📱 Asia Pacific Leads Global App Growth in 2025
Southeast Asia drives installs, engagement, and gaming performance.
🪶 The Main Takeaway
Adjust’s Mobile App Growth Report: 2025 Edition reveals that despite ongoing privacy changes and rising costs, the global mobile app economy continues to grow steadily.
App installs rose 11% YoY, while sessions increased 10% YoY in the first half of 2025 — driven by AI-powered targeting, personalised marketing, and renewed focus on user retention.
Asia Pacific (APAC) is the fastest-growing region worldwide, with emerging markets such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines leading momentum.
“The challenge today isn’t a lack of data — it’s knowing which signals matter,” said Tiahn Wetzler, Director of Content and Insight at Adjust.
🌏 Why It’s on Our Radar
APAC — especially Southeast Asia — is fueling the strongest growth across the global app economy:
Younger demographics,
High mobile-first adoption,
Competitive acquisition costs,
And a booming gaming ecosystem.
For regional marketers navigating increasingly competitive markets, Adjust’s Growth Score provides a new benchmark balancing scale, cost efficiency, and retention.
💡 What’s at Stake
📈 Global Growth Score Average: 29.2
🌏 APAC Growth Score: 45 — the highest of all regions
🇮🇳 India: 49
🇮🇩 Indonesia: 43.1
🇻🇳 Vietnam: 33.9
🇵🇭 Philippines: 33.3
🇯🇵 Japan: 30.9
🇲🇾 Malaysia: 29.9
Adjust analysed 5,000 leading apps using four weighted parameters: installs, CPI efficiency, sessions per user per day, and retention.
“Clarity is strongest in APAC this year,” Wetzler added. “Marketers here are converting scale into sustainable growth.”
📸 The Big Picture
APAC’s dominance is anchored in gaming and entertainment, the region’s largest and fastest-growing verticals.
The region is projected to generate US$66.7 billion in gaming revenue in 2025, the highest globally.
India leads the world in gaming Growth Score (52.2), driven by 650 million mobile gamers and extremely low CPIs (US$0.03).
Indonesia (40.1) and Vietnam (36.2) are among the fastest-growing gaming markets.
Entertainment apps also show strong performance (31.9), alongside utilities, photo & video, and finance.
🌐 The Regional Stakes
Southeast Asia’s rise reflects a wider structural shift:
Mobile-first populations accelerate app adoption.
E-commerce, fintech, and digital entertainment are creating high-frequency engagement loops.
Markets like Indonesia and the Philippines offer high engagement at competitive acquisition costs, making them prime targets for global marketers.
Meanwhile, mature markets such as Japan and Malaysia shift toward retention, monetisation, and user lifetime value.
“APAC is reshaping how consumers interact with mobile apps,” said April Tayson, Regional Vice President for INSEAU, Adjust.
“From gaming to finance, audiences now expect more immersive and value-driven experiences.”
🏠 Why This Hits Home
For Southeast Asia, the report signals that:
The region remains one of the world’s most dynamic mobile ecosystems.
Gaming and entertainment continue to define the next wave of digital behaviour.
Emerging markets offer high growth potential for global developers and advertisers.
As competition intensifies and privacy rules evolve, AI-driven optimisation and retention strategies will shape the region’s next growth curve.
✨ Beyond the Headlines
📊 APAC records the highest Growth Score worldwide, driven by scale and efficiency.
🎮 Gaming remains the region’s strongest vertical, with India, Indonesia, and Vietnam leading globally.
🌏 Southeast Asia continues to offer some of the world’s most promising markets for user acquisition and engagement.
(VRG/QOB)