Advertising in Eastern Europe and Central Asia - statistics & facts
Except for Russia, which has the highest advertising spending in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, countries in the region are developing markets in the industry. Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan are among the leading ones, particularly due to the growth of digital advertising. At the same time, TV commercials remain popular promotion channels, occupying a quarter of the expenditure in Belarus and reaching a peak revenue in Georgia in 2023.
Eastern European and Central Asian advertising markets are poised for growth, which is forecast at around 29 percent and 39 percent for each subregion between 2024 and 2030, respectively. The digital and TV segments will continue to dominate the spending.
Ukraine is the fastest-growing advertising market in the region
Despite the challenges posed by the Russian invasion, Ukraine's advertising industry has shown resilience. In 2024, Ukraine was estimated to have the highest advertising spending growth among Eastern Europe and Central Asia countries, at 13.5 percent. The country's advertising expenditure reached over 22.5 billion Ukrainian hryvnia in 2023, marking an impressive 84-percent increase from the previous year. This surge was primarily driven by digital advertising, which accounted for more than 60 percent of the total spending. The digital segment alone saw expenditure rise to approximately 13.7 billion Ukrainian hryvnia in 2023, representing a staggering 91-percent growth compared to 2022.Central Asian countries embrace digital advertising
With growing internet penetration, e-commerce, and online services, businesses across Central Asia have increased their digital ad budgets. In Kazakhstan, the internet was the fastest-growing advertising medium in the first nine months of 2024, with spending nearly 50 percent higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year. In total, the share of digital in the Kazakhstani ad spending exceeded 47 percent, outperforming other channels. To compare, in Uzbekistan, it was forecast to increase to almost 30 percent in 2024.Russian and Belarusian markets without Western advertisers
In response to the war in Ukraine, several major Western companies and brands suspended marketing activities in Russia and Belarus, and digital advertising platforms like AdSense disabled Russian users' monetization. As a result, the Belarusian advertising market shrank by 24 percent in 2022, and the TV segment almost halved relative to the previous year. While most channels recorded an increase in 2023, only the internet ad budget was higher than two years prior. The Russian expenditure saw a less significant drop, at 12 percent in 2022, and recovered in the following year.Eastern European and Central Asian advertising markets are poised for growth, which is forecast at around 29 percent and 39 percent for each subregion between 2024 and 2030, respectively. The digital and TV segments will continue to dominate the spending.
