According to the figures presented by tradingplatforms.com on 23 June, the number of Netflix subscribers keeps on increasing outside of the USA, and particularly in mainland Europe. Over the course of this year, the number of Netflix users on the continent is expected to reach 66.89 million, achieving an overall 13.7% growth rate on 2020 figures (58.83 million European users). As of Q1 2021, Netflix disclosed that it is hosting 207.64 million paying subscribers worldwide, with the primary markets being the USA, Brazil and the UK.

The growth trend in Europe is expected to continue until 2026, when the streaming platform is expected to top 86.2 million users.

Interestingly, the European trend shows a significant territorial shift. In 2020, Western Europe had a 92% share of Europe’s total number of Netflix subscribers, totalling 54.16 million in 2020, and this figure is projected to grow by 12.18% in 2021, topping 60.76 million and reaching 73.91 million in 2026. However, in 2020, Eastern European countries accounted for 4.67 million subscribers but are now expected to grow by a massive 31.33% in 2021 (6.31 million subscribers) and reach 12.29 million users five years later.

Commenting on said shift, tradingplatforms.com editor Rex Pascual concluded: “Eastern Europe is a tremendous growth opportunity for Netflix in an industry that has seen much saturation over the last few years. The emergence of Netflix as market leaders in its primary markets is already starting to be replicated in its international markets, with Europe at the forefront.”