Netflix goes global: How fast can you stream videos in different countries?

Netflix has gone global, but what streaming speed and quality can you expect when traveling abroad?

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Matthew Boyle
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With Netflix available in over 190 countries worldwide, you can now stream your favourite TV shows and movies from just about any hotel room while traveling abroad – or anywhere with an Internet connection. But is it going to be as fast to stream as it is in your home country? What kind of Netflix streaming speed you can expect abroad?

Netflix’s existing streaming rights mean that content availability varies by region. So, if you’re in Hong Kong, you might not have access to all the titles you would in Russia, India or Iran, for example. Don’t worry – if you have an active Netflix account, you’ll be able to access all the titles in the local Netflix catalogue. But you may not be able to access TV shows or movies you were watching in your home country.

Netflix streaming speeds

Content is one issue, and the other is connection speed. Netflix streaming speeds vary according to your local connection, and it dynamically adjusts the streaming video quality based on that. Netflix recommends certain connection speeds for each level of streaming quality.
Not every title available in Netflix’s catalogue – at home or abroad – will be available in High Definition (HD) or Ultra HD quality. For example, most Netflix Originals are available in Ultra HD, but other TV shows and movies might only be available in Standard Definition (SD) quality.

This is where Netflix streaming quality is the highest

The type of connection a user can expect depends on the average internet speed of the country they’re in. Once you locate the country you’re visiting, you will know what your connection speed is, and find out just how fast your Netflix streaming speed will be.
A minimum internet speed of 0.5 Megabits per second is required for Netflix to work.

The speeds recommended by Netflix are:

  • 25 Mbps to stream Ultra HD
  • 5 Mbps for HD quality
  • 3 Mbps to stream in SD
  • 1.5 Mbps to stream Netflix at all
There are only 26 countries where you can expect Ultra HD streaming, but there are over 100 where you’ll likely get speeds quick enough for HD streaming or better. Only 30 countries had an average connection speed lower than that recommended by Netflix.
Keep in mind that these are only averages, and that average connection speeds are constantly going up worldwide. You may well hit a better connection than these numbers suggest, which would improve your Netflix experience. Remember that these Internet connection speeds are useful to know for more than just Netflix streaming speeds, but also for general Internet access.

