best countries for netflix

Movies, films, and shows are an excellent form of entertainment that the majority of the population enjoys. Because of these shows and animations, people get to escape from reality for a little while to relieve their stress or bond with their friends and family members. Movies can move people and give them an experience that they’d rarely have in real life.

One of the biggest ways people enjoy movies and films is through watching in a cinema or theatre, where they gather a lot of people and watch the movie together. Unfortunately, during this pandemic, it would be impossible, or at least risky, to stay in public places. Alternatively, there are plenty of other ways to access and watch movies, and Netflix has you covered.

What Is Netflix? Why Do People Love It?

Netflix, essentially, is a streaming platform and media services provider offering an extensive list of movies and TV shows. In order to access Netflix and use your account to watch, you’ll need to subscribe and pay for their media services. As of today, Netflix boasts more than 193 million paid subscriptions in over 190 countries.

Netflix started out in 1998 as a DVD-by-mail service to subscribers across the United States. Today, it has expanded into television programming, and internet streaming and now offers video-on-demand services like Netflix Video, DVD by Mail, and TV Shows. In fact, Netflix Inc. (NFLX) was initially called Kibble, and the CEO Reed Hastings and co-founder Marc Randolph wanted to make Netflix as “the Amazon.com of something” before. 

Today, Netflix is perhaps the best and most popular streaming service platform. But why are people so fond of Netflix? One of their biggest assets is the simplicity and ease of experience in using the platform, where you can play, pause, resume, and exit whenever you want. Their videos are also available in high definition (HD) without any commercials and commitments. 

From this annual study, 15,000 consumers were asked to evaluate brand simplicity that delivers simple, clear, and intuitive experiences. Like the simplicity of Netflix, 55% of consumers indicated that they’re more willing to pay for simple experiences than complicated usage, and 64% are more likely to recommend brands to other people because of their simplicity. 

The Rise Of Streaming Platforms and Services

Media consumption has always been consistent since then, but the rise of paid streaming platforms today has skyrocketed media consumption even further. Since people can now enjoy watching their favorite genre of movies in the comfort of their own home, they’re more likely to spend hours of media consumption every day. 

Aside from Netflix, other paid subscription websites such as Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV are also popular, particularly during this pandemic where people are glued to their computer screens on a nearly daily basis. If you’ll notice, people are shifting more towards these kinds of services and veering away from traditional cable and broadcast. Even after the pandemic, these platforms will remain prevalent. 

Netflix Limitations and Restrictions

Netflix Limitations and Restrictions

With Netflix, you’ll have to pay their prices to watch, but you can also unsubscribe and subscribe again anytime you want. To keep subscribers from losing money on their subscriptions, Netflix has come up with a system that allows members to “cancel” their subscriptions at any time. Once you cancel your subscription, you can only enjoy the movies until your next payment date; then, you can no longer view movies and TV shows available in your location. 

However, most media consumers are disheartened of the limitations and restrictions of Netflix and other streaming service platforms. Generally, Netflix shows vary from location to location, and some countries can have a better selection of movies and shows. This is because the media market in your location can have different demands for certain content than another country’s market. For instance, a specific in-demand movie in India may be uninteresting to the American audiences, so Netflix will not bring any of this content to the United States. 

Fortunately, if you want to stream films that aren’t available in your location, there’s a way to bypass these restrictions. Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), you can make your streaming device exist in a completely different location than your actual one. This works the same as navigating the internet through a VPN. If you want to learn more about using a VPN for Netflix, read this guide created by Security Gladiators

Best Countries To Watch Netflix From 

If you feel like you’re not getting a fair deal from what you’re paying for Netflix, especially after raising the subscription price, or you’re travelling to a different country, but you can’t still access their catalogue, VPN services can help you. However, take note that free VPNs can’t help you in accessing content from other locations as Netflix will actively and consistently try to block your account. On the other hand, paid VPN services invest in more specialized digital infrastructure that allows subscribers to enjoy Netflix without being blocked. 

