canada:

Year Average revenue per user
2018 $11.15
2019 $12.57
2020 $13.32
2021 (Q1 & Q2) $14.40

The average monthly revenue per paying Netflix member in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa is $11.61, which is 18.2% lower than in the US & Canada.

Here’s an overview of the average Netflix monthly revenue per member in the EMEA region since 2018:

Year Average revenue per user
2018 $10.47
2019 $10.33
2020 $10.72
2021 (Q1 & Q2) $11.61

Netflix has registered an average monthly revenue of $7.45 per paying customer in Latin America, making it the region with the lowest average monthly revenue per member.

We’ve charted the average Netflix monthly revenue per paying customer in Latin America since 2018:

Year Average revenue per user
2018 $8.23
2019 $8.21
2020 $7.45
2021 (Q1 & Q2) $7.45

Among Netflix paying subscribers based in the Asia-Pacific region, the company registers an average monthly revenue of $9.72.

We’ve listed the Netflix average monthly revenue per user in Asia-Pacific since 2018:

Year Average revenue per user
2018 $9.35
2019 $9.24
2020 $9.12
2021 (Q1 & Q2) $9.72

Sources: Netflix, Statista, Comparitech

How much does Netflix spend on video production?

In 2020, Netflix spent $17.3 billion on video content production. An increase of 18.41% compared to 2019. Netflix has reported that it estimates to spend another $17 billion in 2021.

In fact, Netflix’s content budget has increased 3.16x since 2015.

How much does Netflix spend on video production?

From 2016-2020, Netflix’s spending on streaming content has registered an annual growth rate of 28.93%.

Here’s an overview of Netflix’s spending on content production since 2013:

Year Spending on video content
2013 $2.4 billion
2014 $3.18 billion
2015 $4.61 billion
2016 $6.88 billion
2017 $8.91 billion
2018 $12.04 billion
2019 $14.61 billion
2020 $17.3 billion
2021 (estimated) $17 billion

Source: Statista, Variety

Netflix revenue by year

Netflix registered $24.996 billion in annual revenue in 2020, a 24% increase over the previous year. In 2021 alone, they recorded a revenue of over 14.5 billion.

In fact, since 2001, Netflix has recorded a compound annual revenue growth rate of 35.68%.

Netflix revenue by year

Here’s a full breakdown of Netflix’s revenue by year:

Year Revenue
2001 $75.91 million
2002 $152.80 million
2003 $272.24 million
2004 $506.22 million
2005 $682 million
2006 $997 million
2007 $1.2 billion
2008 $1.36 billion
2009 $1.67 billion
2010 $2.16 billion
2011 $3.2 billion
2012 $3.6 billion
2013 $4.37 billion
2014 $5.5 billion
2015 $6.78 billion
2016 $8.83 billion
2017 $11.69 billion
2018 $15.79 billion
2019 $20.15 billion
2020 $24.99 billion
2021 (Q1 & Q2) $14.5 billion

Sources: Netflix, Macrotrends.

How much original content is on Netflix?

In 2019, Netflix produced 2,769 hours of original content. This is 80.15% more original content compared to the previous year. At the end of 2020, Netflix had over 2,000 Netflix originals.

How much original content is on Netflix?

In fact, the amount of original content published on Netflix in 2018 and 2019 is 2x higher than all content released from 2012-2017.

We’ve charted the growth of original content hours on Netflix since 2012:

Year Hours of original content
2012 8
2013 73
2014 115
2015 304
2016 666
2017 1,257
2018 1,537
2019 2,769

Source: Statista, WhatsOnNetflix

Popularity of Netflix original content

According to data from Nielsen, 7 out of the top 10 most popular original video content series among streaming providers in the US are produced by Netflix.

Popularity of Netflix original content

Here’s the table with the full ranking of the 10 most-streamed original series in the US among subscription video on demand (SVOD) providers, based on weekly data as of September 2021:

Program name (Provider) Number of streamed minutes in the US (in millions)
Clickbait (Netflix) 1,460
Money Heist (Netflix) 452
Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror (Netflix) 447
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) 444
Grace and Frankie (Netflix) 421
Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu) 320
Outerbanks (Netflix) 252
What If (Disney+) 235
Virgin River (Netflix) 233
Family Reunion (Netflix) 226

All of the top 10 most-watched video content series in the US acquired from other networks are released on Netflix.

Here’s the complete ranking of the top 10 most popular acquired series on Netflix in the US, as of single week data in September 2021:

Program name Number of streamed minutes (in millions)
Manifest 1,114
Cocomelon 745
Grey’s Anatomy 685
Criminal Minds 593
NCIS 580
Chicago Med 457
Supernatural 455
Cocomelon 426
All American 380
Flash 336

6 out of the 10 most popular movies (ranked by total minutes viewed) are published on Netflix.

We’ve prepared the table of the top 10 most popular movies hosted on various streaming services, as of single week data in September 2021:

Program name (Provider) Number of streamed minutes (in millions)
Cruella (Disney+) 757
Cinderella (2021) (Amazon) 445
Afterlife of the Party (Netflix) 290
He’s All That (Netflix) 287
SAS: Rise of the Black Swan (Netflix) 286
Vacation Friends (Hulu) 243
Wind River (Netflix) 223
Vivo (Netflix) 219
Luca (Disney+) 213
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (Netflix) 211

9 out of the 10 most watched original series in the US across the whole of 2020 belonged to Netflix.

