Internet audience in Russia reaches 66 million – Public Opinion Foundation

(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 17, 2013) The monthly Internet audience in Russia reached 66.1 million people aged 18 or older, or, 57% of the country’s population in fall 2013, Svetlana Borisova, the head of the FOM-RUNET project of the Public Opinion Foundation, told a conference RIW (Russian Internet Week) 2013.

“The average daily audience of the Russian segment of the Internet has reached 52.2 million people, which is 45% of Russia’s population. Most of this (monthly) audience, some 76%, accounts for countries with populations of less than 1 million people. The Internet audience is now increasing mainly at the expense of such populated areas,” she said.

According to the Public Opinion Foundation, the current Internet penetration level is some 45% in villages, 58% in cities with populations of less than 100,000 people, and 65% in cities with populations of 100,000 to 1 million people. The Public Opinion Foundation predicts that the Internet penetration level will increase to 68.9% in villages, to 79.9% in small cities, and to 82.9% in cities with populations of 100,000 to 1 million by 2018 if the situation is favorable (if the Communications Ministry fulfils its promises to develop broadband Internet access in the regions and keep the prices on Internet access down).

The Public Opinion Foundation said in its report that 69% of Internet users now use it for their own needs (this is 17 percent points more than was last year). Seventy-four percent of Internet users (against 13% in 2012) believe their life will change if the Internet ceases to exist.

According to a study done by the research company TNS, the monthly audience of the Russian segment of the Internet reaches 77.8 million people (63% of the population aged older than 12). According to TNS, the audience is growing mainly among those older than 55. Some 28 million people older than 55 currently do not use the Internet.