Apple App Store Powers India’s Economy with $5.31 Billion in 2024
Apple’s App Store has played a huge role in driving India’s economy forward, contributing a total of Rs 44,447 crores (around $5.31 billion) in developer billings and sales for 2024. The interesting part? A whopping 94% of this amount went directly to developers and businesses, with Apple taking a very small share.
This information comes from a report published by Viswanath Pingali, a professor at IIM Ahmedabad, who highlighted how the App Store is giving Indian developers access to both local and global markets. Apple CEO Tim Cook praised the vibrant app economy in India and described the growth as an “economic miracle” for developers.
App Store’s Huge Impact on Indian Developers
In 2024, Indian developers made about Rs 38,906 crores ($4.65 billion) just from selling physical goods and services. Another Rs 3,014 crores ($352.9 million) came from in-app ads, and Rs 2,527 crores ($302 million) came from digital goods and services. That’s a lot of cash flowing into India’s economy.
The report also showed that India’s app developers have really caught the eye of users around the globe. About 80% of their earnings in 2024 came from people outside India. To put it into perspective, Indian apps got downloaded over 755 million times worldwide, which is s twice the downloads compared to five years ago.
Apps made by Indian developers are now showing up in the top 100 lists of app stores across 70 countries. With sectors like food delivery, gaming, travel, and entertainment booming, India’s app scene is only getting stronger.
Downloads from Indian users have also tripled in the past five years, and the money coming in from Indian consumers has grown way faster than that—over five times! This is a clear sign that app usage is blowing up in India, and it’s only going to keep rising.
Small Developers Seeing Big Wins
It’s not just big companies that are benefiting. Small developers are seeing some serious growth as well. They’ve reported a 74% increase in earnings from 2021 to 2024. This is partly thanks to Apple’s App Store Small Business Program, which reduces commission rates to help smaller businesses succeed.
Over the past few years, the company has prevented over $7 billion in fraudulent transactions, including $1.8 billion just in 2023. The company has also rejected over 1.7 million app submissions that didn’t meet privacy, security, or quality standards.
While Apple’s impact in India is huge, they’re currently facing legal challenges in Europe. The European Union recently fined Apple $500 million for allegedly restricting developers from offering alternative payment options outside the App Store. The EU claims this violates the Digital Markets Act (DMA), limiting competition and consumer choice.