Mobile App Industry Statistics By Usage Trends, Market Growth and Key Insights

Saisuman Revankar
Written by
Saisuman Revankar

Updated · Oct 09, 2024

Rohan Jambhale
Edited by
Rohan Jambhale

Editor

Mobile App Industry Statistics By Usage Trends, Market Growth and Key Insights

Introduction

Mobile App Industry Statistics: In the past ten years, the mobile app industry statistics have transformed the way businesses operate and how consumers interact with technology. Due to the prevalence of smartphones and mobile devices in our society, the demand for mobile applications has become so high that it can be said to have made a booming business ecosystem from developers to users. As of 2023, the global mobile app industry statistics market is valued at about USD 500 billion US dollars, which indicates its centrality in the digital economy.

It is an industry that serves as a pillar for a modern economy, innovating across the entertainment, finance, health, and education sectors. Various factors, including enhanced technology, internet ubiquity, and dynamic consumer behavior, have propelled changes in mobile applications over time.

In 2023, approximately seven billion mobile phone users worldwide downloaded over two hundred eighteen billion apps (more than). By 2024, this figure will reach around two hundred thirty billion according to emergent economies and increasing adoption of 5G technology.

Editor’s Choice

  • Apps were available to Android users in the third quarter of 2022, making Google Play the largest app store with 3.55 million apps.
  • On average, smartphone users launch around ten applications in one day and nearly thirty applications in thirty days.
  • Moreover, they use these non-game applications up to 20%, often making 120 sessions per app in a month on average. iOS, on the other hand, had approximately 1.6 million, making it the second-largest Apple store
  • Among millennials, 15.21% open the apps more than 50 times within a day, while 16.73% shop through mobile 1-4 times a week.
  • For example, Gen Z users spend an average of 4.1 hours per month on non-gaming mobile apps; this is more than that of other generations, with about 10%.
  • About 87% of smartphone owners spend most of their time on applications. By 2027, gaming applications are expected to exceed 176.1 billion downloads.
  • It has been estimated that by 2024, the total revenue from the mobile app industry statistics market will exceed USD 522 billion.

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Mobile App Consumer Worldwide

mobile-app-consumer-spending-worldwide-from-2022-to-2027-by-store

(Reference: statista.com)

  • According to mobile app industry statistics, by the year 2027, people will spend 125 billion United States dollars on mobile apps from the Apple App Store.
  • In 2027, total consumer spending on both platforms is projected to be almost 186 billion U.S. dollars, which is an increase of more than 50% compared with the overall customer expenditure in 2022 for both main app stores.
  • However, it should be pointed out that app purchasing forecasts for 2023 and 2024 are now much lower than they used to be due to a slowdown in the digital trade’s growth rate.

Worldwide Mobile App Industry

  • According to mobile app industry statistics, the App market will have a total revenue of USUSD 437.80 billion by 2022.
  • An annual growth rate of 7.84% is anticipated here, which will result in USUSD 781.70 billion market volume estimates by 2029.
  • In-app purchase (IAP) revenues are expected to hit USUSD 167.30 billion in 2022, while revenues from paid apps are projected at only USUSD 4.59 billion.
  • Advertising revenues in the app marketplace are also estimated to reach about USUSD 265.80 billion this year.
  • The number of downloads for all applications is estimated at 235.30 billion, with an average of USD 1.86 per download for revenue collection purposes alone for the same period.
  • It’s worth noting that China reigns supreme when it comes to making money off mobile applications, with an expected figure of USUSD 162 billion in 2022 alone.

