Digital 2027: The Russian Federation
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You’re currently reading DataReportal’s Digital 2027 report for the Russian Federation. We publish regular updates to content in our Global Digital Reports series; you can check whether this is our latest data for the Russian Federation by clicking here.
This page contains all the data, insights, and trends you’ll need to help you understand how people in the Russian Federation use digital devices, online platforms, and connected services in 2027.
If you want to understand how the data and trends in this report compare with digital behaviours and preferences in Russia over time, or if you’re looking for data for past years, you can find DataReportal’s full collection of (free!) reports on Russia by clicking here.
You’ll also find the complete Digital 2027 report for the Russian Federation in the “full report” section towards the bottom of this page, but we’ll start this article by taking a look at the essential headline numbers for Russia this year.
Just before that, we’d like to say a big thank you to Meltwater and to We Are Social for their support of this year’s Global Digital Reports.
OK, ready to start exploring the data?
The “state of digital” in the Russian Federation in 2027
Here are DataReportal’s essential headlines for the adoption and use of connected devices and services in Russia in 2027:
A total of 222 million cellular mobile connections were active in the Russian Federation in late 2026, with this figure equivalent to 155 percent of the total population. However, note that some of these connections may only include services such as voice and SMS, and some may not include access to the internet.
There were 137 million individuals using the internet in Russia at the end of 2026, when online penetration stood at 95.6 percent.
Russia had 106 million social media user identities in October 2026, equating to 74.0 percent of the total population.
OCT
2026
FEDERATION
TOTAL
POPULATION
YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE
DEGREE OF URBANISATION
CELLULAR MOBILE
CONNECTIONS
YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE
TOTAL vs. POPULATION
INDIVIDUALS USING
THE INTERNET
YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE
TOTAL vs. POPULATION
SOCIAL MEDIA
USER IDENTITIES
YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE
TOTAL vs. POPULATION
SOURCES: UN; GOVERNMENT RESOURCES; GSMA INTELLIGENCE; ITU; EUROSTAT; CNNIC; COMPANY AD TOOLS; MANOCHI ANALYSIS. ADVISORY: SOCIAL MEDIA USER IDENTITIES MAY NOT REPRESENT UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS. COMPARABILITY: SOURCE CHANGES AND BASE REVISIONS. FIGURES MAY NOT BE COMPARABLE WITH PREVIOUS REPORTS. GLOBAL DATA MAY USE DIFFERENT SOURCES vs. LOCAL AND REGIONAL DATA, SO SUMS MAY NOT CORRELATE. WHERE AVAILABLE, VALUE FOR URBANISATION NOW USES THE UN’S “DEGREE OF URBANISATION” METHODOLOGY. IMPORTANT: NEGATIVE VALUES MAY INDICATE SOURCE CORRECTIONS, AND MAY NOT REPRESENT DECREASES IN ADOPTION OR USE. WHERE VALUES ARE “[N/A]”, COMPARISONS WITH HISTORICAL DATA WILL PRODUCE INACCURATE RESULTS. SEE NOTES ON DATA.
These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in the Russian Federation for 2027, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours have been evolving, we need to dig deeper into the data.
So, let’s take a closer look at what the numbers tell us, starting with some valuable context relating to the population of the Russian Federation.
Population of the Russian Federation in 2027
Data from the United Nations indicates that the population of the Russian Federation stood at 143 million in October 2026.
The same dataset also shows that Russia’s population decreased by 466 thousand (-0.3 percent) between the end of 2025 and the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, according to the United Nations’ “degree of urbanisation” data for late 2026, 79.3 percent of Russia’s population lived in towns and cities, whereas 20.7 percent lived in rural areas.
At that time, 53.7 percent of Russia’s population was female, while 46.3 percent of the population was male.
Note: gender data were only available for “female” and “male” at the time of report production.
OCT
2026
FEDERATION
SOURCES: UNITED NATIONS; MANOCHI ANALYSIS. NOTE: WHERE LETTERS ARE SHOWN NEXT TO FIGURES ABOVE BARS, “K” DENOTES THOUSANDS (E.G. “123 K” = 123,000), “M” DENOTES MILLIONS (E.G. “1.23 M” = 1,230,000), AND “B” DENOTES BILLIONS (E.G. “1.23 B” = 1,230,000,000). WHERE NO LETTER IS PRESENT, VALUES ARE SHOWN AS IS. COMPARABILITY: BASE REVISIONS. FIGURES MAY NOT CORRELATE WITH VALUES PUBLISHED IN OUR PREVIOUS REPORTS.
