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Fascinating study reveals which country has the best Netflix content

Published Jun 2nd, 2020 7:05PM EDT
Best movies on Netflix
Image: BigTunaOnline/Shutterstock

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  • June will add plenty of new additions to the already long list of titles on Netflix.
  • In all, Netflix is adding 46 original movies and shows this month.
  • One study has attempted to quantify which part of the world has the best Netflix catalog.

June is going to be another typically huge month for Netflix on the original movie front, with the streamer having teed up new Netflix original films from superstars like Spike Lee and Will Ferrell. As a matter of fact, in all, Netflix is releasing 46 original movies and shows this month, a typically jam-packed month for the service that also doesn’t take into account the massive amount of licensed content available to Netflix subscribers — in addition to previously released Netflix original shows and movies.

We faithfully cover Netflix’s cadence of new releases, in addition to the titles people are most looking forward to (as well as what they end up watching the most of once it actually debuts). Meanwhile, here’s a fun exercise that poses an intriguing question, based on Netflix’s sprawling global user base that touches pretty much every major country in the world: We keep getting this slew of content week-in, week-out, but is there someplace in the world that actually has the best Netflix content? The “best” encompassing both the highest volume as well as the highest-quality content on the service?

Remember, especially when it comes to content licensed from third parties, not every show and not every movie is shown to every audience around the world. For example, take a look at these infographics (via Surfshark) which show where you can and can’t watch certain movies and programs on Netflix around the world, with each graphic color-coded based on the content’s availability:

Image source: Surfshark
Image source: Surfshark
Image source: Surfshark

“The movie and television industries invest millions into creating their output, and with so much money at stake, they do their best to earn back as much as possible from their investments,” Surfshark explains as part of its Netflix study. “To this end, studios enforce their copyright by country. Different markets have different demands for content — for example, a British sci-fi classic might not be of interest to American audiences, or an American hit movie might have no traction in Ukraine.”

To dive deeper into all this, Surfshark pulled data from the Netflix database Flixwatch, which includes Netflix film and TV details for more than 70 countries. For each film and TV show, Surfshark also looked at IMDb ratings and Metacritic scores, in addition to Oscar and Emmy wins associated with the Netflix content, and used all that to produce an average rating for each country’s Netflix catalog.

Highlights of the study’s findings include:

  • The US has the most Netflix titles, with a total of 5,879 (4,035 movies and 1,844 TV series) while Canada has the biggest movie catalog, with 4,043 films.
  • Netflix catalogs available in both Canada and the US have the joint lowest average IMDb score (6.95.)
  • South Korea has 109 Oscar-winning films in its Netflix catalog — which is 24 films more than Switzerland, the next best country, with 85 Academy Award winners.
Image source: Surfshark
Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.