Georgia

• Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia, with a sliver of land north of the Caucasus extending into Europe;
• note - Georgia views itself as part of Europe;
• geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both

• largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south;
• Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west;
• Mtkvari River Basin in the east;
• fertile soils in river valley flood plains and foothills of Kolkhida Lowland

agricultural land:

35.5%;

• arable land 5.8%;
• permanent crops 1.8%;
• permanent pasture 27.9%

forest:

39.4%

other:

25.1% (2011 est.)

• settlement coincides closely to the central valley, with emphasis on the capital city of Tbilisi in the east;
• smaller urban agglomerations dot the Black Sea coast, with Bat'umi being the largest

• 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

party to:

Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• strategically located east of the Black Sea;
• Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them;
• Krubera Cave in the western part of the country is the deepest-known cave in the world;
• at -2,197 m it is the only known cave on earth deeper than 2,000 m

noun:

Georgian(s)

adjective:

Georgian

• settlement coincides closely to the central valley, with emphasis on the capital city of Tbilisi in the east;
• smaller urban agglomerations dot the Black Sea coast, with Bat'umi being the largest

at birth:

1.08 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.11 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.11 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.81 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.64 male(s)/female

total population:

0.92 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Georgia

local long form:

none

local short form:

Sak'art'velo

former:

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic

etymology:

• the Western name may derive from the Persian designation "gurgan" meaning "Land of the Wolves";
• the native name "Sak'art'velo" means "Land of the Kartvelians" and refers to the core central Georgian region of Kartli

name:

Tbilisi

geographic coordinates:

41 41 N, 44 50 E

time difference:

UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

history:

previous 1921, 1978 (based on 1977 Soviet Union constitution); latest approved 24 August 1995, effective 17 October 1995

amendments:

• proposed as a draft law supported by more than one-half of the Parliament membership or by petition of at least 200,000 voters;
• passage requires support by at least three-fourths of the Parliament membership in two successive sessions three months apart and the signature and promulgation by the president of Georgia;
• amended several times, last in 2013 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Georgia

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

President Giorgi MARGVELASHVILI (since 17 November 2013)

head of government:

Prime Minister Giorgi KVIRIKASHVILI (since 30 December 2015); First Deputy Prime Minister Dimitry KUMSISHVILI

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 27 October 2013 (next to be held in October 2018);
• prime minister nominated by Parliament, appointed by the president

election results:

• Giorgi MARGVELASHVILI elected president in first round;
• percent of vote - Giorgi MARGVELASHVILI (Georgian Dream) 62.1%, Davit BAKRADZE (UNM) 21.7%, Nino BURJANADZE 10.2%, other 6%

description:

unicameral Parliament or Sakartvelos Parlamenti (150 seats; 77 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote and 73 directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 8 October and 30 October 2016 (next to be held in 2020)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - Georgian Dream 48.7%, UNM 27.1%, Alliance of Patriots 5%, other 19.2%;
• seats by party - Georgian Dream 115, UNM 27, Alliance of Patriots 6, IWSG 1, independent 1;
• note - European Georgia split from UNM in January 2017 taking 21 of 27 parliamentary members

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (organized into several specialized judicial chambers; number of judges determined by the president of Georgia);
• Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges);
• note - the Abkhazian and Ajarian Autonomous republics each have a supreme court and a hierarchy of lower courts

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Parliament;
• judges serve not less than 10-year terms;
• Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president following candidate selection by the Justice Council of Georgia, a 12-member consultative body of high-level judges and presidential and parliamentary appointees;
• judges appointed for 10-year terms

subordinate courts:

Courts of Appeal; regional (town) and district courts

• Alliance of Patriots [Irma INASHVILI]
• European Georgia [Davit BAKRADZE] (split from UNM)
• Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia [Giorgi KVIRIKASHVILI]
• Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Giorgi TOPADZE]
• National Forum [Kakhaber SHARTAVA]
• Free Democrats (FD) [Tamar KEKENADZE]
• Republican Party [Khatuna SAMNIDZE]
• State for the People Party [formerly Paata BURCHULADZE ]
• United Democratic Movement [Nino BURJANADZE]
• United National Movement or UNM [Nika MELIA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador David BAKRADZE (since 18 January 2017)

chancery:

1824 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 387-2390

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-0864

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ian C. KELLY (since 17 September 2015)

embassy:

11 George Balanchine Street, T'bilisi 0131

mailing address:

7060 T'bilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060

telephone:

[995] (32) 227-70-00

FAX:

[995] (32) 253-23-10

• white rectangle with a central red cross extending to all four sides of the flag;
• each of the four quadrants displays a small red bolnur-katskhuri cross;
• sometimes referred to as the Five-Cross Flag;
• although adopted as the official Georgian flag in 2004, the five-cross design appears to date back to the 14th century

name:

"Tavisupleba" (Liberty)

lyrics/music:

Davit MAGRADSE/Zakaria PALIASHVILI (adapted by Joseb KETSCHAKMADSE)

note: adopted 2004; after the Rose Revolution, a new anthem with music based on the operas "Abesalom da Eteri" and "Daisi" was adopted

agriculture:

55.6%

industry:

8.9%

services:

35.5% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

2%

highest 10%:

31.3% (2008)

general assessment:

• fixed-line telecommunications network has limited coverage outside Tbilisi;
• multiple mobile-cellular providers provide services to an increasing subscribership throughout the country

domestic:

• cellular telephone networks cover the entire country;
• mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 110 per 100 persons;
• intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi

international:

• country code - 995;
• the Georgia-Russia fiber-optic submarine cable provides connectivity to Russia;
• international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch;
• international electronic mail and telex service are available (2015)

• Tbilisi-based Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) includes Channel 1, Channel 2, as well as the Batumi-based Adjara TV (also a part of GPB);
• all three are funded from the state budget;
• there are a number of independent commercial TV stations, including but not limited to Rustavi 2, Imedi, Maestro, Kavkasia, GDS, and TV1;
• the Georgian Orthodox Church also operates a satellite-based TV station called Unanimity;
• 26 regional TV broadcasters across Georgia are members of the Georgian Association of Regional Broadcasters (GARB) that seeks to strengthen the regional media's capacities and to distribute regional products;
• a nationwide digital switchover occurred in 2015;
• there are several dozen private radio stations;
• GPB operates 2 radio stations (2016)

number of registered air carriers:

5; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 13

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

232,263

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

185,040 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,363 km

broad gauge:

1,326 km 1.520-m gauge (1,251 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 82

total:

19,109 km

paved:

19,109 km (includes 69 km of expressways) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 113

Georgian Armed Forces:

• Land Forces (include Air and Air Defense Forces);
• separatist Abkhazia Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Air Forces;
• separatist South Ossetia Armed Forces

note: Georgian naval forces have been incorporated into the Coast Guard, which is part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs rather than the Ministry of Defense (2015)

IDPs:

208,000 (displaced in the 1990s as a result of armed conflict in the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; displaced in 2008 by fighting between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia) (2016)

stateless persons:

250 (2016)

• limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption;
• used as transshipment point for opiates via Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia