WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Online social network use grew dramatically in Egypt and Russia in the past year, likely as part of the political upheavals in those countries, a survey says.
The finding was included in a report that measured the usage of digital communication in 21 countries issued Tuesday by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project.
In both nations, usage increased by 10 percentage points over the past year, from 18 percent in 2010 to 28 percent in 2011 in Egypt and from 33 percent to 43 percent in Russia, the Pew survey found.
The percentage of adults who use social networking sites is linked to the prevalence of Internet use, broadly connected to a country's wealth, the Pew report said.
The United States, which has the highest per-capita gross domestic product among the countries surveyed, is also among the countries with the highest percentage of adults using social networking sites.
In contrast, Pakistan and India have two of the lowest per-capita GDPs and the lowest levels of social networking, the Pew survey found.
