The Russian Eurasian Center for Sociology and Analytics has conducted a survey examining which information sources are used by citizens of Kyrgyzstan. The study involved face-to-face interviews with 1,900 residents aged over 18.
The survey found that 52% of respondents use Russian or Russian-language information sources. One third use Kyrgyz and Russian or Russian-language sources equally, while 43% use Kyrgyz sources more often.
Young people were identified as the main audience consuming information in Russian.
The primary sources of information for residents of Kyrgyzstan are public pages and groups on social media (63%). YouTube ranks second (47%). Respondents also cited conversations with friends (41%) and group chats on WhatsApp, Viber, and other messaging platforms (37%) as common sources of news and information. For 40%, television remains a relevant source. Only 10% mentioned Telegram channels.
Among men, the most popular sources of information are YouTube, television, and radio, while women tend to use social media more frequently.
The main social media and online platforms used regularly (at least three to four times a week) are YouTube (71%) and Instagram (67%), followed by Facebook (23%) and TikTok (22%). Russian social networks such as VKontakte (5%) and Odnoklassniki are less popular. Seven percent of respondents said they do not use social media or online platforms at all.
YouTube is the most popular platform across almost all age groups up to 64 years old.
Online audiences show the greatest interest in political (48%) and entertainment (45%) content. Other areas of significant interest include leisure programmes (38%), sports (37%), social issues (34%), and economic news (33%). Political news is more likely to attract residents of the country’s north (55%) than those in the south (44%).
Russian remains widely spoken in Kyrgyzstan, particularly in the north and in the capital, Bishkek. Under the Constitution, Russian has official status, while Kyrgyz is the state language.