Mobile App Downloads Worldwide

number-of-mobile-app-downloads-worldwide-from-2016-to-2023

(Reference: statista.com)

  • From 2016 to 2022, global app downloads steadily rose. But in 2023, they stuck at 257 billion downloads, indicating a mere 1% year-over-year growth.
  • As per mobile app industry statistics, by 2025, mobile apps are expected to account for over USD 613 billion through various monetization methods.
  • The biggest revenue stream among all app categories still belongs to mobile games.
  • In 2020, gaming and video content dominated the mobile content market, while publishing and education remained marginalized despite increased app use due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Most applications available in main app stores can be downloaded free of charge, but worldwide expenditure on them is rising; this shows that premium services or quality pay are increasingly popular.
  • In Q2 2021, Android users spent an average of 5.31 U.S. dollars per device after peaking at 10.6 U.S. dollars per device in Q4 2020.
  • By September 2021, paid apps made up only 6% of the Apple App Store, while 4% were found on the Google Play Store. Subscription models are now a common revenue generation method.
  • Despite this trend in subscription-based business models, the most lucrative subscriptions ranked among the top ten app stores reached global revenues exceeding ten million U.S. dollars during the year 2020.

Smartphone Users Worldwide

-number-of-smartphone-users-worldwide-from-2014-to-2029

(Reference: statista.com)

  • There were roughly 5 million smartphones worldwide last year, demonstrating that smartphone ownership will likely continue growing gradually.
  • Between 2024 and 2029, the expected increment would stand at 1.7 billion users (+37.98% ).
  • In 2029, after fifteen years of uninterrupted expansion, it is projected that around 6.2 billion individuals will make use of these gadgets. In some areas around the world, it has become common to find more than one smartphone per person.
  • This mobile app industry statistics refers to any individual who accesses the Internet through a handheld device or, more precisely, through cell phones.
  • Cell phones are small portable phones with additional features such as sending texts and conducting online banking.

Smartphone Mobile Network Subscriptions Worldwide

-number-of-smartphone-mobile-network-subscriptions-worldwide-from-2016-to-2023-with-forecasts-from-2023-to-2028

(Reference: statista.com)

  • In 2023, the world had almost seven billion smartphone mobile network subscriptions, which are expected to go beyond seven point seven billion in 2028.
  • The highest numbers of smartphone mobile subscription networks belong to China, India, and the United States.
  • The smartphone market still has significant room for growth, with penetration rates below 70% in many populous markets, especially in China and India.
  • According to mobile app industry statistics, revenue from smartphones reached 481 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 but was expected to decline to 463 billion in 2022.
  • However, stagnant sales are anticipated to be counterbalanced by an increase in the average selling price of smartphones that will eventually support market growth in future years.
  • Leading smartphone suppliers, such as Samsung and Apple, account for an estimated 50% of all shipments worldwide.

Leading Mobile Apps

leading-mobile-apps-worldwide-in-march-2024-by-downloads

(Reference: statista.com)

  • As per mobile app industry statistics, by March 2024, Facebook and Instagram, both powered by Meta, were the most downloaded mobile apps worldwide, accumulating 59 million and 58 million downloads, respectively.
  • Meanwhile, the social video application TikTok was ranked third with 46 million downloads.
  • In the last month of the year, 24 million people downloaded Threads, a microblogging platform owned by Meta.

Mobile Application Market Top Players Company Profiles.