The Russian Federation’s population by age
At the end of 2026, the median age of the Russian Federation’s population was 40.7, with half of Russia’s population above this age, and the other half of the population below it.
For added context, here’s how Russia’s total population broke down by age group at the end of the year, according to the United Nations’ data:
4.5 percent was between the ages of 0 and 4.
9.6 percent was between the ages of 5 and 12.
6.3 percent was between the ages of 13 and 17.
7.6 percent was between the ages of 18 and 24.
10.6 percent was between the ages of 25 and 34.
16.8 percent was between the ages of 35 and 44.
14.2 percent was between the ages of 45 and 54.
12.1 percent was between the ages of 55 and 64.
18.4 percent was aged 65 and above.
Note: percentages may not sum to 100 percent due to rounding.
Mobile connections in the Russian Federation in 2027
Data from GSMA Intelligence shows that there were 222 million cellular mobile connections in the Russian Federation at the end of 2026.
For perspective, many people make use of more than one mobile connection, so it’s not unusual for mobile connection figures to significantly exceed figures for total population.
For example, the same person might have one mobile connection for personal use, but also use a separate mobile connection for work activities. The rise of eSIMs has made this even easier over recent years.
Indeed, GSMA Intelligence’s numbers indicate that mobile connections in Russia were equivalent to 155 percent of the total population in October 2026.
Looking at trends over time, the number of mobile connections in Russia decreased by 2.0 million (-0.9 percent) between the end of 2025 and the end of 2026.
OCT
2026
FEDERATION
SOURCE: GSMA INTELLIGENCE. NOTES: EXCLUDES CELLULAR IOT CONNECTIONS. WHERE LETTERS ARE SHOWN NEXT TO FIGURES ABOVE BARS, “K” DENOTES THOUSANDS (E.G. “123 K” = 123,000), “M” DENOTES MILLIONS (E.G. “1.23 M” = 1,230,000), AND “B” DENOTES BILLIONS (E.G. “1.23 B” = 1,230,000,000). WHERE NO LETTER IS PRESENT, VALUES ARE SHOWN AS IS. COMPARABILITY: BASE CHANGES. SEE NOTES ON DATA.
Meanwhile, GSMA Intelligence’s data suggests that 99.1 percent of mobile connections in Russia can now be considered “broadband”, which means that they connect via 3G, 4G, or 5G mobile networks.
However, devices that connect to “broadband” mobile networks do not necessarily use cellular mobile data — for example, some subscription plans may only include access to voice and SMS services — so this broadband figure should not be considered a proxy for mobile internet use.
Internet use in the Russian Federation in 2027
At the time of report production, Manochi’s analysis of the latest available data indicated that there were 137 million internet users in the Russian Federation in October 2026.
This means that the Russian Federation’s internet penetration rate stood at 95.6 percent of the total population at the end of 2026.
For reference, our internet user figures are informed by data from numerous reputable sources, including:
The ITU (the International Telecommunication Union), which is the United Nations’ specialised agency for digital technologies that “facilitates international connectivity in communication networks”.
GSMA Intelligence, which is the market intelligence arm of the GSMA, a global organisation that ”unifies the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop, and deliver innovation”.
Eurostat, which is the statistical office of the European Union.
National telecommunications authorities, government regulators, and national statistics offices.
Planning tools provided by various large internet companies, including Google and Meta.
OCT
2026
FEDERATION
SOURCES: MANOCHI ANALYSIS; ITU; GSMA INTELLIGENCE; EUROSTAT; GOOGLE’S ADVERTISING RESOURCES; CNNIC; KANTAR & IAMAI; GOVERNMENT RESOURCES; UNITED NATIONS. NOTE: WHERE LETTERS ARE SHOWN NEXT TO FIGURES ABOVE BARS, “K” DENOTES THOUSANDS (E.G. “123 K” = 123,000), “M” DENOTES MILLIONS (E.G. “1.23 M” = 1,230,000), AND “B” DENOTES BILLIONS (E.G. “1.23 B” = 1,230,000,000). WHERE NO LETTER IS PRESENT, VALUES ARE SHOWN AS IS. COMPARABILITY: SOURCE AND BASE CHANGES. ALL FIGURES USE THE LATEST AVAILABLE DATA, BUT SOME SOURCES DO NOT PUBLISH REGULAR UPDATES, SO FIGURES FOR RECENT PERIODS MAY UNDER-REPRESENT ACTUAL USE. SEE NOTES ON DATA.
Manochi’s analysis of this data indicates that the reported number of internet users in Russia decreased by 446 thousand (-0.3 percent) between October 2025 and October 2026.
And for added perspective, the Russian Federation’s internet adoption rate (i.e. the percentage of the total population that uses the internet) remained unchanged during the same period.
It’s important to stress that changes in internet user numbers can also be influenced by overall changes in population though, while changes in internet adoption rates may be the result of revisions and updates to data reporting, and consequently may include a degree of change that occurred before our stated reporting period.
But these user figures also suggest that 6.35 million people in Russia did not use the internet at the end of 2026, which would mean that 4.4 percent of the population remained “offline” at the end of that year.
However, complexities associated with the collection and analysis of internet user data mean that it can often take several months before research is ready for publication.
As a result, the latest published figures for internet use may under-represent current realities, and actual rates for internet adoption and year-on-year growth may be higher than the figures shown here suggest.
Please see our comprehensive notes on data for further details.
Social media statistics for the Russian Federation in 2027
Proprietary analysis conducted by Manochi on behalf of DataReportal indicates that there were 106 million active social media user identities in the Russian Federation in October 2026.
For perspective, this figure was equivalent to 74.0 percent of the Russian Federation’s total population at the end of 2026.
However, while Manochi’s methodology strives to “de-duplicate” social media users across different social platforms — and, wherever possible, to remove accounts that do not represent individual human users — it’s important to stress that our social media user identities figures may not represent unique individuals (see our detailed notes on data to learn why).
Moreover, due to complexities associated with de-duplicating users across different social platforms, the methodology that we use to calculate social media user identities may sometimes only factor users of the social media platform that has the largest reported ad audience in the respective country at the time of report production.
As a result, the figures that we publish for a country’s overall social media use may sometimes look very similar to the statistics that we publish for the largest individual social media platform in that country.
Even in such cases, however, the potential audience reach values reported by individual social media platforms may exceed the values that we report for the total population, for the population in specific age groups, or for a country’s total internet user base.
We recognise that such anomalies may seem implausible, but — because these are figures reported by the platforms themselves — we’ve elected to publish values “as is”, because these anomalies may offer valuable insights in their own right (you can find more details in our extensive notes on data). These anomalies are one of the primary reasons why we refer to “social media user identities” instead of “social media users”.
Separately, please also note that the signals and sources that we rely on to inform these social media figures make regular changes and corrections to their data.
Consequently, the values for social media use shown here might appear to be quite different to the numbers that we published in previous years.
Because of this, we advise significant caution when comparing the values for social media user identities published in this year’s reports with those published in previous years, especially because changes in our reported values may be the result of “corrections” in the source data, and not all trends will be the result of changes in actual user behaviour.
This is particularly pertinent when it comes to trends in social media use over time, and we recommend that readers use the change figures published below, rather than trying to re-calculate growth figures using data published in our previous reports.
And on that note, Manochi’s analysis shows that social media user identities in the Russian Federation remained unchanged between late 2025 and the end of 2026.
OCT
2026
FEDERATION
SOURCES: MANOCHI ANALYSIS; COMPANY ADVERTISING RESOURCES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS; CNNIC; BETA RESEARCH CENTER; MEDIASCOPE; OCDH; ARAB SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT; TECHRASA; CAFEBAZAAR. NOTE: WHERE LETTERS ARE SHOWN NEXT TO FIGURES ABOVE BARS, “K” DENOTES THOUSANDS (E.G. “123 K” = 123,000), “M” DENOTES MILLIONS (E.G. “1.23 M” = 1,230,000), AND “B” DENOTES BILLIONS (E.G. “1.23 B” = 1,230,000,000). WHERE NO LETTER IS PRESENT, VALUES ARE SHOWN AS IS. ADVISORY: SOCIAL MEDIA USER IDENTITIES MAY NOT REPRESENT UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS. COMPARABILITY: SOURCE AND METHODOLOGY CHANGES; BASE REVISIONS. SEE NOTES ON DATA.
Turning our attention to user demographics, data published in the ad planning tools of top social media platforms indicates that there were 91.5 million user identities aged 18 and above using social media in Russia at the end of 2026, which was equivalent to 80.2 percent of the total population aged 18 and above.
At that time, 54.8 percent of Russia’s social media user identities were female, while 45.2 percent were male.
And for added context, it may be helpful to know that 77.4 percent of the Russian Federation’s total internet user base (regardless of age) used at least one social media platform in October 2026.
Note: due to source data limitations, we’re only able to report gender data for “female” and “male”.
VK users in the Russian Federation in 2027
Figures published in VKontakte’s earnings presentations indicate that VK had 94.3 million monthly active users in Russia at the time of report production.
These numbers indicate that VK’s active user base in Russia was equivalent to 65.8 percent of the country’s total population at that time.
And for added perspective, the same data suggests that 68.9 percent of the Russian Federation’s internet users were also VK users at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, the latest available data from GWI indicate that 54.0 percent of VK’s adult users in Russia are female, while 46.0 percent are male. However, due to geopolitical challenges, GWI discontinued its Russian survey at the end of 2025.
Note: at the time of report production, gender data were only available for “female” and “male”.
VK user growth in Russia
VKontakte’s own data suggests that VK’s active user base in the Russian Federation increased by 1.8 million (+1.9 percent) between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026.
Meanwhile, on a quarter-by-quarter basis, the company’s figures indicate that the number of active VKontakte users in Russia increased by 900 thousand (+1.0 percent) between Q1 2026 and Q2 2026.
TikTok users in the Russian Federation in 2027
Figures published in TikTok’s advertising resources indicate that TikTok had 60.1 million users aged 18 and above in the Russian Federation in late 2026.
Note that TikTok allows marketers to target TikTok ads to users aged 13 and above via its advertising tools, but these tools only show audience data for users aged 18 and above.
And for context, TikTok’s figures indicate that TikTok ads reached 52.6 percent of all adults aged 18 and above in Russia at the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s ad reach in Russia was equivalent to 43.8 percent of the local internet user base at the end of the year, regardless of age.
In late 2026, 46.2 percent of TikTok’s adult ad audience in the Russian Federation was female, whereas 53.8 percent was male.
Note: at the time of report production, TikTok’s advertising resources only published audience gender data for “female” and “male” users.
TikTok user growth in the Russian Federation
Data published in TikTok’s own ad planning tools show that TikTok’s potential ad reach in the Russian Federation decreased by 6.65 million* (-10.0 percent) between the end of 2025 and late 2026.
Meanwhile, figures indicate that the potential reach of ads on TikTok in Russia decreased by 2.95 million* (-4.7 percent) between July 2026 and October 2026.
Having said that, ad audiences often only account for a subset of a platform’s total users, and given that TikTok’s ad tools only publish data for users aged 18 and above, it’s important to remember that trends in TikTok’s ad reach figures may not necessarily match changes in the platform’s overall user base.
*Important note: in addition to regular changes in active user numbers, social media platforms may revise or “correct” the audience reach figures that they report in their advertising tools, and these interventions may result in an apparent decline in reported reach.
For example, platforms may remove accounts that do not meet their terms of service — such as when users create duplicate or “false” accounts — or when they suspect accounts to be engaging in “inauthentic” activity.
On occasion, these platform “corrections” may result in meaningful changes in reported reach, and such adjustments may significantly distort trends and values for change over time.
However, in many cases, such declines in reported ad reach do not indicate any change in legitimate platform use by “real” humans, and should not be interpreted as such.
As a result, we recommend significant caution when interpreting trends relating to negative changes in reported audience reach.
Please see our detailed notes on data to learn whether our analysis has detected such changes in relevant figures.
▶ Looking for more TikTok stats? Click here to explore our in-depth TikTok data for every available country.
Snapchat users in the Russian Federation in 2027
Data published in Snap’s advertising resources indicate that Snapchat had 1.84 million users in the Russian Federation in late 2026.
This figure means that Snapchat’s ad reach in Russia was equivalent to 1.3 percent of the total population at the end of the year.
However, Snap only allows people aged 13 and above to use the platform, so it’s also worth noting that 1.5 percent of the “eligible” audience in Russia used Snapchat in late 2026.
Moreover, data published in the company’s ad tools indicate that 1.4 percent of adults aged 18 and above in the Russian Federation used Snapchat at the end of 2026.
And for added perspective, Snapchat’s ad reach in Russia was equivalent to 1.3 percent of the local internet user base (regardless of age) at the end of the year.
In late 2026, 80.6 percent of Snapchat’s adult ad audience in Russia was female, while 17.1 percent was male.
