KARACHI - Pakistan has secured its position among the top 10 global markets for mobile app downloads in 2024, recording 3.56 billion installs, reflecting a 9.2% year-on-year increase. This remarkable growth ranked the country ninth worldwide in app downloads and 12th in total hours spent using mobile applications.

Pakistanis collectively spent 79.1 billion hours on mobile apps, marking a 14.1% rise compared to the previous year. The surge highlights how smartphones have become central to communication, entertainment, education, and everyday tasks across the country.

Read more : WhatsApp's New Thread Feature Simplifies Group Conversations

Average monthly mobile data usage reached 8.4 gigabytes per user, while broadband consumption crossed 13,000 petabytes through 134.8 billion mobile broadband subscriptions. Despite this increase in digital activity, app development slowed sharply as the number of active developers fell 26% to 1,400, and Android app releases dropped 55% to 1,700.

TikTok dominated the app charts with 32.4 million downloads, followed closely by CapCut with 27.1 million, Facebook at 24.3 million, and WhatsApp at 22.7 million. WhatsApp Business also attracted strong demand, while streaming platforms like Tamasha led locally with 10.2 million installs, surpassing Netflix and Tapmad.

Regionally, Pakistan's app growth outpaced major peers including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Mexico, while countries such as Vietnam and Egypt recorded declines. Globally, the mobile industry logged 136 billion app downloads, 4.2 trillion usage hours, and $150 billion in in-app purchases, with artificial intelligence apps showing exponential adoption.

This strong performance underscores Pakistan's rapidly expanding digital economy. However, experts caution that declining app development signals a gap between growing consumption and local innovation, stressing the need to support developers and strengthen the country's technology ecosystem.