Netflix Subscriber and Growth Statistics: How Many People Watch Netflix in 2023?
by Brian Dean · Updated Mar. 27, 2023
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)
- How many subscribers does Netflix have?
- Netflix paid subscriber growth
- Netflix subscribers by region
- What’s the average Netflix monthly revenue per membership by region?
- How much does Netflix spend on video production?
- Netflix revenue by year
- How much original content is on Netflix?
- Popularity of Netflix original content
- Time spent watching Netflix
- Netflix users by income and gender
- Netflix subscriber political affiliation
- How many people work at Netflix?
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.
Since June 2020, the number of Netflix paying members has grown by 8.4%.
We’ve charted the growth of Netflix’s subscriber base since 2001:
| 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 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
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%.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
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.
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.
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.