The digital literacy index in Russia increased over the observed period and stood at 71 points in 2023. An increase in digital literacy in 2020 was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the population developed skills to use the internet and online services during the lockdown.

The aggregate digital literacy index of Russians reached 71 percent in 2023. The highest score received by Russian respondents was in information literacy, at 73 percent, while the lowest performance was recorded in digital content creation.

In 2022, the share of rural residents with low digital skills among those aged 15 years and older in Russia was around 10 percentage points higher than among urban inhabitants. In both area types, the low skill level prevailed among the population.

The positions of Russia in the PISA global ranking of countries by literacy of 15-year-old students decreased in 2018 for all three categories under consideration compared to 2015. While in 2015, the country ranked 23rd by mathematical skills among 70 participating countries, in 2018, it received the 30th place among 79 countries. The number of score points received for each subject also decreased between 2015 and 2018.

In January 2023, 61 percent of survey respondents in Russia stated that they used the internet as a news source over the past month. Four years ago, that share was measured at 13 percent lower. The most popular online news channels in the country were search engines.

In 2021, almost 45 percent of Russians were assigned a low level of digital competence, while approximately a quarter only had a basic level in using digital devices and computer software. Furthermore, roughly 17 percent did not use the internet in the past three months.

The digital literacy index of Russian school teachers reached 87 percent in 2018. Most school teachers in the country demonstrated a high level of information and computer literacy, recorded at 93 and 92 percent, respectively.

The PISA 2018 results showed that Russian 15 year-olds received a lower score in all three categories under consideration compared to 2015. The highest score was achieved in mathematics, at 488 points. Furthermore, Russia had a lower number of points in reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy compared to the average score obtained by participating OECD countries in 2018.

The digital literacy index of Russian university teachers reached 88 percent in 2018. Among the index components, the lowest share was recorded for the attitude towards technological innovations at 78 percent. A similar pattern was observed for school teachers. Most university teachers demonstrated a high level of information and computer literacy, measured at 94 and 91 percent, respectively.

Russians with a high level of digital literacy were aged 36 years on average as of April 2020. The mean age of survey respondents whose competence in using digital devices and software was below average or low was measured at 54 years.

As of the first quarter of 2019, Russians between 18 and 21 years old showed the highest levels of digital literacy in each category, receiving the aggregate index score of 82 points. The population aged 55 years and older was given 53 index points in information literacy. The aggregate digital literacy index in Russia saw an increase in each category by 2020.

Around two thirds of Russian adults read books for self-development, according to a survey from 2022. Furthermore, more than half of respondents read books for entertainment.

According to a survey conducted in May 2021, Russians between 18 and 24 years old read more books on average compared to other age groups. One fifth of young adults in the country had not read any books in the six months prior to the survey. To compare, among respondents of 45 to 59 years of age, that share stood at 33 percent.

LitRes: Books, the app of a Russian e-book distributor LitRes, was the most popular book reading app in Russia by downloads, at nearly 2.2 million in 2023. It was followed by Bookmate and ReadEra.

The book reading app LitRes: Books, belonging to a domestic e-book distributor LitRes, was the highest-grossing app by in-app sales in that category in Russia in 2023, at approximately 6.8 million U.S. dollars. It was followed by LitRes: Audio, another app by LitRes which offers a large selection of audiobooks for users.