South Africa App Market Statistics in 2023
- Last update: 29 May 2023 CET
South Africa boasts one of the African continent’s most robust economies. Traditionally one of the world’s foremost producers and exporters of gold and platinum, the “Rainbow Nation” has transformed much of that natural wealth into an increasingly developed service economy. Now, with a population nearing 60 million people and some of the highest rates of smartphone penetration in Africa, South Africa has established itself as one of the most intriguing players in the African mobile app market.
In this article, we will provide a number of detailed app statistics and insights into the South Africa Android app market with focus on apps only. We will cover a number of topics, including: how many South African app publishers exist on the Google Play Store, how many apps they have released, and how South African apps have performed compared to the global average. The data is aggregated based on address, such that only major app publishers and ones with valid South African addresses on the Android market have been considered. Furthermore, all download statistics are estimates.
42matters tracks everything from app meta data, to rankings, to download estimates, to changes in meta information, to SDK usage, to App-ads.txt and more. If you would like to leverage our data into your own product, research or app industry analysis, it can be obtained via our API or File Dumps or our interactive App Market Explorer.
There are more than 1,703 South African publishers on Google Play out of all 1,022,483 app publishers. One of the biggest South African publishers are Wild Foot Games, Distinct Media, iGindis Games, Guinea Pixel, SMART GECKO SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT (PTY) LTD, IdealTech.online, Bestmobs International, JBC Interactive, Mosola Game Studios, TnTGameWorks . Less than 1% of all app publishers on Google Play are from South Africa. Find the biggest app publishers with our App Market Explorer.
There are more than 5,190 apps from South African publishers on Google Play out of the 3,253,814 apps. Apps with most downloads of South African publishers are Capitec Bank, Loadshedding - ESP EskomSePush, TymeBank, VodaPay, Takealot – Online Shopping App, MTN, FNB Banking App, Nedbank Money, MoyaApp, Standard Bank / Stanbic Bank . Less than 1% of all apps on Google Play are from South African publishers. Filter for apps by publisher country with our tool here.
The average rating of 5,190 apps from South African publishers on Google Play is 3.65 out of 5 stars. This is less than the overall average rating of all apps of 3.74 stars. Apps from South African publishers on Google Play have on average 997 ratings. This number is higher than the average number of ratings of all apps, which is 1,666 ratings. Sort by the best rated app or by the app with most ratings directly in our App Market Explorer.
91% of released apps by South African publishers are apps and 9% are games. That means the focus is more on apps than on games. Compared to the worldwide market, South African publishers focus more on apps with 91% of releases compared to all publishers that focus 86% on apps. Use our full App Market Explorer to filter for the most successful mobile apps and games.
Apps by South African publishers have an average of 88.15k downloads. Overall they get more downloads than the average of all apps which is 230.11k. We offer also more detailed download estimates for any app.
5% of apps by South African publishers are paid. That is a higher value of paid apps compared to the overall apps, where 3% are paid. 30% of apps by South African publishers include ads. That is a lower value compared to the whole world, where 35% have ads. 13% of apps by South African publishers make use of In-App Payments to monetize. That is higher than the average of 4%.
34% of apps of South African publishers are available on both Google Play and iTunes. Overall they put more effort in publishing on both stores, compared to the average publisher with 26%. Use our iOS to Android Matching API or Android to iOS Matching API to find the same app across stores.
The following are the top publishers from South Africa that accumulated most downloads.
MultiChoice Support Services (Pty) Ltd is on position 1 of the biggest South African app publishers. MultiChoice Support Services (Pty) Ltd., also known as MultiChoice, operates the DStv Satellite Television service, a major satellite TV service in Sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 1994, they are based in Randburg, South Africa. MultiChoice Support Services (Pty) Ltd has developed and published DStv Now, DStv, MyGOtv, MyDStv, and more. They own 7 apps that have been downloaded together more than 50.12m+ times.
Vodacom (Pty) Ltd. is on position 2 of the biggest South African app publishers. Vodacom (Pty) Ltd. is a South African mobile communications company, providing voice, messaging, data, and converged services to millions of customers across Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, South Africa and was founded in 1994. Vodacom (Pty) Ltd. has created the app My Vodacom SA. They own 4 apps that have been downloaded together more than 22.7m+ times.
SuperSport Online is on position 3 of the biggest South African app publishers. SuperSport Online, referred to simply as SuperSport, is a Pan-Africa group of television channels carried on the DStv satellite platform. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, it provides sports content in South Africa and other African countries. SuperSport Online has developed SuperSport and SuperSport Beta. They own 2 apps that have been downloaded together more than 22.46m+ times.
MTN is on position 4 of the biggest South African app publishers. MTN, formerly M-Cell, is a South African multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in numerous countries across Africa, Europe, and Asia. Founded in 1994, MTN’s head office is located in Johannesburg, South Africa. MTN has built a variety of apps, such as: MyMTN, MTN MoMo, MoMo Merchant, MTN Widge, and more. They own 10 apps that have been downloaded together more than 21m+ times.
Capitec Bank is on position 5 of the biggest South African app publishers. Capitec Bank is a South African retail bank. Founded in 2001, it is one of the largest banks in the country based on the number of customers they serve. Capitec Bank has developed and published Capitec Remote Banking and Capitec Bank. They own a single app that has been downloaded more than 18.87m+ times.
iPlay Store is on position 6 of the biggest South African app publishers. iPlay Store is one of the most successful mobile app developers in South Africa. They are best known for their assortment of clock, HD wallpaper, and photo frame apps. iPlay Store has developed a number of apps, including: Shiva Live Wallpaper, Rose Flower Clock, Waterfall Photo Frames HD, Jesus Clock, and more. They own 18 apps that have been downloaded together more than 14.22m+ times.
Al Rajhi Bank is on position 7 of the biggest South African app publishers. They own 11 apps that have been downloaded together more than 13.27m+ times.
FirstRand Bank Limited. is on position 8 of the biggest South African app publishers. They own 4 apps that have been downloaded together more than 12.88m+ times.
Datafree Africa Pty Ltd is on position 9 of the biggest South African app publishers. They own 4 apps that have been downloaded together more than 12.23m+ times.
Takealot is on position 10 of the biggest South African app publishers. They own a single app that has been downloaded more than 9.68m+ times.
The following shows which SDKs are most used by South Africa app publishers. To find out which apps integrate the following SDK use our App Market Explorer. We have also aggregated the worldwide Top Ad Network SDKs and other categories.
77% of apps from South African publishers have Google Firebase integrated. In total 3,069 apps. Firebase is a mobile and web application development platform SDK that gives app builders the ability to develop their apps faster, without worrying about infrastructure. It includes functionalities like analytics, databases, messaging and crash reporting so developers can move quickly and focus on their users.
57% of apps from South African publishers have Firebase Cloud Messaging integrated. In total 2,286 apps. Firebase Cloud Messaging is a cross-platform messaging solution developed by Google that lets app developers reliably deliver messages at no cost. With Firebase Cloud Messaging, app developers can notify a client app that new email or other data is available to sync, and drive user re-engagement and retention with notification messages.
42% of apps from South African publishers have OkHttp integrated. In total 1,675 apps. OkHttp is an open source project designed to be an efficient HTTP client. It's also easy to use. OkHttp’s request/response API is designed with fluent builders and immutability. It supports both synchronous blocking calls and async calls with callbacks.
41% of apps from South African publishers have Kotlin integrated. In total 1,627 apps.
39% of apps from South African publishers have Google Ads AdMob integrated. In total 1,571 apps. Google Ads AdMob is a mobile advertising platform that enables users to monetize their mobile applications via in-app advertising. AdMob is based on the Google Mobile Ads SDK and serves over 200 billion ad requests a month, with over 1 million advertisers and 1 million apps currently running on the AdMob mobile ad network.
