Average UAE Netflix user has spent 37 days streaming films and TV shows, says study

While the number might seem high, the UAE does not make the top 10 when it comes to nations that love a TV binge

The average Netflix user in the UAE has spent a total of 37 days streaming films and TV shows, according to Comparitech. Unsplash 

The average Netflix user in the UAE has spent a total of 37 days, or 53,357 minutes, streaming television shows and films on the platform, a new study says.

UK technology company Comparitech has created a new Time Spent Streaming tool, which has analysed the Netflix viewing habits of almost 25,000 users in 46 countries. The majority of Asia and Africa is not included in the study.

While 37 days of non-stop screen time might seem high, it is comparatively low on a global scale, with the average user banking a total of 47 days on Netflix, which has been split into eight days watching films and 39 days watching series.

Movie fans in the UAE 

Specific viewing habits have been broken down by the company.

On average, time is split into 83 per cent watching TV series and 17 per cent films, around the world.

The UAE, however, is a little more film-focused, spending an average of 11,626 minutes watching movies, which works out at 22 per cent of users' screen time. That leaves an average of 41,731 minutes watching TV series, or 78 per cent of their time, 5 per cent less than the global average of 83 per cent.

Regional rankings 

Other countries from the Mena region included in the study are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Lebanon, all of which rank below average on the screen time chart, such as the UAE.

Lebanon's users have amassed the highest number of total average minutes watching Netflix at 64,160, followed by Egypt with 60,306, Israel with 58,458 minutes and Saudi Arabia with 57,575 minutes.

Binge-watching nations of the world 

The only countries ranked as "binge-watchers" by the study are located in Central and South America. Peru has amassed the highest average time watching Netflix with 115,300 minutes, followed by Argentina at 110,459 minutes, Chile at 107,451 minutes and Mexico at 106,018 minutes.

The countries that follow the top four are Colombia, Canada, Brazil, the US, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands to round out the top 10; they are all categorised as "above average" in their screen time by the study.

The study points out: "Interestingly, Argentina, Colombia, Canada, and Brazil are among the most cost-effective places to have a Netflix (basic plan) subscription.

"In contrast, the countries that are more 'casual' viewers of Netflix (the majority of European countries, for example) often fall within our 'less cost-effective' range, too. This suggests that many of the countries that already have the most cost-effective Netflix accounts are getting even more value for their money by utilising their Netflix accounts the most."