Map of Georgia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Beset by ethnic and civil strife since independence in 1991, Georgia began to stabilize in 1994. Separatist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been dormant since spring 1994, although political settlements remain elusive. Russian peacekeepers are deployed in both regions and a UN Observer Mission is operating in Abkhazia. As a result of these conflicts, Georgia still has about 250,000 internally displaced people. In 1995, Georgia adopted a new constitution and conducted generally free and fair nationwide presidential and parliamentary elections. Violence and organized crime were sharply curtailed in 1995, but corruption remains rife.


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Location: Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total area total: 69,700 km²
Land: 69,700 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than South Carolina

Land boundaries: total 1,461 km, Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km

Coastline: 310 km

Maritime claims: NA

Climate: warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast

Terrain: largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhida Lowland opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland

Elevation

Natural resources: forest lands, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ores, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth

Land use
Arable land: 11%
Permanent crops: 4%
Meadows and pastures: 29%
Forest and woodland: 38%
Other: 18%

Irrigated land: 4,660 km² (1990)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: Georgian forces are poorly organized and not fully under the government's control


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Population: 5,725,972 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 0.77% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Georgian(s)
Adjective: Georgian

Ethnic groups: Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5%

Languages: Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, other 7%

Religions: Georgian Orthodox 65%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Muslim 11%, Armenian Orthodox 8%, unknown 6%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 24% (female 674,331; male 707,355)
15-64 years: 64% (female 1,894,681; male 1,791,847)
65 years and over: 12% (female 410,703; male 247,055) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.77% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 15.77 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 8.73 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.66 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals
Current issues natural hazards: NA
Current issues international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 22.6 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.1 years
Male: 69.43 years
Female: 76.95 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.16 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
Total population: 99%
Male: 100%
Female: 98%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Georgia
Conventional short form: Georgia
Local long form: Sak'art'velos Respublika
Local short form: Sak'art'velo
Former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: republic

Capital: T'bilisi

Administrative divisions: 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika); Abkhazia (Sokhumi), Ajaria (Bat'umi)
Note: the administrative centers of the autonomous republics are included in parentheses; there are no oblasts - the rayons around T'bilisi are under direct republic jurisdiction

Dependent areas

Independence: 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 May (1991)

Constitution: adopted 21 February 1921; currently amending constitution for Parliamentary and popular review by late 1995

Legal system: based on civil law system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Chairman of Parliament Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (Chairman of the Government Council since 10 March 1992; elected Chairman of Parliament in 11 October 1992; note - the Government Council has since been disbanded); election last held 11 October 1992 (next to be held October 1995); results - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 95%
Head of government: Prime Minister Otar PATSATSIA (since September 1993); Deputy Prime Ministers Avtandil MARGIANI, Zurab KERVALISHVILI (since 25 November 1992), Tamaz NADAREISHVILI (since September 1993), Temur BASILIA (since 17 March 1994), Bakur GULA (since NA)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral
Georgian Parliament Supreme Soviet: elections last held 11 October 1992 (next to be held October 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (225 total) number of seats by party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Tedo JAPARIDZE
In the us chancery: (temporary) Suite 424, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20,005
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 393-6,060, 5,959
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Kent N. BROWN
From the us embassy: #25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi 380,026
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [7] (8,832) 98-99-67, 93-38-03
From the us FAX: [7] (8,832) 93-37-59

Flag description: maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable domestic energy resource is hydropower. Since 1990, widespread conflicts, e.g., in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Mingreliya, have severely aggravated the economic crisis resulting from the disintegration of the Soviet command economy in December 1991. Throughout 1993 and 1994, much of industry was functioning at only 20% of capacity; heavy disruptions in agricultural cultivation were reported; and tourism was shut down. The country is precariously dependent on US and EU humanitarian grain shipments, as most other foods are priced beyond reach of the average citizen. Georgia is also suffering from an acute energy crisis, as it is having problems paying for even minimal imports. Georgia is pinning its hopes for recovery on reestablishing trade ties with Russia and on developing international transportation through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. The government began a tenuous program in 1994 aiming to stabilize prices and reduce large consumer subsidies.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: -30% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $1,060 (1994 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounted for 97% of former USSR citrus fruits and 93% of former USSR tea; important producer of grapes; also cultivates vegetables and potatoes; dependent on imports for grain, dairy products, sugar; small livestock sector

Industries: heavy industrial products include raw steel, rolled steel, airplanes; machine tools, foundry equipment, electric locomotives, tower cranes, electric welding equipment, machinery for food preparation and meat packing, electric motors, process control equipment, instruments; trucks, tractors, and other farm machinery; light industrial products, including cloth, hosiery, and shoes; chemicals; wood-working industries; the most important food industry is wine

Industrial production growth rate: -27% (1993; accounts for 36% of GDP

Labor force: 2.763 million
By occupation industry and construction: 31%
By occupation agriculture and forestry: 25%
By occupation other: 44% (1990)

Unemployment rate: officially less than 5% but real unemployment may be more than 20%, with even larger numbers of underemployed workers

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $N/A
Expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $NA
Commodoties: citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products; diverse types of machinery; ferrous and nonferrous metals; textiles; chemicals; fuel re-exports
Partners: Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan (1992)

Imports: $NA
Commodoties: fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts, transport equipment
Partners: Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey (1993; note - EU and US sent humanitarian food shipments

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: NA (T'bilisi owes about $400 million to Turkmenistan for natural gas as of January 1995)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: coupons per $US1 - 1,280,000 (end December 1994)


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Electricity
Capacity: 4,410,000 kW
Production: 9.1 billion kWh
Production consumption per capita: 1,526 kWh (1993)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system: 672,000 telephones (mid-1993); 117 telephones/1000 persons; poor telephone service; 339,000 unsatisfied applications for telephones (December 1990)
Local: NA
Intercity: NA
International: links via landline to CIS members and Turkey; low-capacity satellite link and leased international connections via the Moscow international gateway switch with other countries; international electronic mail and telex service available

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $85 million, NA% of GDP (1992)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 28
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2438 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 6

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas 440 km (1992)

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 419,416 GRT/640,897 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 1, oil tanker 19, short-sea passenger 1

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe