Study: App Store revenue in China in 2023 — $519 billion
Ju Heng, an associate professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Business School, investigated the App Store's revenue in China. The figures were astronomical.
The findings from Ju's research were published by Apple in its official blog in Chinese. The corporation did not say how accurately they reflect the reality. Instead, it stated that it is proud of its contribution to China’s economic growth.
Here’s what Ju noted:
- From 2019 to 2023, the App Store's turnover in China increased by 2.3 times. Five years ago, it was 1.65 trillion yuan ($228 billion), and in 2023, it reached 3.76 trillion yuan ($519.4 billion);
- Apple received only 5% of the turnover in 2023. The rest went to app developers' payouts;
- In 2023, 95% of the developers' revenue and 90% of the downloads in the Chinese App Store were from local teams' apps;
- Most Chinese developers do not pay an App Store commission. Of those who do, more than half use the reduced 15% rate;
- In 2023, Chinese iOS app developers generated 35% of their income outside of China. In 2018, this share was 28%;
- In 2023, iOS apps by Chinese developers were downloaded worldwide 8 billion times. Users outside China generated 26% of the downloads. In 2018, the share of downloads from outside China was 12%;
- Currently, the weekly audience of the App Store in China is 150 million people.
