Netflix UK vs the world: Content libraries compared

We’ve browsed other countries’ Netflix libraries to see how they compare to the UK's.

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Matthew Boyle
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Users of Netflix and other TV streaming platforms will be aware that thanks to licensing issues, their libraries can differ widely depending on which country they are in. But can one country’s library be considered the best? We compiled the libraries of 32 countries to get an idea of how they compare.

Netflix UK vs the world: Number of films

Country Films Percentage difference to UK
United States 4,353 2.74%
United Kingdom 4,237 0.00%
Czech Republic 4,184 -1.25%
India 3,831 -9.58%
Hungary 3,753 -11.42%
Australia 3,640 -14.09%
Lithuania 3,541 -16.43%
Russia 3,528 -16.73%
Japan 3,554 -16.12%
South Africa 3,487 -17.70%
Singapore 3,441 -18.79%
Israel 3,522 -16.88%
Germany 3,439 -18.83%
Switzerland 3,321 -21.62%
Canada 3,282 -22.54%
Mexico 3,389 -20.01%
Brazil 3,324 -21.55%
Belgium 3,217 -24.07%
Argentina 3,134 -26.03%
Hong Kong 3,028 -28.53%
France 2,987 -29.50%
Spain 2,989 -29.45%
Poland 3,058 -27.83%
South Korea 2,870 -32.26%
Thailand 2,788 -34.20%
Sweden 2,810 -33.68%
Netherlands 2,647 -37.53%
Portugal 2,555 -39.70%
Slovakia 2,529 -40.31%
Italy 2,484 -41.37%
Iceland 2,326 -45.10%
Greece 2,283 -46.12%

Data correct as of November 2020

When it comes to the films, the Netflix library in the United States has the widest selection at 4,353, 2.74% more than in the UK. The UK’s library ranks second in this sample, above the likes of Canada and Australia. This is nothing to sneeze at, as it means almost 94% of Netflix libraries (or at least the ones in this sample) have a smaller film selection than the UK. Libraries of 30 countries around the world. Greece sits at the bottom of the list, with a movie selection almost half the size of the UK’s.

Over the last 9 months, Netflix has increased its movie roster in the UK by just over 8%, with 332 more titles available to viewers than in February 2020. In the US, this increase is up to 9.22%, as viewers can now access 384 more titles than earlier in the year.

See the full list of movies available on Netflix UK

Netflix UK vs the world – change in number of films: February to November 2020

Such a steep increase aligns with the company’s unprecedented growth spurt between the months of April and June. The lockdown months saw its consumer base spike by 10.09 million. While loosening lockdown restrictions have seen growth slow, as of October, the company still aimed to add another 6 million subscribers by the year’s end.

While the movie library size in Canada has decreased by 811 titles, Netflix still remains one of the leading streaming services in the country. The start of the pandemic saw the streaming service gain up to 16 million subscribers, leading to an official increase in the cost of both standard and premium plans for customers. Slovakia saw the largest decrease in Netflix movie offerings, going down by 1,116 titles, while Czech Republic saw the highest increase, going from 3,615 to 4,184.

Country February November Difference
United States 3,969 4,353 384
United Kingdom 3,905 4,237 332
Czech Republic 3,615 4,184 569
India 3,698 3,831 133
Hungary 3,575 3,753 178
Australia 3,631 3,640 9
Japan 3,283 3,554 271
Lithuania 3,245 3,541 296
Russia 3,212 3,528 316
Israel 3,144 3,522 378
South Africa 3,424 3,487 63
Singapore 3,370 3,441 71
Germany 2,942 3,439 497
Mexico 2,984 3,389 405
Brazil 2,886 3,324 438
Switzerland 3,230 3,321 91
Canada 4,093 3,282 -811
Belgium 2,886 3,217 331
Argentina 2,983 3,134 151
Poland 2,569 3,058 489
Hong Kong 2,813 3,028 215
Spain 2,479 2,989 510
France 2,659 2,987 328
South Korea 3,069 2,870 -199
Sweden 2,551 2,810 259
Thailand 3,345 2,788 -557
Netherlands 2,548 2,647 99
Portugal 2,185 2,555 370
Slovakia 3,645 2,529 -1,116
Italy 2,600 2,484 -116
Iceland 3,192 2,326 -866
Greece 3,142 2,283 489

