Choosing a country to launch an Android app

A five-step routine that turns Google Play chart data into a shortlist of launch markets for one category.

1. Pick the category first. Competition differs more between categories than between countries.
2. Rank countries by the top 100 threshold for that category: /markets?category=HEALTH_AND_FITNESS, lowest first.
3. Drop closed markets. Remove countries where less than 10% of the top is new this year.
4. Check who wins. Open the chart (/charts?country=..&category=..) and see whether the leaders are global brands or local apps.
5. Check language and payments. Data cannot do this step: confirm you can localise and monetise there.

A worked example

For casual games, markets with a threshold under 500,000 installs and a new share above 30% are usually mid-sized Asian and Latin American countries. In those charts a well-localised game with a modest user acquisition budget can reach the top 100, which then brings organic installs on its own.

Re-run the routine monthly: thresholds move as charts rotate.