Pakistan’s mobile app ecosystem continued to expand rapidly in 2025, with total app downloads reaching nearly 3.8 billion, reflecting a 6 percent year-on-year increase, according to preliminary analysis tied to the upcoming Pakistan State of Apps 2025 report by Data Darbar Insights. This growth significantly outpaced the global app download increase of 0.8 percent and helped Pakistan climb to the eighth position worldwide, overtaking Türkiye in global app engagement rankings.
Data Darbar Insights noted that the State of Apps 2024 report, which served as a baseline for this year’s analysis, highlighted strong momentum across core mobile engagement metrics, including time spent in apps, monthly active users, and revenue generated from in-app purchases and advertising. Early 2025 data suggests that Pakistanis are not only downloading more apps but are also spending more time in them, with improved session frequency and retention metrics compared to previous years. This acceleration reflects broader digital trends, including growing smartphone penetration, expanding internet access in both urban and rural areas, and an increasing base of local and international developers targeting the Pakistani market.
Among app categories, social and messaging platforms continued to dominate downloads, with Meta and ByteDance apps leading the charts. TikTok recorded 32.4 million installs, followed by CapCut at 27.1 million, Facebook at 24.3 million, and WhatsApp at 22.7 million. Communication apps such as Telegram saw substantial growth, nearly tripling from 4.4 million to 12 million downloads. VPN apps also surged following Pakistan’s ban on X, with Super VPN downloads rising 149 percent to 19.1 million and Secure VPN growing 158 percent to 7.6 million.
The e-commerce and fintech sectors showed notable growth and market shifts. Temu, a Chinese newcomer, achieved 8 million downloads in its first year, surpassing Daraz, which recorded 7.7 million downloads. Digital payment apps also performed strongly, with JazzCash reporting 19.67 million monthly active transacting users, the highest ever recorded for a Pakistani app, while Easypaisa led in downloads with 12.1 million. In the streaming space, Tamasha’s downloads declined slightly by 13.4 percent to 10.2 million, but monthly active users surged 61 percent to 17.1 million, and paid subscriptions jumped 367 percent to 1.35 million, indicating a shift toward monetization and deeper user engagement.
Globally, app downloads have grown modestly, but Pakistan’s above-average increase highlights differentiated user behavior shaped by localized adoption, rising investment in digital services, and a demographic profile that includes a growing number of young, tech-savvy users. Data Darbar Insights is in the process of finalizing the 2025 edition of the Pakistan State of Apps report, which will provide a detailed analysis of categories including gaming, social and messaging, entertainment, fintech, productivity tools, and more. The report will also examine regional patterns, age demographics, device types, and the balance between local and global app usage, offering insight into the factors driving Pakistan’s rapidly expanding mobile ecosystem.
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