39% of apps from South African publishers have Google Ads AdMob Mediation Adapters integrated. In total 1,563 apps.
33% of apps from South African publishers have Glide integrated. In total 1,315 apps. Glide is an open source media management and image loading framework for Android that supports fetching, decoding, and displaying video stills, images, and animated GIFs. Glide includes a flexible API that developers can plug in to almost any network stack.
32% of apps from South African publishers have gson integrated. In total 1,280 apps. Gson is a Google-developed Java library that app developers can leverage to convert Java Objects into their JSON representation, and vice versa. It works with arbitrary Java objects, including pre-existing objects of which developers do not have the source-code.
27% of apps from South African publishers have Google Maps integrated. In total 1,089 apps.
22% of apps from South African publishers have ZXing integrated. In total 885 apps. ZXing – also known as “zebra crossing” – is an open-source, multi-format barcode image processing library implemented in Java, with ports to other languages. It supports 1D product, 1D industrial, and 2D barcodes.
The following shows which android permissions are most frequently request by South Africa app publishers. Use our App Market Explorer to filter the Google Play Store by apps with specific permissions.
android.permission.INTERNET makes it possible for app publishers to create network sockets and use custom network protocols within their apps. This permission is not required for internet connection however, as the mobile browser provides all apps with the ability to send data to the internet. 100% of the apps from South African publishers use the Internet Access permission. Total 5,368 apps.
The android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE permission can be leveraged by app developers to enable their apps to view information about network connections. This information includes such things as which networks exist and which already have connections. 96% of the apps from South African publishers use the Network Information Access permission. Total 4,982 apps.
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK gives apps the ability to prevent the phone they are running on from going into sleep mode. This is good for apps, like YouTube, that get extended periods of engagement that do not necessarily require the user to touch the screen or otherwise interact physically with the device. 78% of the apps from South African publishers use the Phone Sleep Mode Preventation permission. Total 4,061 apps.
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE makes it possible for app developers to enable their apps to modify or delete the contents of users’ SD cards. 69% of the apps from South African publishers use the Write External Storage permission. Total 3,568 apps.
com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE can be used within apps to allow them to accept cloud to device messages sent by the app’s service. It should be noted however, that using this service will incur data usage, and malicious apps could cause excess data usage. 65% of the apps from South African publishers use the Push Notification permission. Total 3,353 apps.
The android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission allows app developers to enable their apps to read the contents of user SD cards. 61% of the apps from South African publishers use the Read External Storage permission. Total 3,187 apps.
Apps often advertise other apps. By leveraging com.google.android.finsky.permission.BIND_GET_INSTALL_REFERRER_SERVICE apps can make sure that installs of other apps launched via their ads are properly attributed. 51% of the apps from South African publishers use the Install Referrer permission. Total 2,669 apps.
App publishers can leverage android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE to enable their app to view information about Wi-Fi networking. This includes whether Wi-Fi is enabled and the names of the connected Wi-Fi devices. 47% of the apps from South African publishers use the Wifi Information Access permission. Total 2,421 apps.
With android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION apps can find the precise location of the devices they are running on. In other words, apps can figure out where their users are. This is achieved using GPS or network location sources, like Wi-Fi and cell towers. However, in order for these location services to function, users must turn them on. 43% of the apps from South African publishers use the Fine Location Access permission. Total 2,215 apps.
android.permission.VIBRATE makes it possible for app builders to give their apps control over the vibrating function of the devices they are running on. 41% of the apps from South African publishers use the Vibration permission. Total 2,139 apps.
42matters tracks everything from app meta data, to rankings, to download estimates, to changes in meta information, to SDK usage, to App-ads.txt and more. If you would like to leverage our data into your own product, research or app industry analysis, it can be obtained via our API or File Dumps or our interactive App Market Explorer.
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