By Quick answer: What are the key app and mobile statistics for India in 2026?
- Telecom — 1.348B subscribers; 1.282B mobile (June 2026).
- Broadband — 1.087B connections (June 2026).
- UPI — 24.07B transactions, ₹29.37 lakh crore (Sept 2026).
- Shopping installs — India 63% of global Android shopping installs (AppsFlyer).
- Top apps — median rating 4.34; 72% have 10M+ installs.
Key takeaways
- India's addressable mobile audience is above a billion connections.
- UPI makes in-app payments a default, not a barrier.
- Installs are easy to win; retention is the hard part.
- Top apps set a high bar for quality and update cadence.
- Rural users are a large share of the base — design for them.
India is the world's largest open app market by many measures — more than a billion mobile connections, the world's busiest real-time payments system, and a store front where apps fight for attention in a dozen languages. Here are the numbers that matter for anyone building apps for India, from official releases and our own analysis, as of October 2026.
- Telecom subscribers (TRAI, June 2026)
- 1.348B
- UPI transactions per day (Sept 2026)
- 802M
- Median rating of top Google Play India apps
- 4.34
Connectivity
| Metric | Value (30 June 2026) |
|---|---|
| Total telephone subscribers | 1,348.08 million |
| Wireless subscribers (mobile + FWA) | 1,300.25 million |
| Wireless mobile subscribers | 1,282 million |
| Broadband subscribers (incl. M2M) | 1,087.50 million |
| Broadband subscribers (excl. M2M) | 1,001.50 million |
| Urban / rural telephone subscribers | 792.06 million / 556.01 million |
| Overall tele-density | 94.31% |
Source: TRAI's monthly subscription data1, as reported by IANS2. Subscriptions overstate unique users because many people use more than one SIM — but the scale is clear, and rural India accounts for about 41% of telephone subscribers.
Payments
| Metric | August 2026 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| UPI transactions | 24.51 billion | 24.07 billion |
| UPI value | ₹29.82 lakh crore | ₹29.37 lakh crore |
| Average daily transactions | 791 million | 802 million |
| Average daily value | ₹96,205 crore | ₹97,913 crore |
September's daily average crossed 800 million transactions for the first time, with volume up about 23% year on year3. For app makers, UPI means one-tap payments, UPI Autopay for subscriptions, and users who expect both.
Installs and retention
AppsFlyer's 2026 India e-commerce report found India accounted for 63% of global Android shopping-app installs among measured markets, with installs up 85% in two years — but day-30 retention fell 41% between Q4 2025 and Q2 20264. See app retention in India.
What top apps look like
From our analysis of 1,986 apps featured on Google Play India on 23 October 20265:
| Benchmark | Value |
|---|---|
| Median rating | 4.34 |
| Apps with 10M+ installs | 72% |
| Apps with in-app purchases | 68.8% |
| Apps with ads | 58.3% |
| Paid upfront | 1.1% |
| Updated in the last 30 days | 76.1% |
| Median release year | 2019 |
Full details in Google Play India statistics, average app rating by category and in-app purchase prices in India.
Startups
DPIIT had recognised about 2.23 lakh startups by 31 March 2026, with more than 55,200 recognised in FY26 alone — up 51.6% on FY256. See DPIIT registration for what recognition offers.
What it means for app builders
- Build for a billion-plus connections — low-end Android and patchy networks included
- Make UPI the default payment path
- Design for rural and regional-language users from the start
- Treat retention, not installs, as your core metric
- Match top-app quality: 4.3+ ratings and monthly updates
Limits
- Telecom subscriptions are not unique users
- UPI figures are national totals across all apps
- AppsFlyer data covers apps measured by AppsFlyer
- Our Google Play sample covers featured apps, not the whole store
Key terms, defined
TRAI — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. NPCI — National Payments Corporation of India, which runs UPI. M2M — machine-to-machine connections. Tele-density — subscriptions per 100 people. DPIIT — Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
Frequently asked questions
How many mobile users are there in India?
TRAI reported 1.282 billion wireless mobile subscribers at the end of June 2026, within 1.348 billion total telephone subscribers. Subscriptions are not the same as unique users, since many people hold more than one SIM.
How many broadband users does India have?
TRAI counted 1.087 billion broadband subscriptions in June 2026, including machine-to-machine connections, or about 1.0 billion excluding them.
How many UPI transactions happen in India?
UPI processed 24.07 billion transactions worth ₹29.37 lakh crore in September 2026 — an average of 802 million a day, per NPCI data.
How many Indian users are in rural areas?
TRAI reported 556.01 million rural telephone subscribers and 792.06 million urban subscribers in June 2026.
How many startups are in India?
DPIIT had recognised about 2.23 lakh startups by 31 March 2026.
Where do these numbers come from?
Official releases from TRAI, NPCI data reported by the press, AppsFlyer's published India reports, DPIIT figures, and Science of Apps' own analysis of 1,986 Google Play India listings.
Sources
- TRAI — Telecom subscription data as on 30 June 2026 (Press Release 104/2026)
- IANS — India's telecom subscriber base rises to 1.35 billion in June (July 2026)
- StartupTalky — UPI daily transactions cross 800 million: September 2026 (NPCI data)
- MediaNews4U — AppsFlyer State of eCommerce for Marketers in India 2026
- Science of Apps — Google Play India statistics (1,986 apps, October 2026)
- Inc42 — Centre recognises record 55,200 startups in FY26
- Checked October 23, 2026. Figures that change — fees, salaries, prices — are reviewed every six months; if something is out of date, tell us.
Where to go from here
- Google Play India statistics — our 1,986-app study
- App retention in India — what happens after install
- Original dataApp retention in India: what published install and retention data says about how long Indian users keep appsApp retention in India from published data: day-1 and day-30 retention by category, the 2026 drop in shopping app retention, and what it means for app teams.
- Original dataThe most downloaded apps in the world in 2025, and the countries that download the mostChatGPT was the world's most downloaded app in 2025 with 845 million installs. See the top 10, India's lead in downloads and our per-person country analysis.
- Original dataAverage app rating by category: what 1,934 top apps on Google Play India score — and what a good rating isThe average app rating by category from 1,934 rated apps on Google Play India: health and word games lead, comics and kids' games trail. Full table inside.
- Original dataPlay Store statistics: we analysed 1,986 apps featured on Google Play India — here's what they have in commonPlay Store statistics from our analysis of 1,986 apps on Google Play India: ratings, installs, ads, in-app purchases, update frequency and app age.
- App marketing & ASOApp retention rate benchmarks by category — and how to read your own numbersApp retention rate benchmarks by category — day 1, day 7 and day 30 ranges compiled from public industry roundups — plus how to measure and improve your own.
- Original dataAverage screen time in 2026: how long people spend online, in India and worldwide, and what research says it doesThe average online adult spends about 33½ hours a week on online media, 18½ on social and video feeds; Indians average five hours a day on phones. The data.
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