  • Intellect Soft employs 100 people, each earning the company USD 90,800 annually. The company’s highest revenue was USD 9.1 million in 2022.
  • Microsoft’s yearly income is USD 211.915 billion, which reflects a growth of 6.88% compared to the June ending 30th, 2023. Its annual revenue for 2023 stood at the same amount, thus recording a similar growth rate over the time frame from 2022. In 2022, Microsoft generated USD 198.27 billion, which is an increase of 17.96% from the previous year.
  • Google’s search ads made up USD 40.4 billion (57.8%) of its total revenues, which were USD 69.8 billion. Google Network ads were USD 7.5 billion (10.7%), and YouTube ad revenue reached USD 6.7 billion (9.6%).
  • Based on its twelve-month summary ending July 31st, 2023, HP Enterprise’s revenues amounted to USD 29.655 billion, resulting in a year-on-year growth rate of 5.99%. The total annual revenue recorded at the end of 2022 was way above that of 2021, amounting to approximately USD 28.496 billion, pegged at an increased rate of 2.56% returnee earnings compared to last year’s figures.
  • According to reports received in 2021, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s sales were USD 27USD 784 million, which was 2.97% higher than those obtained through sales made within their operations in 2020.
  • Cognizant Technology Solutions’ revenue was USD 19.434 billion for the twelve months ending September 30, 2023, which is equal to an increase of 0.35% compared to the same period last year. The company’s annual revenue was USD 19.428 billion in 2022, an increase of 4.98% from 2021.
  • International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) generated revenue of USD 60.5 billion and a free cash flow of USD 9.3 billion for the entire year. This allowed it to achieve a 12% growth at constant currency, including about four percentage points from additional external sales to Kyndryl during 2022.
  • Broadcom’s revenue during the twelve months up until July 31st, 2023, stood at USD 35.454 billion, demonstrating year-on-year growth of 11.91%. In 2022, the company was reported to have made sales approximating USD 33.203 billion, indicating a growth rate of 20.96% relative to 2021. In 2021, it recorded an income amounting to around USD 27.45 billion, which was more than what was earned in 2020 by 14.91%.
  • Verbat’s revenue is at USD 19.8 million.
  • Netflix’s revenue for the twelve months ending June 30, 2023, was USD 32.126 billion, which indicates a growth rate of 3.53%.
  • Apple’s total net sales during its financial year (2023) stood at around key, although lower than its previous record high of 394.33 billion dollars made during the 2012-2013 season; as such, annual sales have quadrupled over the past decade.

Mobile App Users By Age

App-used-and-app-installed

(Source: simform.com)

  • According to recent mobile app industry statistics, In a month, an average of 112.6 hours are spent by those aged between 18 and 24, while an average of 102.4 hours are spent by people aged 25 to 34.
  • Those over 35 spend less than 100 hours using apps a month, while those over 65 use a mere 51.4 hours.
  • Compared to other generations, members of Generation Z who were born in the post-nineties spend most of their time online engaging with apps; thus, when they use their favorite applications, they do so 30% more than the average population.
  • This group seems to be the most active on social networking applications, with teens (13‐19-year-olds) spending almost equal time as those aged 20-29 years accessing digital apps.
  • Sometimes, social networking sites could decrease for people above forty.
  • Younger audiences tend to dominate overall activity across all application categories. Comic book-related applications recorded heightened user interactions from individuals aged 18-24 during Q2 2022.
  • Android users aged 18-24 accounted for more than half of all downloads in the audio and music category. Approximately 30% of those downloading magazine and news applications are 50-64 years old.
  • Users in the 25-—to 34-year-old age range made around 22% of downloads for parenting applications.
  • An estimated 74% of millennials have confessed to accessing an app when they are bored, which presents a chance for developing captivating materials like video clips or articles that can maintain the interest of people using your application.

Free Vs Paid App Downloads

distribution-of-free-and-paid-apps-in-the-apple-app-store-and-google-play-in-march-2024

(Reference: statista.com)

  • According to mobile app industry statistics, the Google Play Store has more global downloads than the Apple App Store.
  • There was an increase in the percentage of downloads for both stores between 2019 and 2020.
  • Google Play Store downloads rose by 31%, whereas Apple App Store only had a 2.5% growth rate.
  • In conclusion, the Google Play store has more downloads and is also growing faster.
  • As of March 2024, almost 97% of apps on Google Play are free of charge.
  • Google Play Store has always had more free applications as compared to paid ones alongside Apple App Store.
  • Paid apps constitute about 18% of all applications, while free ones constitute about 82% of all apps on the Amazon App Store’s Android platform.

Number of Mobile Apps in the Google Play Store

(Reference: statista.com)

  • The Google Play Store currently has around 2.43 million apps, an increase of about 143% since July 2013, when it passed 1 million apps.
  • By 2024, gaming apps are expected to contribute more than 70% of all revenues within Google Play Store’s mobile application ecosystem.
  • Nevertheless, as most of these applications are free and hence no money is paid for them, this company has to use some good business model for its revenues to remain stable.

