Google Play Store merchants can sign up in 12 more countries

Google has announced an expansion of its Play Store that will allow merchants from 12 new countries to register. This means that developers from the dozen new countries will be able to offer free and paid apps to Android fans looking for new games and other content. Add these new locations to the existing locations and merchants can sign up for Google Play in 74 countries.

The dozen new locations that Google has announced include Bulgaria, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta, Latvia, Estonia, Panama, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Bolivia, Bahrain and Jamaica. These countries support both merchant and developer registration.

Last month we talked about the success of Google Play compared to the Apple App Store. According to App Annie, while Google Play has 60% more downloads than the App Store, Apple makes more money. Interestingly the metrics do show that Google Play is growing much more rapidly than the App Store.

Part of the monetary success of the App Store is attributed to the popularity of iOS in the key markets of the US, Japan, and China. More app spending is done in the US, Japan, and South Korea combined than the rest of the world combined.

SOURCE: Google