A recent study conducted by Cloudward explored the number of working hours required for individuals across 100 nations to afford a Netflix standard subscription.
As Netflix expands its footprint worldwide, the findings reveal a stark contrast in the time commitment needed by people in African countries-from just under three and a half hours in Botswana to over four full working days in Rwanda-to pay for the same streaming service.
Notably, seven of the top ten countries where the Netflix standard plan demands the highest number of working hours are located in Africa: Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Niger, Benin, Angola, and Zambia.
The analysis included 18 African nations, comparing each country’s median monthly income against the cost of a Netflix standard subscription.
For instance, in Botswana, where the median monthly income stands at $405.71, residents must work roughly three hours and 28 minutes to cover the $7.99 monthly fee.
Despite the wide income disparities across the continent, Netflix’s subscription pricing remains fairly consistent.
Consider countries like Eswatini, Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, where median monthly wages are $321.22, $241.57, $192.53, $81.52, and $39.95 respectively, yet the Netflix standard plan is uniformly priced at $7.99.
This pattern indicates that Netflix’s pricing approach likely factors in elements such as licensing costs and competitive dynamics rather than aligning prices with local income levels.
As a result, while someone in Eswatini might spend just over four hours working to afford Netflix, an Ethiopian subscriber would need to dedicate two full days of labor to pay for the same service.
When compared to European countries, the affordability gap becomes even more pronounced for many African consumers.
For example, in Norway, where the median monthly salary is $5,434.05 and the Netflix standard plan costs $12.46, it takes only about 24 minutes of work to afford the subscription.
Similarly, residents in Luxembourg and the Netherlands need to work just 26 and 36 minutes respectively to pay for the same plan.
Although Netflix offers a cheaper basic subscription tier in most markets, the time required to afford even this option remains significant in many African countries, sometimes extending to several days, as is the case in Rwanda.
With ongoing price hikes on subscriptions in parts of Africa, the number of working hours needed to pay for Netflix is expected to rise, intensifying the financial strain amid the continent’s existing economic challenges.