With roughly 5.3 billion mobile phone users worldwide, or 57% of the world’s population, the mobile app industry continues surging with no signs of stopping any time soon. In 2021, the entire market is expected to hit over $400bn value, growing by 25% YoY. However, that is nothing compared to revenue growth expected in the following years.
According to data presented by Mejores Apuestas, global mobile app revenues are set to jump by another 55% and hit $613bn by 2025.
Annual Number of Downloads to Hit 312 Billion by 2025
Over the years, mobile app developers have created an intensely competitive market, releasing millions of new apps and trying to capture the attention of an increasingly mobile society. Having a mobile presence has become imperative to companies across different sectors, and the COVID-19 has only speeded up this digital transformation.
Since the pandemic hit, billions of people started using mobile apps not just for social networking, gaming, communication and entertainment but also to educate, get medical advice and do business, providing additional value to their users. This surging demand for mobile app solutions has fuelled the growth of the entire industry.
Before the COVID-19, the global mobile apps industry was valued at around $255bn, revealed the Statista Digital Market Outlook. Since then, annual revenues jumped to over $400bn in 2021, growing by around 25% each year. Statistics show this figure is forecast to increase by another $213bn in the next four years.
As expected, mobile games will remain the largest revenue stream of the entire industry, bringing $387bn in revenue by 2025 or 53% more than in 2021.
Far behind, social networking ranked as the second-largest app category, with $39.6bn in revenue in 2021. By 2025, this figure is projected to jump to $60.8bn.
Entertainment and photo and video apps follow, with $41.2bn and $25.1bn in revenue by 2025, respectively. Although not among the top five app categories, education and business apps are also set to witness impressive growth in the following years.
According to Statista data, education apps are forecast to generate $10.1bn in revenue by 2025, up from $6.4bn in 2021. Business app revenues will grow by 68% and hit $4.2bn in this period.
The surging demand for mobile app solutions and the growing number of smartphone users will continue driving the downloads growth. Statista estimates the total number of downloads will hit 220.5 billion in 2021 and then jump to 312.5 billion in the next four years.
China the Leading Mobile App Market, South Korea and Japan to Witness the Biggest Growth
The countries of the Asia Pacific region, which account for the biggest share of mobile phone users globally, have seen their mobile app markets explode in recent years. As the largest mobile app market in the region and globally, China is the best example of this impressive growth.
Statista estimates Chinese mobile app revenues to grow by 21% YoY and hit $157.2bn this year. By 2025, this figure is forecast to jump to $229bn, showing a 45% growth in four years.
The United States, as the second-largest mobile app industry, will generate $147.7bn in revenues by 2025, up from $94.6bn in 2021.
However, Japan and South Korea are set to witness the most impressive revenue growth in this period. Between 2021 and 2025, the South Korean market will grow by 68% and hit a $26.7bn value. Japan follows with a 58% growth and $102.5 in revenue in this period.
