Pakistan Sees Record Rise in Global App Downloads Ranking

Pakistan has emerged among the top 10 global markets for app downloads in the year 2024, with over 3.56 billion installs recorded.

According to IT research firm Data Darbar, the figure marks a 9.2 percent annual growth, positioning the country ninth globally in total downloads.

The report also ranked Pakistan twelfth worldwide for total time spent on mobile apps. Citizens logged nearly 79.1 billion hours, reflecting a 14.1 percent increase from last year.

This surge in using apps highlights the growing dependence on smartphones for communication, entertainment, and daily transactions.

Average monthly mobile data consumption rose to 8.4 gigabytes per user, while total broadband usage crossed 13,000 petabytes across 134.8 billion mobile broadband subscriptions nationwide.

The rise in usage, however, was accompanied by a slowdown in app development activity. The number of active developers in Pakistan dropped by 26 percent to 1,400 in 2024, while Android app releases declined 55 percent to 1,700.

Overall, 2,500 new applications were launched during the year, including 1,053 games and 784 for iOS platforms. TikTok led Pakistan’s app charts with 32.4 million downloads, followed by CapCut, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

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Jazz-owned Tamasha topped the entertainment category with 10.2 million installs, while Netflix and Tapmad trailed behind. In finance, Easypaisa and JazzCash remained the most downloaded platforms.

E-commerce platforms Temu and Daraz also performed strongly, recording 8 million and 7.7 million installs respectively, with Temu marking its debut year in Pakistan. The country’s download growth rate surpassed Indonesia, the Philippines, and Mexico, while Vietnam and Egypt saw declines.

Jazz’s digital ecosystem continued to expand, with Tamasha reaching 17.1 million monthly users, including 1.35 million paid subscribers. JazzCash also reported 12.48 million app-based users, confirming the operator’s growing digital influence across Pakistan.

Globally, mobile engagement remained robust with 136 billion app downloads and over 4.2 trillion hours spent on apps. Artificial intelligence applications saw exceptional growth, reaching 1.49 billion downloads and generating $1.27 billion in revenue, the report noted.