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Communications of Russia

Telephones - main lines in use:40.1 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:120 million (2005)
Telephone system:general assessment: the telephone system is experiencing significant changes; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; the estimated number of mobile subscribers jumped from fewer than 1 million in 1998 to 120 million in 2005; a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied, but fixed-line operators continue to grow their services
domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density
international: country code - 7; Russia is connected internationally by 3 undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems
Radio broadcast stations:AM 323, FM 1,500 est., shortwave 62 (2004)
Radios:61.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:7,306 (1998)
Televisions:60.5 million (1997)
Internet country code:.ru; note - Russia also has responsibility for a legacy domain ".su" that was allocated to the Soviet Union, and whose legal status and ownership are contested by the Russian Government, ICANN, and several Russian commercial entities
Internet hosts:1.98 million (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):300 (June 2000)
Internet users:23.7 million (2005)

Russia Quickstats

  • Population: 141,377,752 (July 2007 est.)
  • Area: 17,075,200 sq km
  • Density: 8.3 /km² (209th)
  • GDP (total): $1.727 trillion (8th¹)
  • GDP (per capita): $12,096 (59th)
  • Literacy: 99.4%

Languages of Russia

Useful to know

  • Currency: Ruble (RUB)
  • Dial code: +7

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