Forecast Mobile Users Worldwide

forecast-number-of-mobile-users-worldwide-from-2020-to-2025

(Reference: statista.com)

  • According to the mobile app industry statistics report, there were 7.1 billion mobile users worldwide, and the forecast shows that this number will rise to 7.26 billion by 2022.
  • By 2025, there will be approximately 7.49 billion mobile users around the world.

Future Trends and Predictions

  • Forthcoming is the mobile app industry statistics continuous growth, fostered by technological advancements and changing consumers’ tastes.
  • The year 2024 is bound to witness much more complex AI and machine intelligence systems improving app functionality besides offering more personalized experiences that are deeper than normal ones.
  • The expansion of 5 G networks would also facilitate faster download speeds and optimized app performance, thereby facilitating application adoption.
  • Another trend you need to watch is the emergence of super apps, which merge several services into one platform. Initially embraced by Asian companies like Tencent and Alibaba, these kinds of applications are likely to gain popularity in other parts of the world. They provide social networking, e-commerce, and financial services in a single, mild-mannered way.
  • With increasing concern over privacy and data security, this is also likely to shape how applications are developed by developers and users’ choices when buying them.
  • Consequently, applications that strongly emphasize user safety coupled with open data policies will have an advantage over similar products in the marketplace, where there are increasingly recurrent issues surrounding information hacking and the lack of confidentiality principle regulations.

Conclusion

The mobile application sector is dynamic and has fast progressions with the possibility of growth prospects and innovativeness. According to mobile app industry statistics and forecasts for 2024, it remains healthy by 2023 analysts. Given that customer behavior is changing and technology is improving, mobile applications will expand further, producing different engagement methods between companies, developers, and consumers.

The future appears good for the mobile application industry statistics, considering that it will still grow in all parts of the world or even its categories.

FAQ.

What is the current value of the global mobile application market and its projected growth?

The global mobile apps market is estimated to be around USD 500 billion as of 2023. It is anticipated to surpass $522 billion in 2024 and may rise to $613 billion in 2025.

How does the Google Play Store and Apple App Store compare in terms of app downloads and availability?

By 2023, the number of downloads on the Google Play Store was much higher than that of the Apple App Store. As of March 2024, approximately 97% of all applications available on the Google Play Store were free. On the other hand, the Apple App Store had about 1.6 million Applications, making it the second-largest after Google Play.

How has mobile application use varied by age group?

Users aged between 18 and 24 spend approximately 112.6 hours per month on mobile apps, while those aged 25 to 34 use them for about 102.4 hours. Those above 35 use them for less than 100 hours per month, with persons above 65 spending around 51.4 hours. This age group, Generation Z, spends more time on their preferred apps than any other generation does.

What are the key revenue sources in the mobile app industry?

In 2022, in-app purchase (IAP) revenues were projected to reach $167.30 billion, while revenue from paid apps was expected to be $4.59 billion. Advertising revenue was estimated at $265.80 billion. Gaming apps are expected to account for over 70% of Google Play Store’s revenue in 2024.

How is the number of global mobile users expected to change in the coming years?

In 2021, there were approximately 7.1 billion mobile users worldwide. This number is projected to rise to 7.26 billion by 2022 and to around 7.49 billion by 2025.

Saisuman Revankar
Saisuman Revankar

Saisuman is a professional content writer specializing in health, law, and space-related articles. Her experience includes designing featured articles for websites and newsletters, as well as conducting detailed research for medical professionals and researchers. Passionate about languages since childhood, Saisuman can read, write, and speak in five different languages. Her love for languages and reading inspired her to pursue a career in writing. Saisuman holds a Master's in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources and has worked in a Human Resources firm for a year. She was previously associated with a French international company. In addition to writing, Saisuman enjoys traveling and singing classical songs in her leisure time.

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