Data correct as of November 2020

Netflix UK vs the world: Number of TV shows

The US also wins in the TV shows count, having over 2,227 series available on the platform – a 14.4% rise from earlier in the year, when only 1,927 titles were available. Similar to film offerings, the UK comes in second place with only 2.34% fewer TV shows than the US. India takes the bronze with 2,138 series available for subscribers. The country with the fewest shows on Netflix is Slovakia, which has 29% fewer series than the UK.

Country TV series Percentage difference to UK
United States 2,227 2.34%
United Kingdom 2,176 0.00%
Czech Republic 1,993 -8.41%
India 2,138 -1.75%
Hungary 1,942 -10.75%
Australia 2,014 -7.44%
Lithuania 1,996 -8.27%
Russia 2,006 -7.81%
Japan 1,948 -10.48%
South Africa 2,013 -7.49%
Singapore 2,013 -7.49%
Israel 1,867 -14.20%
Germany 1,789 -17.78%
Switzerland 1,861 -14.48%
Canada 1,830 -15.90%
Mexico 1,720 -20.96%
Brazil 1,708 -21.51%
Belgium 1,768 -18.75%
Argentina 1,679 -22.84%
Hong Kong 1,773 -18.52%
France 1,764 -18.93%
Spain 1,693 -22.20%
Poland 1,561 -28.26%
South Korea 1,635 -24.86%
Thailand 1,704 -21.69%
Sweden 1,614 -25.83%
Netherlands 1,566 -28.03%
Portugal 1,630 -25.09%
Slovakia 1,543 -29.09%
Italy 1,566 -28.03%
Iceland 1,570 -27.85%
Greece 1,544 -29.04%

Data correct as of November 2020

See what TV shows are on Netflix UK

Netflix UK vs the world: Total number of titles

To choose an overall winner, we summed each country’s film and TV series counts to get the total number of titles. The US came out on top of our sample, having the largest library overall at 6,580 individual titles, 167 more titles than the UK, which has been knocked down to second place after February’s winning total of 5,924.

Country Total Percentage difference to UK
United States 6,580 2.60%
United Kingdom 6,413 0.00%
Czech Republic 6,177 -3.68%
India 5,969 -6.92%
Hungary 5,695 -11.20%
Australia 5,654 -11.84%
Lithuania 5,537 -13.66%
Russia 5,534 -13.71%
Japan 5,502 -14.21%
South Africa 5,500 -14.24%
Singapore 5,454 -14.96%
Israel 5,389 -15.97%
Germany 5,228 -18.48%
Switzerland 5,182 -19.20%
Canada 5,112 -20.29%
Mexico 5,109 -20.34%
Brazil 5,032 -21.54%
Belgium 4,985 -22.27%
Argentina 4,813 -24.95%
Hong Kong 4,801 -25.14%
France 4,751 -25.92%
Spain 4,682 -27.00%
Poland 4,619 -27.98%
South Korea 4,505 -29.76%
Thailand 4,492 -29.96%
Sweden 4,424 -31.02%
Netherlands 4,213 -34.31%
Portugal 4,185 -34.75%
Slovakia 4,072 -36.51%
Italy 4,050 -36.85%
Iceland 3,896 -39.26%
Greece 3,827 -40.33%

Data correct as of November 2020

See what streaming quality you can expect in each country

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

Matt Mckenna
UK communications manager
M: +44 747 921 7816
T: +44 20 8191 8806
matt.mckenna@finder.com@MichHutchison/in/matthewmckenna2

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