India Beats US in Google Play Downloads; Facebook, WhatsApp Most Popular: App Annie

HIGHLIGHTS

• App downloads grew by 15 percent worldwide across iOS and Google Play
• In 2016, publishers were paid over $35 billion in revenue in app markets
• India pipped US to become first in Google Play downloads

India zipped past the US to become the top country in terms of Google Play downloads in 2016, according to analytics firm App Annie.

"India's app market grew massively outpacing the US to surpass it as the #1 country by Google Play downloads, from around 3.5 billion downloads in 2015 to over 6 billion downloads in 2016," App Annie said in a report.

App downloads grew by 15 percent worldwide across iOS and Google Play, with total time spent in apps increasing by 25 percent, it added.

In 2016, publishers were paid over $35 billion (roughly Rs. 2,37,898 crores) in revenue across the iOS App Store and Google Play. When including in-app advertising, app store revenue and third-party Android stores in 2016, publishers made over $89 billion in revenue.