Pakistan’s digital landscape growing at fast pace with 3.56b app downloads in 2024

Islamabad, 24 Oct 2025: The Pakistan State of digital Apps 2024 Report notes that Pakistan’s digital landscape is growing at a fast pace with 3.56 billion app downloads — up 9.2% year-on-year — making Pakistan the ninth-largest app market globally.

The report released by Data Darbar also says that Pakistanis spent 79.1 billion hours on mobile apps, a 14.1% surge that outpaced regional peers, driven by rising broadband subscriptions (134.8 million users) and higher data consumption (8.4 GB per user monthly).

Lifestyle and entertainment apps led this growth, reflecting stronger user engagement and preference for digital experiences. The report underscores how homegrown apps are reshaping Pakistan’s digital economy, integrating lifestyle, entertainment, and commerce into everyday mobile behavior.

As Pakistan is at the center of digital transformation and government of Pakistan has special focus on Digital Nation, by powering platforms that shape millions of Pakistanis live, learn, and entertain themselves online.

SIMOSA, with 9.2 million installs and 95% penetration, it’s Pakistan’s most downloaded lifestyle app. It’s transforming customer behavior — digital complaint resolution rose from 12% to over 50% within a year, easing pressure on traditional support channels.

Tamasha, with 10.2 million downloads in 2024, has become one of Pakistan’s largest streaming platforms. Its growth during major sporting and entertainment events reflects the country’s shift toward mobile-first entertainment consumption.

The Data Darbar’s report validates that homegrown platforms are now leading digital engagement, marking a shift from global imports to local innovation. The president of Jazz digital platforms, Amir Ejaz, told Future Asia that this contributes directly to job creation, financial inclusion, and digital literacy — pillars of Pakistan’s broader economic growth.

‘For Jazz, the vision goes beyond being a telecom operator — we are evolving into Pakistan’s foremost digital services company, enabling smarter, more inclusive growth. Our strategy is clear: empower every Pakistani through digital solutions that combine utility, entertainment, and lifestyle into one seamless experience.’

Pakistan’s performance stood out across South Asia and comparable emerging markets. The country’s 9.2% download growth exceeded Indonesia (8.6%), the Philippines (1.2%), Mexico (1.2%), Egypt (-1.7%), and Vietnam (-13.6%). For engagement growth, Pakistan led the region at 14.1%, surpassing the Philippines (8.4%), Mexico (4%), Indonesia (3.4%), and Vietnam (2.6%).

The report says Pakistan’s developer community faced significant headwinds in 2024. Active developers dropped 26% to just 1,400 individuals, while Android app releases plummeted 55% to 1,700 titles. Game development fell 31%, with only 756 titles released. iOS development remained the only stable segment at 784 apps. In total, Pakistani developers released 2,500 apps and games in 2024.

The contraction reflects tightening registration and approval criteria by app stores, as well as developers increasingly registering accounts abroad due to payment and taxation challenges. Despite these obstacles, top locally-developed apps maintained strong performance, with Easypaisa (12 million downloads), Time Warp Scan (11.7 million), and My Zong (10.7 million) leading the pack.