Turkey App Market Statistics (2023)

The emerging Turkish app market has seen massive revenue growth in the past few years, particularly since the coronavirus pandemic. The number of smartphone users has also been steadily growing as the market consolidates and access to devices widens.

Time spent on mobile apps in Turkey jumped at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, from 3.2 hours on average in 2019 to 4.3 hours the following year. Downloads also increased, a trend which has continued after the end of pandemic restrictions.

In the past year, consumer spend on entertainment apps covering short videos and video sharing grew, while less was spent on dating apps and audio chat providers. Turkish developers have found success in the domestic market, including Trendyol, 101 Yüzbir Okey Plus, Ziraat Mobil and Türk Telekom Online İşlemler.

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Mobile games have enjoyed strong popularity in Turkey, despite a fall in revenue between 2021 and 2022. This fall can be largely attributed to the depreciation of the Turkish Lira, as the number of users actually increased in that time, according to Gaming in Turkiye. 101 Yüzbir Okey Plus was in the top 10 most downloaded apps of 2022 in Turkey, along with PUBG Mobile and Roblox.

The volatility in the wider Turkish economy could be a concern for the app market as the Lira weakens. Since 2018, the currency has declined against the dollar by more than 80 percent, prompting Apple to rise its App Store prices. Experts predict the value to drop further, potentially impacting on revenue in the app market this year.

Some human rights organisations have accused the Turkish government of online censorship, particularly following amendments to internet regulations introduced in 2022. Under the new law, platforms with more than 10 million daily users will be required to set up companies in Turkey, rather than just representative offices. This increases their liability, while a tightening of the content rules could significantly restrict users’ access to information.

We have collected data and statistics on the Turkish mobile app market. Read on below to find out more.

Key Turkish App Market Statistics

• Revenue in the Turkish app market reached $693.7 million in 2022, compared to pre-pandemic revenue of $418 million
• TikTok was the top grossing app in Turkey last year, earning $8.8 million
• There were 3.7 billion app downloads in Turkey in 2022 for an average of 55.4 downloads per user
• 67.3 million Turkish people were active on smartphones last year
• Trendyol was the most downloaded app of last year with 10.6 million downloads

Turkish App Market Revenue

The Turkish app market earned $693.7 million in 2022, a $34 million fall from the previous year. On average users in Turkey spent $10.38 last year.

Turkish app market annual revenue 2019 to 2022 ($bn)

Turkish consumer spend per user 2019 to 2022 ($)

Turkish App Market Revenue by App

TikTok was the top grossing app in Turkey in 2022 at $8.8 million, followed by video call app Azar at $6.5 million.

Turkish revenue by app 2022 ($mm)

Source: AppFigures

Turkish Smartphone Users

The number of Turkish smartphone users has more than doubled since 2015, from 31.7 million to 67.3 million in January 2023.

Annual Turkish smartphone users 2015 to 2023 (mm)

Turkish Smartphone Population

Almost four-fifths of the Turkish population are active smartphone users, up from around half in 2016.

Turkish population smartphone usage 2015 to 2023 (%)

Time Spent on Apps in Turkey

Turkish users spent 44.4 billion hours on mobile apps in 2022. This is a slight fall of 1.2 billion hours from the previous year but an increase of 7 billion from pre-pandemic levels.

Hours spent on mobile apps in Turkey 2019 to 2022 (bn)

Turkish App Market Downloads

The number of app downloads in Turkey grew to 3.7 billion in 2022 from 3.5 billion in 2021, 3.4 billion in 2020 and 2.9 billion in 2019.

Turkish app downloads 2019 to 2022 (bn)

Turkish downloads per user 2019 to 2022

Turkish App Market Downloads by App

Shopping app Trendyol was the most downloaded app in Turkey in 2022 with 10.6 billion downloads, followed by Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok.

Turkish downloads by app 2022 (mm)

Source: AppFigures