Internet usage is growing rapidly in Russia, with over 43.3 million people, or around 30% of the population, now accessing the web at least once a month.
Data produced by the portal. Ru and published in Kommersant shows that this is 24% increase on the number a year ago. Moreover, as of Q1 this year, 68% of internet users went on line every day, up from 59% a year earlier.
Broadband internet access is also growing in Russia, wit the average penetration nationally being 28% (14.5 million households) as of Q1 this year.
Although the figure in Moscow was a much higher 74%, the market in the capital is saturated, with year-on-year growth of only 8%. This compared with 41% growth in the Russian regions, where broadband penetration was only 24%.
The online advertising market in Russia amounted to around R9.5 billion (€243.6 million) in Q1 this year, a 33% increase on the same period in 2009.