Technology
Mapped: The Most Popular Video Streaming Service by Country
Article/Editing:
Mapped: The Most Popular Video Streaming Service by Country
In recent years, video streaming has become an integral part of global entertainment. From Netflix and Amazon Prime to HBO Max and Apple TV, consumers today have many choices when it comes to streaming services.
While some prefer services with their favorite shows and movies, others opt for the most affordable or content-packed options. Often, users band together friends and family and subscribe to multiple streaming services, though some services like Netflix have started to clamp down on the practice.
This graphic by theWORLDMAPS uses data from FlixPatrol to highlight the streaming services with the most subscriptions by country in February 2023.
Most Subscribed Streaming Services in 2023
With the highest number of subscribers in 78 countries and over 220 million customers globally, Netflix was the most popular video streaming service in the most countries.
| Streaming Service | Top in Number of Countries |
|---|---|
| Netflix | 78 |
| Canal Plus | 17 |
| Shahid | 16 |
| Showmax | 15 |
| Amazon Prime | 5 |
| KinoPoisk | 5 |
| iFlix | 4 |
| GO3 | 3 |
| ivi TV | 3 |
| Tencent Video | 2 |
| Globoplay | 1 |
| BluTV | 1 |
| Disney+ | 1 |
| Viu | 1 |
| WatchIT | 1 |
In many countries including the UK, Brazil, Germany, France, and Mexico, Netflix had the most subscribers of any service. That’s more than delivery subscription and streaming service Amazon Prime and its 200 million global subscribers.
Because of its large userbase, however, Prime can claim more subscribers than Netflix in five countries: Afghanistan, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S..
Other streaming services found success catering to specific regions. The French premium television channel Canal Plus had the highest subscriber count in 17 francophone countries across Central and West Africa. Likewise, the Arabic free video streaming service Shahid topped the list of 16 countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Yemen.
And despite having over 160 million global subscribers, Disney+ only made it to the top of India‘s subscriber base. Likewise, Tencent Video was the most-subscribed platform in China with 124 million customers.
Honorable Mentions and Turning Tides
Only 11 video streaming channels made it to the top of the 134 countries tracked by this data.
And while many others did not make the cut, they continue to attract millions of subscribers worldwide.
They include the Chinese platform iQIYI with 106 million subscribers, as well as four American streaming services: HBO Max (79.9M), Hulu (48M), Paramount+ (46M), and Apple TV (40M).
But with both Netflix and Disney+ wrestling with slowing (and declining) subscriber growth, how will the map evolve over the next few years?
This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
AI
Charted: Countries Accumulating the Most AI Patents
Uncover which countries hold the most AI patents—and why the quality and impact of patents matter more than quantity.
Charted: Countries Accumulating the Most AI Patents
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Key Takeaways
- According to the 2025 AI Index Report, China has accumulated 70% of global AI patents
- Evidence suggests that the majority of China’s AI patents are only applied for and protected within China
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to reshape industries globally, but which nations are leading its innovation?
One way to measure leadership is through patent filings, which legally protect novel ideas or inventions. In the case of AI, securing a patent typically involves demonstrating unique methodologies, machine learning algorithms, or applications capable of significantly advancing existing technologies.
This visualization is part of Visual Capitalist’s AI Week, sponsored by Terzo, and uses data from the 2025 AI Index Report to see which countries & regions have accumulated the most AI patents.
Data & Discussion
The data we used to create this graphic is listed below. Note that 2023 is the most recent year for which data was accessible. All figures were sourced from patent-level bibliographic records in PATSTAT Global, provided by the European Patent Office (EPO).
| Year | China | U.S. | Rest of Asia | Europe | Rest of World |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 13.4% | 40.0% | 37.2% | 8.6% | 0.8% |
| 2011 | 18.8% | 32.4% | 40.1% | 7.9% | 0.7% |
| 2012 | 21.2% | 34.6% | 35.9% | 7.8% | 0.5% |
| 2013 | 20.4% | 38.1% | 34.8% | 5.9% | 0.8% |
| 2014 | 18.1% | 42.1% | 32.7% | 6.4% | 0.7% |
| 2015 | 25.8% | 42.8% | 24.4% | 6.4% | 0.6% |
| 2016 | 31.3% | 39.2% | 22.5% | 6.3% | 0.8% |
| 2017 | 36.9% | 34.5% | 21.3% | 6.6% | 0.8% |
| 2018 | 43.8% | 28.7% | 20.8% | 6.1% | 0.6% |
| 2019 | 42.9% | 31.2% | 20.0% | 5.4% | 0.5% |
| 2020 | 50.2% | 26.5% | 18.8% | 4.1% | 0.4% |
| 2021 | 57.9% | 21.0% | 17.3% | 3.5% | 0.4% |
| 2022 | 64.9% | 17.5% | 14.3% | 3.0% | 0.3% |
| 2023 | 69.7% | 14.2% | 13.1% | 2.8% | 0.3% |
Rethinking China’s Lead in AI Patents
While China has filed more generative AI patents than any other country—over 38,000 between 2014 and 2023—experts caution that this volume may not equate to technological dominance.
For starters, a significant portion of its patents are filed only within China, with just 7.3% submitted internationally.
The quality of these patents is also under scrutiny, based on the patent grant ratio which is the ratio of patents granted against the number of applications.
China’s general patent grant ratio is 55% as of 2023, which trails that of other major economies like Japan (70%) and Canada (77%). Numbers released by the Ministry of Industry and Information of China in April 2024 suggest that the grant ratio of China’s AI patents is even lower, at 32%.
Quantifying U.S. Leadership
While falling behind China in terms of patents, the U.S. is undoubtedly leading the direction of global AI development.
In 2024, U.S. organizations produced 40 “notable AI models” compared to China’s 15. The AI Index Report defines notable AI models as those that make meaningful technological advancements.
According to WIPO’s Patent Landscape Report, American patents and publications also receive significantly more global citations, highlighting their outsized impact.
For example, OpenAI has published just 48 articles (ranked 325th), but its publications have received 11,816 citations (ranked 13th).
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