Google Play now drives 25% more downloads than iOS app store, has 50% the revenue

Google Play is continuing its inexorable overtaking of the App Store, with downloads now 25 percent higher, and app revenue that is slowly overtaking Apple’s sales.

The reason is exactly the same one that impacts iOS market share: international markets.

“The increase in Google Play’s downloads was primarily driven by Brazil and Argentina with [ Brazil ] climbing one spot in the rankings to number 4 behind the U.S., South Korea and India,” App Annie said as the app analytics company released its Q3 2013 rankings.

This is a huge change, as just in July of this year Google Play had a significant lead in app downloads, but only had 20 percent of Apple’s app store revenue.

Essentially, the BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India, and China — are starting to flex their muscle, and it’s almost all Android-powered. Brazil has the world’s fifth-largest population, a reasonable level of wealth, and a massively growing middle class, App Annie says, all of which is driving Brazil up the charts, joining the U.S., Korea, India, and Russia in the top five markets for Android apps.

In contrast, the top five countries on the iOS app store are the U.S., China, Japan, the U.K., and Russia.

Games continues to be the top category in both Google Play and the app store, accounting for 40 percent of all app downloads. Games drive about 80 percent of Google Play’s revenue, but only 70 percent of the app store’s, as Navigation and Social Networking took increased share this past quarter.

Interestingly, tiny Taiwan is fifth on the the list of countries on Google Play by revenue.