Pakistanis Spent 79 Billion Hours on Mobile Apps in 2024, Report Finds

Pakistanis spent a record 79.1 billion hours on mobile applications in 2024, a 14.1% increase from the previous year, highlighting the country’s growing digital engagement, according to new data from IT analytics firm Data Darbar.

The surge in app usage pushed Pakistan to the ninth position globally in app downloads, with 3.56 billion installs, up 9.2% year-on-year. The country also ranked 12th worldwide in total hours spent on apps, reflecting a sharp rise in smartphone dependence for entertainment, communication, and work.

Average monthly mobile data usage reached 8.4 GB per user, while total broadband consumption hit 13,000 petabytes across 134.8 million mobile broadband subscriptions, underscoring the country’s expanding digital footprint.

However, the report also pointed to a slowdown in app creation. The number of active developers dropped 26% to 1,400, and Android app releases declined 55% to 1,700. In total, 2,500 new apps were launched in 2024, including 1,053 games and 784 iOS applications.

Among the most downloaded apps, TikTok led with 32.4 million installs, followed by CapCut (27.1 million), Facebook (24.3 million), and WhatsApp (22.7 million). WhatsApp Business also maintained strong traction with 20.9 million downloads.

In streaming, Tamasha outperformed global giants with 10.2 million installs, ahead of Netflix (3.7 million) and Tapmad (2.5 million).

Regionally, Pakistan’s app download growth outpaced Indonesia (8.6%), the Philippines (1.2%), and Mexico (1.2%), while Vietnam and Egypt saw declines of 13.6% and 1.7%, respectively.

Globally, mobile users downloaded 136 billion apps, spending 4.2 trillion hours on them. Mobile advertising accounted for $195 billion, and in-app purchases generated $150 billion. Meanwhile, AI-based applications saw 1.49 billion downloads, contributing $1.27 billion in revenue.

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