iOS users have now downloaded over 15 billion apps

There’s no doubt Apple’s App Store is a huge success. Since the company announced their system of delivering apps and games to the iPhone with the unveiling of the iPhone 3G in 2008, it has continued to grow at an incredible rate, and is now home to 425,000 apps.

What’s even more incredible, however, is the number of times iOS users have downloaded those apps: In a press release today, Apple announced that a whopping 15 billion apps have now been downloaded from the App Store since it opened for business three years ago.

Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said in the press release:

“In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen. Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.”

1 billion of those apps were downloaded in just the last month, which is a testament to how the App Store continues to grow rapidly. In comparison, after its launch it took nine months for the App Store to achieve 1 billion downloads.

With roughly 200 million iOS users, each user has downloaded around 75 apps on average, according to the Cupertino company. However, I know that owing to my occupation, and my slightly worrying obsession with downloading great new apps & games, I’ve downloaded in excess of 800 apps all by myself, according to my iTunes library.

While it’s unclear how many of the 15 billion downloads were free, Apple has also revealed that since the App Store’s launch in 2008, the company has now paid out over $2.5 billion to iOS developers.