Georgia
republicIndependence 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Georgia as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 121 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.
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Geography
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia
21 fieldsMap references
Africa, Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - European States, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
total area
69,700 sq km
land area
69,700 sq km
comparative area
slightly larger than South Carolina
note
- 12 nm in 1973 USSR-Turkish Protocol concerning the sea boundary between the two states in the Black Sea;
- Georgia claims the coastline along the Black Sea as its international waters, although it cannot control this area and the Russian navy and commercial ships transit freely
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
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
arable land
NA%
permanent crops
NA%
meadows and pastures
NA%
forest and woodland
NA%
other
NA%
current issues
- air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi;
- heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea;
- inadequate supplies of safe drinking water;
- soil pollution from toxic chemicals
natural hazards
NA
international agreements
NA
People
21 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1994 est.)
total population
72.84 years
male
69.16 years
female
76.7 years (1994 est.)
noun
Georgian(s)
adjective
Georgian
total population
100%
male
100%
female
100%
by occupation
industry and construction 31%, agriculture and forestry 25%, other 44% (1990)
Government
Republic
33 fieldsconventional 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
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
Constitution
adopted NA February 1921; currently amending constitution for Parliamentary and popular review by late 1995
chief of state
- Chairman of Parliament Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (since 10 March 1992);
- election last held 11 October 1992 (next to be held NA 1995);
- results - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 95%
head of government
- Prime Minister Otar PATSATSIA (since September 1993);
- Deputy Prime Ministers Avtandil MARGIANI, Zurab KERVALISHVILI (since NA), Tamaz NADARISHVILI (since September 1993), Teimuraz BASILIA (since NA)
cabinet
Council of Ministers
Georgian Parliament (Supreme Soviet)
- elections last held 11 October 1992 (next to be held NA 1995);
- results - percent of vote by party NA;
- seats - (225 total) number of seats by party NA;
- note - representatives of 26 parties elected;
- Peace Bloc, October 11, Unity, National Democratic Party, and the Greens Party won the largest representation
Political parties and leaders
- Merab Kostava Society, Vazha ADAMIA, chairman;
- Traditionalists' Union, Akaki ASATIANI, chairman;
- Georgian Social Democratic Party, Guram MUCHAIDZE, chairman;
- Green Party, Zurab ZHVANIA, chairman;
- Georgian Popular Front (GPF), Nodar NATADZE, chairman;
- National Democratic Party (NDP), Gia CHANTURIA, chairman;
- National Independence Party (NIP), Irakliy TSERETELI, chairmen;
- Charter 1991 Party, Tedo PATASHVILI, chairman;
- Peace Bloc;
- Unity;
- October 11
Other political or pressure groups
supporters of ousted President Zuiad GAMSAKHURDIA (deceased 1 January 1994) boycotted the October elections and remain a source of opposition and instability
Member of
BSEC, CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, IBRD, IDA, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, IOC, ITU, NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO
chief of mission
Ambassador Petr CHKHEIDZE
chancery
(temporary) Suite 424, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC
chief of mission
Ambassador Kent N. BROWN
embassy
#25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi 380026
mailing address
use embassy street address
Flag
maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below
Economy
26 fieldsOverview
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 coal.
Its only sizable domestic energy resource is hydropower. Since 1990, widespread conflicts, e.g., in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Mengrelia, severely aggravated the economic crisis resulting from the disintegration of the Soviet command economy in December 1991. Throughout 1993, 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.
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $7.8 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Georgian statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
Unemployment rate
- officially less than 5% but real unemployment may be up near 20%, with even larger numbers of underemployed workers;
- real unemployment may be up near 20% with even larger numbers of underemployed workers
revenues
$NA
expenditures
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
commodities
- 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)
commodities
fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts, transport equipment
partners
Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey (1993)
capacity
4,875,000 kW
production
15.8 billion kWh
consumption per capita
2,835 kWh (1992)
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
Agriculture
- accounts for 41% of GDP;
- 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
recipient
- heavily dependent on US for humanitarian grain shipments;
- EC granted around $70 million in trade credits in 1992 and another $40 million in 1993;
- Turkey granted $50 million in 1993;
- smaller scale credits granted by Russia and China
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
Communications
16 fieldstotal
33,900 km
paved and gravelled
29,500 km
unpaved
earth 4,400 km (1990)
Merchant marine
41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 575,823 GRT/882,110 DWT, bulk cargo 14, oil tanker 27
total
37
usable
27
with permanent-surface runways
14
with runways over 3,659 m
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m
10
with runways 1,060-2,439 m
4
note
a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications
- poor telephone service;
- as of mid-1993, 672,000 telephone lines providing 14 lines per 100 persons;
- 339,000 unsatisfied applications for telephones (31 December 1990);
- international links via landline to CIS members and Turkey;
- low capacity satellite earth station and leased international connections via the Moscow international gateway switch with other countries;
- international electronic mail and telex service available
Defense Forces
Army, Air Force, Navy, Interior Ministry Troops, Border Guards
4 fieldsManpower availability
- males age 15-49 1,362,818;
- fit for military service 1,081,624;
- reach military age (18) annually 42,881 (1994 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Georgia.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/georgia/1994.