Public libraries
Public libraries are state and municipal institutions providing access to printed publications, information, and educational resources for all categories of citizens. The table presents data on the number of libraries in Russia's regions and the number of registered users. Indicators are broken down by urban and rural areas. The figures show the scale of the library network and population coverage by these institutions in different years. The data allow for an assessment of changes in the sector
Chart showing the number of public libraries and their users in urban and rural areas, according to Rosstat data
- Число библиотек, тыс. — Libraries, thou.
- в том числе — including — в городах и поселках городского типа
- в том числе — в сельской местности
- Библиотечный фонд, млн экз. — Library stock, mln. copies
- в том числе — including — в городах и поселках городского типа
- в том числе — в сельской местности
- Всего зарегистрировано пользователей, млн человек — в городах и поселках городского типа
- Всего зарегистрировано пользователей, млн человек — в сельской местности
See also
- Divorces in Russia by year long time series by year
- Marriages in Russia by year long time series by year
Set in numbers
Coverage: 9 series, 1927 through 2023, 23 reporting periods. 183 values in total.
“Число библиотек, тыс. — Libraries, thou.” multiplied by 2.4 between 1927 and 2023: from 16.9 to 41. The highest value in the series is 69.1 in 1960.
All table numbers are series: 9
| Series | 1927 | 1932 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Число библиотек, тыс. — Libraries, thou. | 16,90 | 18,10 | 56,10 | 59,40 | 69,10 | 61,60 | 62,10 | 62,60 | 51,20 | 46,10 | 43,20 | 40,80 | 39,80 | 40,10 | 39,00 | 38,20 | 37,40 | 37,10 | 37,00 | 41,60 | 41,40 | 41,10 | 41,00 |
| в том числе — including — в городах и поселках городского типа | 5,50 | 4,90 | 10,50 | 11,20 | 18,80 | 20,10 | 20,00 | 20,40 | 12,40 | 10,30 | 10,00 | 9,70 | 9,50 | 9,50 | 9,00 | 8,60 | 8,50 | 8,50 | 8,40 | 8,70 | 8,60 | 8,50 | 8,50 |
| в том числе — в сельской местности | 11,40 | 13,20 | 45,60 | 48,20 | 50,30 | 41,50 | 42,10 | 42,20 | 38,80 | 35,80 | 33,20 | 31,10 | 30,30 | 30,60 | 30,00 | 29,60 | 28,90 | 28,60 | 28,70 | 32,90 | 32,80 | 32,60 | 32,50 |
| Библиотечный фонд, млн экз. — Library stock, mln. copies | 48,00 | 60,00 | 124,00 | 159,00 | 484,00 | 733,00 | 980,00 | 1 155,00 | 1 027,00 | 923,00 | 888,00 | 864,00 | 851,00 | 854,00 | 839,00 | 831,00 | 818,00 | 810,00 | 802,00 | 840,00 | 829,00 | 819,00 | 887,00 |
| в том числе — including — в городах и поселках городского типа | 28,00 | 39,00 | 81,00 | 101,00 | 261,00 | 433,00 | 622,00 | 733,00 | 659,00 | 599,00 | 588,00 | 583,00 | 577,00 | 572,00 | 563,00 | 561,00 | 557,00 | 554,00 | 547,00 | 549,00 | 542,00 | 536,00 | 608,00 |
| в том числе — в сельской местности | 20,00 | 21,00 | 43,00 | 58,00 | 223,00 | 300,00 | 358,00 | 422,00 | 368,00 | 324,00 | 300,00 | 281,00 | 274,00 | 282,00 | 276,00 | 270,00 | 261,00 | 256,00 | 255,00 | 291,00 | 287,00 | 283,00 | 278,00 |
| Всего зарегистрировано пользователей, млн человек — Total registered readers, mln. persons — всего | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 59,60 | 55,90 | 53,60 | 52,20 | 51,40 | 51,50 | 52,00 | 51,50 | 50,50 | 50,70 | 50,40 | 44,00 | 49,70 | 51,70 | 52,50 |
| Всего зарегистрировано пользователей, млн человек — в городах и поселках городского типа | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 38,90 | 36,90 | 35,70 | 35,50 | 35,10 | 34,80 | 35,60 | 35,40 | 34,70 | 35,10 | 34,70 | 28,50 | 33,00 | 34,70 | 35,50 |
| Всего зарегистрировано пользователей, млн человек — в сельской местности | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20,70 | 19,00 | 17,90 | 16,70 | 16,30 | 16,70 | 16,40 | 16,10 | 15,80 | 15,60 | 15,70 | 15,50 | 16,70 | 17,00 | 17,00 |
How to read this table
The number of libraries by region varies primarily due to differences in population density and infrastructure development. Rural areas often have fewer institutions, but users may be distributed across several settlements. Urban libraries, conversely, are concentrated in densely populated centers, affecting their total number. Regions with a high number of users do not always coincide with regions with a large number of libraries; socio-economic factors and cultural traditions must be taken into account
What is visible in these numbers
“Библиотечный фонд, млн экз. — Library stock, mln. copies” leads the table with 887, “Всего зарегистрировано пользователей, млн человек — в сельской местности” closes it with 17. The gap between them is 52.2-fold.
Only 88% of the cells carry a value — empty cells are missing in the source publication and are not filled in here.
The same indicator for other periods
These series cannot be stitched together Over the common period 1927 values diverge — Rosstat recalculated the indicator using a revised methodology. They cannot be combined into a single chart: a break would appear at the junction, which did not actually occur
| Indicator for 1927 | here | in the adjacent series | divergence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Число библиотек, тыс. — Libraries, thou. | 16,9 | 16,9 | +0,0 |
| в том числе — including — в городах и поселках городского типа | 5,5 | 28,0 | +22,5 |
| в том числе — в сельской местности | 11,4 | 20,0 | +8,6 |
| Библиотечный фонд, млн экз. — Library stock, mln. copies | 48,0 | 48,0 | +0,0 |
| в том числе — including — в городах и поселках городского типа | 28,0 | 28,0 | +0,0 |
| в том числе — в сельской местности | 20,0 | 20,0 | +0,0 |
More in the section Russian Statistical Yearbook»
Period and application
The statistics cover three years: 2000, 2010, and 2011. The information is published as part of the Russian Statistical Yearbook. This data is useful for authorities for planning library network development, for researchers to analyze changes in the culture and education sectors, and for citizens to assess the accessibility of institutions in their region
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