Research reveals huge increases in Russian mobile internet use

The number of internet users in Russia has increased significantly in the past year due to a rise in mobile internet use, according to a report by analytics agency GfK.

The number of internet users in Russia increased in 2015 by nearly four million, reaching 84 million people. GfK explains this rise by the growth of mobile internet use in the country, which more than doubled in 2015 compared to 2014. According to the report, by the end of 2015 37.2% of Russians aged over 16 used the internet on a smartphone and 19.2% on a tablet. In total, about 50 million people accessed the internet from mobile devices, or 42% of the adult population.

Analysts believe that these huge increases in mobile internet use stem from the development of Wi-Fi access points and the mobile data packages on offer from Russia’s largest telecom operators.

The level of total internet use among the Russian population aged 16 years and older reached 70.4% in 2015, up from 67.5% in 2014. The growth seen in 2015 is mainly due to an increase in the share of middle-aged and elderly internet users.

Source: Lenta (in Russian)