Adjusting your playback settings for data usage

When you are traveling, you might be on a limited data plan and need to monitor how much data your Netflix streaming is using. You can adjust your settings for streaming higher or lower quality videos by clicking on “Your Account” in the drop down menu at the top right of your screen. Then click “Playback Settings.” If your data is limited, choose “Auto” or “Low.” If you are connected to WiFi or broadband and data is unlimited, choose “Medium” or “High” for highest quality streaming (and highest data usage).
Rank (1-207) Country Mean download speed 2019 (Mbps) Quality expected
1 Taiwan 85.02 Ultra HD
2 Singapore 70.86 Ultra HD
3 Jersey 67.46 Ultra HD
4 Sweden 55.18 Ultra HD
5 Denmark 49.19 Ultra HD
6 Japan 42.77 Ultra HD
7 Luxembourg 41.69 Ultra HD
8 Netherlands 40.21 Ultra HD
9 Switzerland 38.85 Ultra HD
10 San Marino 38.73 Ultra HD
11 Norway 38.46 Ultra HD
12 Andorra 38.31 Ultra HD
13 Spain 36.06 Ultra HD
14 Belgium 35.69 Ultra HD
15 United States 32.89 Ultra HD
16 Latvia 32.74 Ultra HD
17 New Zealand 32.72 Ultra HD
18 Estonia 31.55 Ultra HD
19 Hong Kong 31.37 Ultra HD
20 Hungary 31.1 Ultra HD
21 Lithuania 30.66 Ultra HD
22 France 30.44 Ultra HD
23 Slovakia 29.45 Ultra HD
24 Finland 29.34 Ultra HD
25 Canada 28.76 Ultra HD
26 Slovenia 27.83 Ultra HD
27 Germany 24.64 HD
28 Poland 24.38 HD
29 Ireland 23.87 HD
30 Malaysia 23.86 HD
31 Czechia 23.27 HD
32 Portugal 22.75 HD
33 Madagascar 22.57 HD
34 United Kingdom 22.37 HD
35 Iceland 22.13 HD
36 Liechtenstein 22.04 HD
37 Romania 21.8 HD
38 Gibraltar 20.27 HD
39 Monaco 20.2 HD
40 Austria 19.33 HD
41 Macao 19.19 HD
42 Republic of Korea 19.18 HD
43 Serbia 19.17 HD
44 Guernsey 18.26 HD
45 Thailand 18.21 HD
46 Malta 18.16 HD
47 Italy 17.3 HD
48 Croatia 17.22 HD
49 Bulgaria 16.95 HD
50 Australia 16.36 HD
51 Cayman Islands 16.12 HD
52 Barbados 16.03 HD
53 Aruba 15.15 HD
54 Russia 14.89 HD
55 Bermuda 13.55 HD
56 Greece 13.41 HD
57 Belarus 13.19 HD
58 Trinidad and Tobago 12.9 HD
59 Kosovo 12.07 HD
60 Republic of Moldova 11.56 HD
61 U.S. Virgin Islands 11.45 HD
62 Bahamas 11.13 HD
63 Isle of Man 11.04 HD
64 Cyprus 11 HD
65 Faroe Islands 10.21 HD
66 Réunion 10.02 HD
67 United Arab Emirates 9.62 HD
68 Dominica 9.48 HD
69 Uruguay 9.16 HD
70 Montenegro 9.1 HD
71 Jamaica 9.08 HD
72 Israel 8.85 HD
73 Turks and Caicos Islands 8.78 HD
74 India 8.66 HD
75 South Africa 8.4 HD
76 Panama 8.09 HD
77 Puerto Rico 8 HD
78 North Macedonia 7.97 HD
79 Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba 7.92 HD
80 British Virgin Islands 7.75 HD
81 Ukraine 7.72 HD
82 Sri Lanka 7.67 HD
83 Curaçao 7.64 HD
84 Kenya 7.62 HD
85 Albania 7.61 HD
86 Bosnia and Herzegovina 7.53 HD
87 Martinique 7.23 HD
88 Georgia 7.14 HD
89 Vietnam 7.02 HD
90 Belize 6.8 HD
91 Guadeloupe 6.72 HD
92 Indonesia 6.65 HD
93 Greenland 6.51 HD
94 Bahrain 6.24 HD
95 St Kitts and Nevis 6.16 HD
96 Saint Lucia 6.08 HD
97 Philippines 6.05 HD
98 Mexico 6.02 HD
99 Antigua and Barbuda 5.91 HD
100 Morocco 5.48 HD
101 Qatar 5.35 HD
102 Turkey 5.27 HD
103 Saudi Arabia 5.27 HD
104 Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 5.2 HD
105 Sint Maarten 5.13 HD
106 Grenada 5.07 HD
107 Oman 5.07 HD
108 Mauritius 5.02 HD
109 Myanmar 4.87 SD
110 Armenia 4.85 SD
111 Brazil 4.84 SD
112 Brunei 4.78 SD
113 Kazakhstan 4.66 SD
114 Tunisia 4.64 SD
115 Fiji 4.62 SD
116 Anguilla 4.59 SD
117 Costa Rica 4.52 SD
118 Iran 4.39 SD
119 New Caledonia 4.34 SD
120 Saint-Barthélemy 4.12 SD
121 Dominican Republic 4.09 SD
122 Cambodia 4.03 SD
123 Saint Martin 3.98 SD
124 Chile 3.89 SD
125 Kuwait 3.88 SD
126 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3.81 SD
127 Guam 3.73 SD
128 Nepal 3.62 SD
129 Paraguay 3.55 SD
130 Guyana 3.49 SD
131 Colombia 3.48 SD
132 Ecuador 3.46 SD
133 Suriname 3.4 SD
134 Namibia 3.39 SD
135 Rwanda 3.34 SD
136 Cabo Verde 3.31 SD
137 Guatemala 3.22 SD
138 Uganda 3.22 SD
139 Ghana 3.2 SD
140 Zambia 3.13 SD
141 Azerbaijan 3.1 SD
142 Burundi 3.03 SD
143 Haiti 2.94 SD
144 El Salvador 2.93 SD
145 Seychelles 2.93 SD
146 Laos 2.92 SD
147 Peru 2.86 SD
148 Honduras 2.84 SD
149 Argentina 2.83 SD
150 Zimbabwe 2.73 SD
151 Bangladesh 2.72 SD
152 China 2.69 SD
153 Comoros 2.54 SD
154 Nicaragua 2.54 SD
155 Kyrgyzstan 2.5 SD
156 Papua New Guinea 2.47 SD
157 Tanzania 2.34 SD
158 French Guiana 2.26 SD
159 Senegal 2.25 SD
160 Mozambique 2.16 SD
161 Liberia 2.11 SD
162 Mongolia 2.1 SD
163 Togo 1.96 SD
164 Sudan 1.93 SD
165 Botswana 1.92 SD
166 Libya 1.88 SD
167 Lebanon 1.84 SD
168 Ivory Coast 1.83 SD
169 Palestine 1.83 SD
170 Maldives 1.81 SD
171 Bolivia 1.73 SD
172 Cuba 1.66 SD
173 Egypt 1.62 SD
174 Malawi 1.59 SD
175 Mali 1.56 SD
176 Nigeria 1.56 SD
177 French Polynesia 1.51 SD
178 eSwatini (Formerly Swaziland) 1.45 Unable to stream
179 Pakistan 1.44 Unable to stream
180 Iraq 1.39 Unable to stream
181 Uzbekistan 1.37 Unable to stream
182 Algeria 1.37 Unable to stream
183 Venezuela 1.37 Unable to stream
184 Afghanistan 1.26 Unable to stream
185 Gabon 1.26 Unable to stream
186 Guinea 1.25 Unable to stream
187 Angola 1.21 Unable to stream
188 Gambia 1.21 Unable to stream
189 Sierra Leone 1.2 Unable to stream
190 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1.1 Unable to stream
191 Mayotte 1.09 Unable to stream
192 Tajikistan 1.05 Unable to stream
193 Cameroon 1.03 Unable to stream
194 Burkina Faso 1.02 Unable to stream
195 Syria 0.95 Unable to stream
196 Benin 0.94 Unable to stream
197 Republic of the Congo 0.93 Unable to stream
198 Djibouti 0.88 Unable to stream
199 São Tomé and Príncipe 0.87 Unable to stream
200 Somalia 0.86 Unable to stream
201 Ethiopia 0.8 Unable to stream
202 Niger 0.71 Unable to stream
203 Turkmenistan 0.7 Unable to stream
204 Mauritania 0.59 Unable to stream
205 Equatorial Guinea 0.51 Unable to stream
206 Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste 0.45 Unable to stream
207 Yemen 0.38 Unable to stream

Click here for more research. For all media enquiries, please contact

Matt Mckenna
Head of UK communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806
matt.mckenna@finder.com@MichHutchison/in/matthewmckenna2

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