India tops the world in download on Google Play Store

India has taken the top spot in as the country with the most downloads on the Google Play Store in 2016 – surpassing the US, according to analyst firm App Annie's '2016 Retrospective' report.

''In 2016, India surpassed the US as the second largest smartphone market due to a rise in domestically produced smartphones. This is only the beginning, however, as India's smartphone penetration is still below 30% and its overall economy is poised for massive growth,'' App Annie's report noted.

Downloads from India on Google Play Store totaled 6 billion, the US took the second position and Brazil came in third. However, in terms of revenue India was not in the top 10 meaning that Indians were spending much less as compared to people in Japan, US and South Korea – the top three countries in the category.

''Mature markets like the US and Japan are shifting from a download growth phase to one characterised by expanding app usage and revenue growth. Meanwhile, emerging markets like India and Indonesia are still experiencing hypergrowth in app downloads,'' the report adds.

The report said downloads were up by 15 per cent in 2016 as against 2015, with time spent on apps increasing by 25 per cent.

China was not part of the Google Play (Android) rankings as it had blocked Google. It was No. 1 in iOS (Apple) app store downloads.

According to the report, India could widen its gap with others in Android app downloads given low penetration of smartphones was still low.

The report said, "India's phenomenal progress (in downloads) over the past two years is even more impressive when considering its potential for further gains. In 2016, India surpassed the US as the second largest smartphone market due in large part to a rise in domestically produced smartphones. This is only the beginning, however, as India's smartphone penetration is still below 30% and its overall economy is poised for massive growth."