Netflix Australia vs The World: Content library comparison

Here's how the Netflix Australia content library compares to the rest of the world.

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Matt Sayer

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Love it or loathe it, Netflix certainly made quite the noise when it first arrived on our shores. Many ditched their expensive Foxtel deals or inadequate alternatives to check out the awesome exclusives Netflix offers, while others expressed outrage over the comparatively small library Netflix Australia launched with.

In the years since its arrival, Netflix Australia has grown significantly, adding new titles each and every week both from popular international studios like Paramount and Universal as well as from its own expanding catalogue of Netflix Originals. Some of the heavy hitters from the American library might still be absent, but there's no denying that Aussies now have access to more entertainment than any one person could hope to watch.

In fact, as you can see in the chart below, Australia's Netflix library is now only slightly smaller than the libraries of more-established regions like the UK and the US.

Chart based on total title counts as at 21 June 2018

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Country
Number of Netflix titles
Egypt
1348
Netherlands
1748
Portugal
2659
Morocco
2749
Tunisia
2793
Hong Kong
2819
Algeria
2822
Turkey
2830
Jordan
2846
Lebanon
2849
Iraq
2852
Qatar
2853
Kuwait
2854
Taiwan
2858
Poland
2863
Austria
2912
Spain
3026
Germany
3156
Greece
3210
Finland
3279
France
3291
Romania
3292
Norway
3299
Denmark
3314
Sweden
3314
Singapore
3331
Vietnam
3376
Thailand
3442
Korea
3518
Belgium
3520
Switzerland
3644
Zambia
3734
Zimbabwe
3734
Latvia
3737
Nigeria
3738
Kenya
3739
Russia
3770
Czech Republic
3777
Indonesia
3819
Ukraine
3825
Croatia
3845
Malaysia
3849
Slovenia
3851
Slovakia
3855
Hungary
3883
Philippines
3886
Brazil
3904
South Africa
3956
Mexico
3963
Colombia
3971
Uruguay
4034
Chile
4059
Costa Rica
4061
Venezuela
4062
Guatemala
4063
Peru
4064
Bolivia
4066
Malta
4212
Nepal
4327
Pakistan
4337
Bangladesh
4396
Luxembourg
4551
New Zealand
4633
Australia
4732
India
4735
United Arab Emirates
4757
Ireland
5061
United Kingdom
5091
Canada
5410
America
5544
Japan
5768
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How many Australians are using Netflix?

As Netflix continues to add more fresh content to its coffers, its popularity here in Australia is only growing. According to a recent Roy Morgan study, approximately 7.5 million Aussies were using Netflix in the three months leading up to June 2017. This was almost twice as much as the 4.4 million estimated back in March 2016. Such rapid growth stands in stark contrast to the popularity of traditional free-to-air TV networks, which have exhibited a noticeable decline in viewership since Netflix's launch.

How does that stack up against other countries?

Netflix doesn't typically release subscriber numbers for individual countries, but we do know that its total worldwide subscriber count topped 125 million in the first quarter of 2018 thanks to its April 2018 investor report. This report also revealed that the US accounts for 56.71 million of those subscribers, meaning the Australian subscriber base takes up roughly 7.5 million of the remaining 68.29 million international subscribers – or approximately 10.98%. Since Netflix is available in over 190 countries across the globe, this places Australia among the most-popular regions outside the US.

Why doesn't Australia get all the shows the US does?

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As much as other local streaming services, Netflix Australia's stiffest competition comes from itself – or more specifically, Netflix US. Where American subscribers can watch popular series like The Walking Dead, Supergirl and iZombie, Aussies must look to other services like Foxtel or Stan.

It's a frustrating situation, to be sure, but one that has a simple explanation. To stream a particular show, Netflix must acquire the licensing rights on a per-region basis. Acquiring the rights to stream Breaking Bad in the US, for example, doesn't give it the right to stream the show here in Australia, too.

This means Netflix needs to pay more to bring these shows to its Australian catalogue. In the case of certain titles, other streaming services have already nabbed the exclusive rights which prevents Netflix from bringing them Down Under at all. In other words, it's not always Netflix's fault that you can't watch your favourite US TV shows despite their availability in other countries.

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Matt Sayer is a technology writer and editorial engineer for Finder, combining industry expertise with data-driven solutions to help people make better decisions. His extensive portfolio spans investigate reporting on the roll-out of 5G, statistical analysis on the legacy of E3 and guides for popular products like mobile phones and smart speakers. Matt has a Bachelor of Computer Science from RMIT University and is passionate about finding ways that technology can better our lives. See full bio

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