Once you’ve acquired a paid VPN subscription, it’s now the time to choose which locations and servers to access and watch media content from. To make the most out of your Netflix and VPN subscriptions, make sure to check out these best countries to watch Netflix from: 

1. United States

United States

Being the country with the most media titles, the United States tops this list. With 5,879 titles, 4,035 movies, plus 1,844 TV series, you’ll never run out of options on your daily Netflix marathons and sessions. If you explore different genres and themes of movies and TV shows, the diversity of the US Netflix catalog wouldn’t disappoint you. After all, the US has been one of Netflix’s first audiences since their humble beginnings.

Since the quality of movie production is important in compiling a Netflix catalog, it’s also important to look at the number of award-winning films and shows in a country. The United States Netflix library has included 60 Award-winning Academy films and 32 Emmy Award-winning shows. The IMDb audience score for media content in the US garnered an average of 6.95 out of 10. Also, the average MetaCritic critics score is 62.9.

2. Canada

Canada

Next on the list is the second most diverse Netflix catalog across the planet, Netflix Canada, compiling 5,730 combined-media titles with 4,043 films and 1,687 TV series. Movie lovers and enthusiasts will love the Netflix Canada catalog the most because of their biggest film selections. Moreover, Canada has more Academy Award-winning movies than the US, with 66 films, while their Emmy Award-winning shows have a count of 30.

Since both the US and Canada have an extremely wide selection of titles, it’ll more likely achieve a lower IMDb rating. Canada’s IMDb rating is on par with the US with a score of 6.95 but has a lower MetaCritic critics score of 61.4.

3. South Korea

South Korea

A huge catalog doesn’t mean that they always have the best content; that’s why it’s worth looking at their award-winning titles. In terms of this award-winning content, South Korea is unbeatable with 109 Academy Award-winning film titles and 35 Emmy Award-winning shows, which are a few titles ahead than both the US and Canada.

Looking at the media consumption background of South Korea, Netflix noticeably succeeded in entering the South Korean media market. In South Korea, their prominent search engine is Naver and not Google, but major media players such as SK Telecom and CJ E&M were undertaken by Netflix.

If you’re into Korean films and TV shows, you can enjoy what Netflix South Korea has to offer, along with Hollywood films and shows, thanks to the benefits of using a VPN.

4. India

Movie critic and enthusiast ratings are often relied on by media consumers to identify which films and shows are noteworthy. If you’re looking for a perfect balance of media volume and quality, India is the best country to watch from, with a whopping 7.12 IMDb rating and 63.8 MetaCritics critics rating, out of the top 10 countries with most titles.

Netflix India also has a competitive media volume of 3,781 films and 1,810 TV shows for a total of 5,591 titles. They also have almost the same count of award-winning content with Canada, with 65 Award-winning Academy movies and 30 Emmy Award-winning TV shows.

Additionally, the Indian subscribers of Netflix achieve great value for money when it comes to their title volume and pricing. In India, premium Netflix access only costs INR800 or USD$10.82, compared to USA’s premium pricing of almost USD$18.

Honorable Mentions

Because of Netflix’s popularity worldwide, many countries often get a diverse movie and TV show catalog. Here are other countries that didn’t get to the elaborated list, but are also worth looking into because of their more than 3,000 titles and an IMDb rating of more than 7:

  • Switzerland
  • Japan
  • Italy 
  • Finland
  • Sweden
  • Argentina
  • Norway
  • Denmark
  • Slovenia
  • Romania
  • Croatia

Bottom Line

This list rounds up the top four countries to watch Netflix from, mostly according to their catalog range and rankings. However, these figures won’t matter if these countries don’t have the content you’re looking for. As an additional tip in choosing which countries to stream from, you also have to consider how popular or uncommon your desired film or TV show is. Remember, the media market demand in these countries also differ from one another.

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By Lucas Brown

Lucas is an IT student completing his studies in Networking. He worked at Ycombinator as a research analyst. He loves to write about his technology experiences. He also enjoys traveling and captures the best moments with his Canon 5d lens. He is a review specialist at TechProReviewers.

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