| Article Index |
|---|
| Russia |
| Social Networking and UGC |
| eCommerce |
| Online Travel Market |
| Broadband Access |
| Interactive TV & Wireless Devices |
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Usage Patterns
| Total Online Population (000's) in 2009: | 45,250 |
| Percentage of Population Online in 2009: | 32.3% |
Demographics
There were 45,250,000 internet users in Russia (representing 32.3% of the population) in September 2009, according to Internet World Stats. This was up by 1,359.7% compared to 2000. (Internet World Stats, November 2009)
61.9 million people will use the internet in Russia by 2013, according to eMarketer. This would be up from 45.8 million in 2009.
Internet users in Russia 2008-2013:
- 2008: 41.0 million
- 2009: 45.8 million
- 2010: 50.6 million
- 2011: 54.9 million
- 2012: 58.7 million
- 2013: 61.9 million
(eMarketer at , May 2009)
Some 32.7 million users in Russia had continuous access to the internet in May 2008, which accounted for almost 30% of the country's population, according to Moscow-based Public Opinion Foundation.
The ratio of almost one-third puts Russia on the fourth position in the world in terms of internet penetration after Germany, Brazil and the UK. The foundation's report stipulates that in gender structure the internet is more popular among males (33%) than females (25%). Some 69% of internet users access the web from home and 40% at their workplace. Besides this, almost 10% of Russian internet users browse the Web via cell phones.
Referring to the forecast by the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications from several months ago, the report claims the country may score second in Europe in respect of total number of internet users, which is expected to amount to 46 million by the end of 2008. (IT & Telecoms in Russia, July 2008)
The gap in internet development between Russian cities is closing. The number of ISPs in St. Petersburg almost equals that in the capital now. In terms of domains number growth rate, Russia is just behind China, according to a representative of RU-center (a company which registers domain names), speaking at the 3rd St. Petersburg internet Conference.
There were 24.5 million internet users over the age of 12 in cities with a population exceeding 100,000 in Russia at the end of 2007, representing a penetration rate of 40%, according to a Russian TNS Gallup polling association representative.
In Moscow there were 5.7 million users (60% penetration) which puts the capital two years ahead of the regions.
Russia ranks 12th in the number of domain names in the world, having reached 1 million in September 2007, and it is expected to reach 2 million at the beginning of 2009. The proportion of internet advertising is small (only 2% of all media budgets) but grew by 90% in 2007 and is envisaged to reach 6%, exceeding the value of radio advertisements, in 2012. The most popular websites visited by Russian users are Mail.ru (6.5 million per week), Yandex.ru (6.1 million), Vkontakte.ru (4.4 million) and Odnoklassniki.ru (4 million). (PMR Ltd, June 2008)
In the fourth quarter of 2006, the proportion of internet users among men in Russia (25%) exceeded that among women (18%), according to a survey of the Russian internet audience by Romir Monitoring Holding.
Furthermore, the internet has become more and more popular among younger users between 18-24 years old (46%), while the number of users above 45 years remained very low, increasing slightly (to 9%).
Internet users by age group in Q4 2006:
- 18-24: 46%
- 25-34: 31%
- 35-44: 23%
- 45 and above: 9%
Among different social groups, internet penetration is highest among students (51%), top managers (45%) and qualified specialists (41%). It is interesting to note, however, that the share of students is decreasing.
Internet users by social position in Q4 2006:
- Student: 51%
- Top-manager: 45%
- Qualified specialist: 41%
- Worker/Clerk: 18%
- Housewife, unemployed: 17%
- Pensioner: 2%
Romir Monitoring Holding's quarterly results of the survey of the Russian internet audience are based on a pool conducted on a monthly basis. The company interviewed a nationally representative sample of 4,934 internet users above 18 years old in a face-to-face interview. (PMR Ltd, March 2007)
Russian internet access is growing thanks to consumer interest in regions outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The number of fixed internet connections in Russia is predicted to reach 16.6 million in 2011, up from 7.3 million at the end of 2006, according to IDC's "Russia internet Access Services 2007–2011 Forecast."
Moscow has the highest internet penetration of any major Russian city, with 42% of households online.
IDC also predicted that broadband connections would pass dial-up in number in 2007. IDC said broadband service providers were driving demand with internet, video and voice bundles. (eMarketer, November 2007)
Russian-language search engine Yandex reached 62% of the Russian internet audience, making it the top Web property in February 2008, followed by Mail.Ru Sites (51% reach), Rambler Media (49%), AOL LLC (42%) and Google Sites (41%).
Top 10 Russian internet properties by audience reach in February 2008:
1. Yandex: 62.4%
2. Mail.Ru Sites: 51.0%
3. Rambler Media: 49.1%
4. AOL LLC: 42.4%
5. Google Sites: 40.5%
6. Microsoft Sites: 33.3%
7. ODNOKLASSNIKI.RU: 29.9%
8. VKONTAKTE.RU: 29.6%
9. Qip: 26.6%
10. Connexus: 18.9%
1. Yandex: 62.4%
2. Mail.Ru Sites: 51.0%
3. Rambler Media: 49.1%
4. AOL LLC: 42.4%
5. Google Sites: 40.5%
6. Microsoft Sites: 33.3%
7. ODNOKLASSNIKI.RU: 29.9%
8. VKONTAKTE.RU: 29.6%
9. Qip: 26.6%
10. Connexus: 18.9%
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as internet cafes or access from s or PDAs.
Access
In Q2 2006, there were 21 million adult internet users in Russia, which represented 19% of the adult population of the country, according to ROMIR Monitoring.
Some 77% of the respondents said that they log onto the internet at home, while 69% use the internet at work. (PMR Publications, August 2006)
40% (600,000 households) of all home internet users in Moscow connect via dial-up, according to RBK. Half of these are, however, satisfied with the service.
40% (600,000 households) of all home internet users in Moscow connect via dial-up, according to RBK. Half of these are, however, satisfied with the service.
Almost 30% of dial-up users in Moscow, representing approximately 150,000-170,000 potential customers, would gladly use broadband, but, at the moment, for technical reasons, it is not available to them. (PMR Ltd, February 2007)
Gender
In Q2 2006, there were 21 million adult internet users in Russia, which represented 19% of the adult population of the country, according to ROMIR Monitoring. Men account for 52% of internet users in the country. (PMR Publications, August 2006)
