Georgia

Note--Georgia has been beset by ethnic and civil strife since independence. In late 1991, the country's first elected president, Zviad GAMSAKHURDIA was ousted in an armed coup. In October 1993, GAMSAKHURDIA, and his supporters sponsored a failed attempt to retake power from the current government led by former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard SHEVARDNADZE. The Georgian government has also faced armed separatist conflicts in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions. A cease-fire went into effect in South Ossetia in June 1992 and a joint Georgian-Ossetian-Russian peacekeeping force has been in place since that time. Georgian forces were driven out of the Abkhaz region in September 1993 after a yearlong war with Abkhaz separatists. Nearly 200,000 Georgian refugees have since fled Abkhazia, adding substantially to the estimated 100,000 internally displaced persons already in Georgia. Russian peacekeepers are deployed along the border of Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia. Georgia 

 
Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

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

Area

Land Boundaries

Total 1,461 km, Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km

Coastline

310 km

Maritime Claims

NA

International Disputes

None

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
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Mt'a Mqinvartsveri (Gora Kazbek) 5,048 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

4,660 sq km (1990)

Environment

PEOPLE

Population

5,219,810 (July 1996 est.)
5,725,972 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

22% (male 595,524; female 571,207) (July 1996 est.)
24% (male 707,355; female 674,331) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

66% (male 1,643,506; female 1,784,286) (July 1996 est.)
64% (male 1,791,847; female 1,894,681) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

12% (male 229,910; female 395,377) (July 1996 est.)
12% (male 247,055; female 410,703) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

-1.02% (1996 est.)
0.77% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

12.81 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
15.77 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

12.21 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
8.73 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-10.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.9 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

22.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
>22.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.69 children born/woman (1996 est.)
2.16 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

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

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1989)

Labor Force

2.763 million

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

GG

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

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

Georgian Parliament (Supreme Soviet)

Elections last held 5 November 1995 (next to be held NA November 2000); results - CUG 24%, NDP 8%, All Georgia Revival Union 7%, all other parties received less than 5% each; seats - (235 total) number of seats by party NA

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

Political Parties and Leaders

Citizens Union of Georgia (CUG), Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, Zurab ZHVANIA, general secretary; National Democratic Party (NDP), Irina SARISHVILI-CHANTARIA; United Republican Party, umbrella organization for parties including the GPF and the Charter 1991 Party, Notar NATADZE, chairman; Georgian Popular Front (GPF), Nodar NATADZE, chairman; Charter 1991 Party, Tedo PAATASHVILI; Georgian Social Democratic Party (GSDP), Guram MUCHAIDZE, secretary general; All Georgia Union for Revival, Alsan ABASHIDZE; Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Irakli SHENGELAYA; Democratic Georgia Union (DGU), Avtandil MARGIANI; National Independence Party (NIP), Irakliy TSERETELI, chairman; Georgian Monarchists' Party (GMP), Temur ZHORZHOLIANI; Greens Party; Agrarian Party of Georgia (APG), Roin LIPARTELIANI; United Communist Party of Georgia (UCP), Panteleimon GIORGADZE, chairman

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Supporters of ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDIA (deceased 1 January 1994) remain a source of opposition; separatist elements in the breakaway region of Abkhazia

Member of

BSEC, CCC, CIS, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

National Anthem

Flag

Maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below

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 internal energy resource is hydropower. Since 1991 the economy has sustained severe damage from civil strife. Georgia has been suffering from acute energy shortages, as it is having problems paying for even minimal imports. Georgia is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery largely on reestablishing trade ties with Russia and on developing international transportation through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. Statistical estimates on Georgia are subject to a particularly wide margin of error, even compared with other FSU countries. The GDP estimate below probably does not reflect much of its grass roots economic activity. GDP is supplemented by considerable EU and US humanitarian aid.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $6.2 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994); $6 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

National Product Real Growth Rate

-11% (1995 est.)
-30% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$1,080 (1995 est.)
$1,060 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

2.2% monthly average (first half 1995 est.)
40.5% per month (2nd half 1993 est.)

Unemployment Rate

Officially less than 5% but real unemployment may be more than 20%, with even larger numbers of underemployed workers

Budget

Exports

$140 million (c.i.f., 1995)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$250 million (f.o.b., 1995)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$1.2 billion (of which $135 million to Russia) (1995 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate -10% (1995); -27% (1993); accounts for 10.2% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

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

Illicit Drugs

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

Economic Aid

Currency

Coupons introduced in April 1993 to be followed by introduction of the lari at undetermined future date; in July 1993 use of the Russian ruble was banned; lari introduced September 1995 replacing the coupon

Exchange Rates

laris per US$1 - 1.24 (end December 1995)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Pipelines

Crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas 440 km (1992)

Ports

Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi

Merchant Marine

Airports

Note: Transportation network is in poor condition and disrupted by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages; network lacks maintenance and repair

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

672,000 telephones (mid-1993); 339,000 unsatisfied applications for telephones (December 1990)

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 1,288,291; males fit for military service 1,021,632; males reach military age (18) annually 40,654 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $60 million to $65 million, NA% of GDP (1995); $85 million, NA of GDP (1992)

History
World Atlas

Last modified: 9 december 1997