Overall, Netflix accounted for 143.04 billion minutes streamed for its 9 most popular original series in 2020. Which amounts to 90.73% of total time watched among all of the top 10 most-streamed original series online.

We’ve prepared the table of the 10 most-streamed original series among video-on demand services, including Netflix, in 2020:

Program name (Provider) Number of streamed minutes (in millions)
Ozark (Netflix) 30,462
Lucifer (Netflix) 18,975
The Crown (Netflix) 16,275
Tiger King (Netflix) 15,611
The Mandalorian (Disney+) 14,519
The Umbrella Academy (Netflix) 13,470
Great British Baking Show (Netflix) 13,279
Boss Baby: Back in Business (Netflix) 12,625
Longmire (Netflix) 11,382
You (Netflix) 10,965

Netflix owned all of the 10 most popular acquired series in the US in 2020.

In fact, the top 10 acquired programs on Netflix were watched in the US for a combined 265.53 billion minutes last year.

Top 10 most-watched acquired video series on Netflix

Here’s the list of the top 10 most watched acquired video series on Netflix among US audiences in 2020:

Program Name Number of streamed minutes (in millions)
The Office 57,127
Grey’s Anatomy 39,405
Criminal Minds 35,414
NCIS 28,134
Schitt’s Creek 23,785
Supernatural 20,336
Shameless 18,218
New Girl 14,545
The Blacklist 14,480
Vampire Diaries 14,091

Among the 10 most popular movies on various SVOD providers last year, Netflix accounted for a share of 27.72% of total time watched.

Here’s the ranking of top streaming movies of 2020 from subscription services, including Netflix:

Program name (Provider) Number of streamed minutes (in millions)
Frozen II (Disney+) 57,127
Moana (Disney+) 39,405
Secret Life of Pets 2 (Netflix) 35,414
Onward (Disney+) 28,134
Dr Seuss’ The Grinch (Netflix) 23,785
Hamilton (Disney+) 20,336
Spenser Confidential (Netflix) 18,218
Aladdin (Disney+) 14,545
Toy Story 4 (Disney+) 14,480
Zootopia (Disney+) 14,091

Source: Nielsen, Nielsen

Time spent watching Netflix

eMarketer estimates that Netflix accounts for 25.7% of daily digital video time among US adults. This means that the average US adult spends 30 minutes a day watching Netflix.

Netflix accounts for 25.7% of daily digital video time among US adults

In fact, the average number of minutes spent on a daily basis using Netflix among US adults has grown by 57.89% since 2017.

Here’s a table with average Netflix daily usage among US adults since 2017:

Year Number of minutes
2017 19
2018 23
2019 27
2020 29
2021 30

Among the global audience, Netflix records 3.2 hours of average daily usage per subscriber.

Time spent watching Netflix

We’ve charted the growth of Netflix worldwide consumption per day since 2009:

Year Number of hours per subscriber
2009 0.1
2010 0.4
2011 0.8
2012 1.2
2013 1.4
2014 1.6
2015 1.8
2019 2
2020 3.2

Sources: eMarketer, Business Insider, KTCB.

Netflix users by income and gender

According to a survey conducted by The Hollywood Reporter and Morning Consult, Netflix has a fairly even split when it comes to male and female viewers.

48% of Netflix subscribers are male. And 52% are female.

The same survey also found that half of Netflix subscribers make less than $50,000 per year in annual income. 30% make between $50,000-$100,000. And 19% earn more than $100,000 per year.

Source: Morning Consult.

Netflix subscriber political affiliation

42% of Netflix US subscribers consider themselves democrats. 33% report that they’re independent. While 25% state that they’re Republicans.

Source: Morning Consult.

How many people work at Netflix?

Bloomberg reports that 9,400 employees work at Netflix. Netflix’s headcount has grown by 9.3% since 2019.

The average salary at Netflix is $136,000. Employees at Netflix on H1B visas receive a median base salary of $430,000.

As of Q2 in 2021, Netflix has an equal split by gender, with 47.5% of employees at the company identifying as a woman and 46.1% as male. 6.4% have chosen not to disclose or have multiple gender identities.

At the leadership level, Netflix has 47% female and 47.9% male employees.

As of June 2021, Netflix reports that 9.1% of their employees are Black or African American. A 2x increase over the past 3 years.

Sources: Bloomberg, Netflix, Comparably, H1B Salary Database, Statista

Conclusion

That’s it for my roundup of Netflix usage and revenue statistics in 2022.

Netflix currently has the highest number of subscribers among all video-on-demand services.

Yet, Netflix is positioned in a very competitive environment. Disney+ alone registered 95 million customers in its first 14 months, a milestone it took Netflix approximately 9 years to reach.

Do you think Netflix will remain the number one player in the streaming industry? Will their audience switch to other streaming services?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

2 Comments

  1. Nicola Avatar Nicolasays:

    Do you have any statistics on the age of users?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Nicola, unfortunately not. Netflix doesn’t share that data publicly.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *