Access to the Internet in the CIS
Internet penetration rates in the CIS region have experienced significant growth over
the last couple of years, though the figures are still low in comparison to Europe and
other regions. Internet access is mainly clustered in urban areas and spread among
youth. In contrast to gender penetration rates in most Asian and Middle East and
North African (MENA) countries, the percentage of male and female users in the CIS
is almost the same, perhaps reflecting the ‘‘equality’’ between sexes prevailing in the
Soviet era. 2 Income levels in the CIS are generally low, while the costs of computers
and connectivity are relatively high. Overall, Internet penetration in Russia lags behind
that of other industrialized nations (27 percent as of 2008) 3 and is relatively high only
in large cities (particularly Moscow and St. Petersburg). Among the CIS countries,
Belarus has the highest Internet penetration rate, 29 percent for 2008. The popularity
of the Internet in this country might be a response, at least in part, to the fact that
Belarus is one of the countries with the toughest governmental control in the CIS. As
a result, the Internet remains one of the few media where citizens can exchange viewpoints and obtain uncensored information from international sources.
Ukraine (with a 14.6 percent penetration rate) and Moldova (16.2 percent) have
almost doubled their Internet access rates over the last couple of years. The states of
Central Asia have also shown considerable growth in their Internet penetration rates:
Kyrgyzstan (13.8 percent) has become a leader in this subgroup partly as a result of
the state’s policies aiming at further market liberalization. Kazakhstan (12.3 percent)
follows closely. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have measured a swift increase in the
number of Internet users, with Uzbekistan at 8.8 percent and Tajikistan at 6.6 percent
in 2008. Turkmenistan measures very low Internet penetration (1.4 percent), since
until recently the Internet was a privilege only for elites. As of 2008 Azerbaijan had an
Internet penetration rate of 18.3 percent, while Armenia and Georgia had penetration
rates of 5.8 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively. 4
Official figures, in most cases, are far from being accurate. Depending on the country,
local sources show either higher Internet penetration rates or considerably lower (in
Kyrgyzstan local sources show that only 7 percent of the population had access at
the end of 2008). 5 Even among international organizations the estimates are strikingly
different: the United Nations (UN) e-Government Survey 6 states that in Kyrgyzstan,
Internet penetration was no more than 5.6 percent for 2008, while the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) provides figures almost three times higher for 2008.
These discrepancies are partly due to difficulties in calculating the number of users in
countries where most people share Internet access through their places of work or
study (for example, workplaces account for over 51 percent of all users in Kyrgyzstan 7
and Belarus), as well as via Internet cafe ´s, whose use is very high in some countries
(around 30 percent for Uzbekistan). This shared use, and in some cases the creative
122
CIS Overview
Internet penetration rates in the CIS region have experienced significant growth over
the last couple of years, though the figures are still low in comparison to Europe and
other regions. Internet access is mainly clustered in urban areas and spread among
youth. In contrast to gender penetration rates in most Asian and Middle East and
North African (MENA) countries, the percentage of male and female users in the CIS
is almost the same, perhaps reflecting the ‘‘equality’’ between sexes prevailing in the
Soviet era. 2 Income levels in the CIS are generally low, while the costs of computers
and connectivity are relatively high. Overall, Internet penetration in Russia lags behind
that of other industrialized nations (27 percent as of 2008) 3 and is relatively high only
in large cities (particularly Moscow and St. Petersburg). Among the CIS countries,
Belarus has the highest Internet penetration rate, 29 percent for 2008. The popularity
of the Internet in this country might be a response, at least in part, to the fact that
Belarus is one of the countries with the toughest governmental control in the CIS. As
a result, the Internet remains one of the few media where citizens can exchange viewpoints and obtain uncensored information from international sources.
Ukraine (with a 14.6 percent penetration rate) and Moldova (16.2 percent) have
almost doubled their Internet access rates over the last couple of years. The states of
Central Asia have also shown considerable growth in their Internet penetration rates:
Kyrgyzstan (13.8 percent) has become a leader in this subgroup partly as a result of
the state’s policies aiming at further market liberalization. Kazakhstan (12.3 percent)
follows closely. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have measured a swift increase in the
number of Internet users, with Uzbekistan at 8.8 percent and Tajikistan at 6.6 percent
in 2008. Turkmenistan measures very low Internet penetration (1.4 percent), since
until recently the Internet was a privilege only for elites. As of 2008 Azerbaijan had an
Internet penetration rate of 18.3 percent, while Armenia and Georgia had penetration
rates of 5.8 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively. 4
Official figures, in most cases, are far from being accurate. Depending on the country,
local sources show either higher Internet penetration rates or considerably lower (in
Kyrgyzstan local sources show that only 7 percent of the population had access at
the end of 2008). 5 Even among international organizations the estimates are strikingly
different: the United Nations (UN) e-Government Survey 6 states that in Kyrgyzstan,
Internet penetration was no more than 5.6 percent for 2008, while the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) provides figures almost three times higher for 2008.
These discrepancies are partly due to difficulties in calculating the number of users in
countries where most people share Internet access through their places of work or
study (for example, workplaces account for over 51 percent of all users in Kyrgyzstan 7
and Belarus), as well as via Internet cafe ´s, whose use is very high in some countries
(around 30 percent for Uzbekistan). This shared use, and in some cases the creative
122
CIS Overview