Note: In addition to publishing gender data for “female” and “male” users, Snap’s advertising resources also publish data for “unknown” gender, so the figures published for “female” and “male” users don’t always add up to the total user figure. As a result, the percentages shown here may not sum to 100 percent.
Snapchat user growth in the Russian Federation
Data published in Snap’s own ad planning tools show that Snapchat’s potential ad reach in the Russian Federation decreased by 4.80 million* (-72.3 percent) between the end of 2025 and late 2026.
Meanwhile, the same data show that the number of users that marketers could reach with ads on Snapchat in Russia decreased by 75.0 thousand* (-3.9 percent) between July 2026 and October 2026.
However, it’s important to stress that these advertising reach figures do not represent monthly active user figures, and there may be meaningful differences between the size of Snapchat’s ad audience and its total active user base.
*Important note: to make better sense of these trends, please refer to our guidance on interpreting declines in platform reach towards the end of the TikTok section above.
▶ Looking for more Snapchat stats? Click here to explore our in-depth Snapchat data for all available countries.
X users in the Russian Federation in 2027
Numbers published in X’s advertising resources indicate that X had 549 thousand users in the Russian Federation in late 2026.
This figure means that X’s ad reach in Russia was equivalent to 0.4 percent of the total population at the time.
However, it’s important to stress that these advertising reach figures are not the same as monthly active user figures, and there may be meaningful differences between the size of X’s ad audience and its total active user base.
Meanwhile, X only allows people aged 13 and above to use its platform, so it’s worth adding that the latest figures suggest that 0.4 percent of the “eligible” audience in Russia used X at the time of report production.
And for additional context, X’s ad reach in Russia was equivalent to 0.4 percent of the local internet user base (regardless of age) at the end of the year.
In late 2026, the company’s own data indicated that 40.1 percent of X’s ad audience in Russia was female, while 59.9 percent was male.
However, X appears to infer its users’ gender, by analysing signals such as the name that users enter in their profile, and their broader activity on the platform.
This contrasts with the gender data offered in the advertising tools of platforms like Facebook, which tend to rely on gender details that users themselves enter in their own profile.
Moreover, our analysis suggests that X’s inferences may be less representative of users’ actual gender in countries where English is not the dominant language.
For example, consumer research findings published by GWI often offer a different picture of X use by gender compared with X’s own audience data.
Having said that, the apparent gender “skew” that frequently appears in X’s inferred gender data may also be due in part to the high number of legitimate but “non-human” accounts that feature in X’s active user data, including accounts that represent businesses and brands, animals, music groups, and various other entities [note that X doesn’t currently distinguish between “people” and other types of account in the ways that platforms like Facebook and Instagram do].
Regardless of the cause though, we’d advise caution when analysing or interpreting X’s reported figures for use by gender.
X user growth in the Russian Federation
Data published in X’s own ad planning tools show that X’s potential ad reach in the Russian Federation increased by 84.9 thousand (+18.3 percent) between the end of 2025 and late 2026.
Meanwhile, the same data show that the number of users that marketers could reach with ads on X in Russia decreased by 98.6 thousand* (-15.2 percent) between July 2026 and October 2026.
However, please note that the figures published in X’s planning tools are liable to significant fluctuation — even over short periods of time — and these anomalies may impact the reliability and representativeness of these change figures.
Moreover, we’ve identified some unusual trends in the data reported in X’s advertising tools in recent months, so we’d advise caution when it comes to analysing changes over time in these X reach figures.
*Important note: to make better sense of these trends, please refer to our guidance on interpreting declines in platform reach towards the end of the TikTok section above.
▶ Looking for more X stats? Click here to explore our in-depth X data for countries everywhere.
Additional resources
Just before we get to the full report, here are some suggestions for further reading, which will provide additional context for our full set of Digital 2027 numbers for the Russian Federation:
Read our complete Digital 2027 Global Overview Report to get a comprehensive overview of the “state of digital” around the world in 2027.
Click here to see all of the Global Digital Reports we’ve published for the Russian Federation over the years.
Explore all of our reports on countries in the Eastern Europe region by clicking here.
Find all of the reports in the Digital 2027 series via this handy index page.
Visit our complete online library to see all of the (free!) reports in the Global Digital Reports series.
If you’d like to receive updates when we publish new reports, click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Full report
You’ll find our complete Digital 2027: The Russian Federation report in the embed below (click here if you can’t see that, or if you can’t move through the slides).