VPN downloads reached 215-million in H1 2022, according to the Global VPN Adoption Index created by Atlas VPN. The most significant shift in the market was recorded in Russia, where nearly one-fourth of the population downloaded VPN services.
Prior to H1 2022, VPN penetration in the Russian Federation was somewhere between 3% to 9%. However, in March 2022, the Russian court banned Facebook and Instagram, labeling its parent company Meta as “extremist”.
These restrictions caused an unprecedented upshift in VPN demand. The VPN usage in Russia reached record heights, totaling 35 million downloads in six months, putting VPN adoption at 23,94%. In other words, nearly one in four Russian citizens downloaded a VPN application in H1 2022.
On a similar note, Ukraine made it to the tenth position of VPN adopters globally, with 4,2-million downloads and a 9,62% penetration rate.
The VPN Adoption Index by Atlas VPN overviews country-by-country VPN statistics and explores why VPNs are so prevalent in those nations.
VPN adoption refers to the percentage of the country’s population that downloaded VPN applications in the given period. The data for the analysis was extracted from Google Play Store and Apple App store using Sensor Tower and App Tweak services.