Yandex investigated how the Internet developed in the regions of Russia in 2013

    Today we published our annual study on the development of the Internet in the regions of Russia. Here are some interesting facts from it, collected according to Yandex.

    • Over the past year, the average fixed broadband speed claimed by providers has grown by 38%.
    • Against the background of widespread tariff reductions, a noticeable difference between regions in terms of broadband access prices still persists. For example, residents of the Far East pay almost ten times more for one Mbit / s than Muscovites. According to the accessibility index, which takes into account incomes of the population, this difference is even greater - about 14 times.



    • According to Yandex, the cost of one gigabyte of mobile traffic decreased in 59% in 2013, and the difference between the regions in terms of affordability of mobile Internet was almost halved.
    • According to Yandex.Metrica, mobile Internet is most actively used in the capital regions and in the Ural Federal District.
    • 55% of Russian organizations registered in Yandex.Directory indicated that they have their own website. The highest share of such organizations is in the capitals and in Central Russia, but the number of such organizations is growing most rapidly in the North Caucasus.



    • According to Yandex.Metrica data for February 2014, 86% of Russian mobile Internet users access the network from smartphones and communicators based on Android and iOS. The share of alternative platforms among mobile devices used to access the Internet in different regions did not exceed 10‑20%.


    Internet audience


    The study used data from Yandex.Metrica, News, the Directory and the Catalog, as well as data on Internet penetration from the Public Opinion Foundation and on the mobile Internet audience from the TNS research group.

    According to the POF, in autumn 2013, there are 66.5 million people over 18 years of age in Russia who access the Internet at least once a month — more than 57% of the country's total adult population. Four fifths of them, more than 53 million people, use the Internet daily.

    Small cities are gradually catching up with large ones in terms of Internet penetration, differences between regions in terms of accessibility to the network are blurring. There are more and more older people among the Internet audience.

    Internet audience growth

    Internet audience growth in Russia continues to slow. From the fall of 2012 to the fall of 2013, the growth in the number of users was less than 9% - this is the lowest figure in the last ten years. However, in absolute terms, the increase looks impressive - more than 5 million people. It is like the population of St. Petersburg.

    The daily audience has grown even more - this means that many users who used to go online only from time to time now do it every day.



    In 2013, the Internet audience grew at the fastest pace in Siberia, the South and the North Caucasus, as well as in the central regions of Russia. The same regions most quickly caught up with the capital in terms of Internet penetration. In absolute terms, the Central District showed the largest audience growth.

    In St. Petersburg and the Far East in 2013, audience growth and Internet penetration completely stopped. FOM recorded a slight decrease in these indicators in both regions.





    More than a third of new Internet users are rural residents. Compared to last year, their number increased by 18%, or by about 2 million people. This is the highest growth rate among all types of settlements, both in absolute and relative terms.





    Five years ago, fewer Internet users lived in all Russian villages than in Moscow alone. Today, the number of rural Internet audiences is already a quarter more than in both Russian capitals combined. If in the coming years Internet penetration in rural areas reaches the current level of cities with a population of less than 100 thousand people, then about 3.5 million new users will appear there.

    Changing the composition of the Internet audience

    In 2013, the daily Internet audience grew faster than the monthly. The proportion of users who go online every day has exceeded 80%.



    Every year more and more older people use the Internet. Persons under 35 still account for more than half of the Internet audience in Russia, but their share is decreasing. Children and young people are mostly among Internet users in small towns and rural areas, and older people are among Muscovites.





    Internet accessibility


    Fixed broadband

    According to Yandex, in 2013, the average fixed broadband access speed declared by providers increased, and the cost of unlimited access in terms of one Mbit / s decreased in all regions of Russia. Most of all, the Internet has fallen in price in the South, the Far East and in the central regions of Russia, and least of all - in the capitals.

    Despite the widespread decline in prices, the difference between regions in terms of price and Internet availability is still huge. For example, residents of the Far East pay almost ten times more for one Mbit / s than Muscovites. According to the accessibility index, which takes into account incomes of the population, this difference is even greater - about 14 times.

    What is the fixed internet accessibility index?
    The fixed Internet accessibility index shows how many times the connection speed of a resident of the region and the average Russian will differ, provided that they spend the same part of their salary on this service. The calculation used the data on the average accrued wages of the State Committee for Statistics of Russia for January 2014.






    Mobile access

    The gap between regions in terms of mobile Internet accessibility has narrowed significantly - the difference in price per GB of traffic between the most expensive and cheapest region has decreased over the year from 4.2 to 2.4 times. At the beginning of 2014, most mobile traffic without speed limits per salary could be bought in the Urals, and least of all in the Far East.

    What is the Mobile Internet Accessibility Index?
    The mobile internet accessibility index shows how many times the volume of traffic will vary without a speed limit for a resident of the region and the average Russian, provided that they spend the same part of their salary on this service. The calculation used the data on the average accrued wages of the State Committee for Statistics of Russia for January 2014.




    Mobile Internet


    Lecture hall


    According to TNS, in December 2013, about 25.5 million residents of large Russian cities (with a population of more than 100 thousand people) used various mobile devices (telephones, smartphones, tablet computers) to access the network. This is more than 40% of the population of these cities over the age of 12 years.

    About TNS
    It takes into account only residents of Russian cities with a population of more than 100 thousand people aged 12 years and older. Therefore, TNS data on the audience and penetration of mobile Internet cannot be compared with the Public Opinion Foundation data on fixed Internet.

    The number of mobile Internet audience in 2013 increased by more than one and a half times - to a record 8.7 million users. The highest growth was noted in the Urals and Moscow, here there were more users by 69% and 64%, respectively.



    The penetration of mobile Internet has also grown at an unprecedented pace: according to the results of the year, this indicator for cities with a population of more than 100 thousand people increased by 14.2 percentage points, and in Moscow and St. Petersburg the growth was even stronger.



    Devices

    According to Yandex.Metrica data for February 2014, 86% of Russian mobile Internet users access the network from smartphones and communicators based on Android and iOS. The share of alternative platforms among mobile devices used to access the Internet in different regions did not exceed 10‑20%. According to Yandex.Metrica, most often the residents of economically developed regions of Russia use the mobile Internet. Worst of all, things are in relatively low-income regions, as well as in remote parts of the country where access infrastructure is not developed. In the capitals, they use mobile Internet 2–3 times more actively than the Russian average. Among the regions, the Ural Federal District occupies the first place.





    How was the assessment
    The assessment was made on the basis of the mobile Internet usage activity index, an indicator that illustrates how many times more people in the region use the Internet from mobile devices than the average people in Russia.


    More details and graphs for each federal district of Russia on the study page .

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