Translation App installs grow 71% in Ukraine amid the ongoing war

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has led to more than 2 million Ukrainians fleeing to neighbouring nations and facing a number of challenges, including language barriers.

Ukrainians are turning to the translation and language learning apps to help bridge the communication gap | Photo Credit: Sensor Tower

First-time downloads of Ukraine’s top translation apps surged in the first nine days of March after several war-struck Ukrainians turned to these apps to fix their language issues as they continued to escape to other countries.

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The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has led to more than 2 million Ukrainians fleeing to neighbouring nations and facing a number of challenges, including language barriers, research firm Sensor Tower said.

They are in part turning to mobile devices and these translation and language learning apps to help bridge the communication gap and connect people from different cultures, according to Sensor Tower.

The firm estimated that in the first nine days of March, the top 10 translation apps from across Ukraine’s App Store and Google Play collectively saw 198,000 installs, rising 71% from 116,000 during the same time in February.

Google Translate led the cohort with around 58,000 installs, followed by Translate All and Camera Translator.

The research firm estimated that installs of the top 10 language learning apps also grew 47% to 132,000 in the first nine days of March from 90,000 in the same time in February.

Apps focused on learning Polish, English, and German languages dominated the category.

The conflict is now in its third week, and uncertainty about the future may be contributing to the increase in language learning apps as Ukrainians prepare to relocate or acclimate to their temporary homes, Sensor Tower noted.