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

• settlement concentrated in the central valley, particularly in 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 water pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea;
• inadequate supplies of potable water;
• soil pollution from toxic chemicals;
• land and forest degradation;
• biodiversity loss;
• waste management

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

noun:

Georgian(s)

adjective:

Georgian

0-14 years:

18.23% (male 469,163 /female 428,734)

15-24 years:

11.45% (male 299,362 /female 264,456)

25-54 years:

40.89% (male 984,275 /female 1,029,902)

55-64 years:

13.17% (male 289,337 /female 359,444)

65 years and over:

16.27% (male 314,467 /female 486,947) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

50 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

28.1 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

21.9 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

4.6 (2015 est.)

total:

38.3 years (2018 est.)

male:

35.5 years

female:

41.1 years

• settlement concentrated in the central valley, particularly in the capital city of Tbilisi in the east;
• smaller urban agglomerations dot the Black Sea coast, with Bat'umi being the largest

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.09 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.8 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.65 male(s)/female

total population:

0.92 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

14.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

16.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

12.5 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

76.6 years (2018 est.)

male:

72.5 years

female:

80.9 years

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)

etymology:

the name in Georgian means "warm place," referring to the numerous sulfuric hot springs in the area

• 9 regions (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 1 city (kalaki), and 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika) regions:
  • Guria,
  • Imereti,
  • Kakheti,
  • Kvemo Kartli,
  • Mtskheta Mtianeti,
  • Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti,
  • Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti,
  • Samtskhe-Javakheti,
  • Shida Kartli
  ;
• note - the breakaway region of South Ossetia consists of the northern part of Shida Kartli, eastern slivers of the Imereti region and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, and part of western Mtskheta-Mtianeti;
• city: Tbilisi;
• autonomous republics: Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika (Bat'umi)

note: the administrative centers of the two autonomous republics are shown in parentheses note: the United States recognizes the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to be part of Georgia

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 2018 (2019)

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 Salome ZOURABICHVILI (since 16 December 2018)

head of government:

Prime Minister Giorgi GAKHARIA (since 8 September 2019)

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 28 November 2018 (next to be held in 2024);
• prime minister nominated by Parliament, appointed by the president

;

• note - 2017 constitutional amendments made the 2018 election the last where the president was directly elected;
• future presidents will be elected by a 300-member College of Electors;
• in light of these changes, ZOURABICHVILI was allowed a six-year term

election results:

• Salome ZOURABICHVILI elected president in runoff;
• percent of vote - Salome ZOURABICHVILI (independent, backed by Georgian Dream) 59.5%, Grigol VASHADZE (UNM) 40.5%;
• Giorgi GAKHARIA approved as prime minister by Parliamentary vote 98-0

description:

unicameral Parliament or Sakartvelos Parlamenti (150 seats; 77 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by closed, party-list 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;
• composition - men 126, women 24, percent of women 16%;
• note - European Georgia split from UNM in January 2017 taking 20 of 27 parliamentary seats;
• composition as of 1 July 2019: Georgian Dream 106, European Georgia 20, UNM 7, Alliance of Patriots 7, independent 10

highest courts:

• Supreme Court (consists of 28 judges 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 High Council of Justice (a 14-member body consisting of the Supreme Court chairperson, common court judges, and appointees of the president of Georgia) and appointed by Parliament;
• judges appointed for life;
• Constitutional Court judges appointed 3 each by the president, by Parliament, and by the Supreme Court judges;
• judges appointed for 10-year terms

subordinate courts:

Courts of Appeal; regional (town) and district courts

• Alliance of Patriots [Irma INASHVILI]
• Democratic Movement-United Georgia [Nino BURJANADZE]
• Development Movement [Davit USPASHVILI]
• European Georgia [Davit BAKRADZE] (split from UNM)
• For Justice Party [Eka BESELIA]
• Free Democrats or FD [Shalva SHAVGULIDZE]
• Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia [Bidzina IVANISHVILI]
• Girchi (Pinecone) [Zurab JAPARIDZE]
• Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Giorgi TOPADZE]
• Labor Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]
• New Georgia [Giorgi VASHADZE]
• Republican Party [Khatuna SAMNIDZE]
• United National Movement or UNM [Grigol VASHADZE]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Elizabeth ROOD (since 13 May 2019)

telephone:

[995] (32) 227-70-00

embassy:

29 Georgian-American Friendship Avenue, Didi Dighomi, Tbilisi 0131

mailing address:

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

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;
• broadband subscribers steadily increasing;
• with the recent investment in infrastructure customers are moving from copper to fiber networks (2018)

domestic:

• fixed-line 14 per 100, cellular telephone networks cover the entire country;
• mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 116 per 100 persons;
• intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi (2018)

international:

• country code - 995;
• landing points for the Georgia-Russia, Diamond Link Global, and Caucasus Cable System fiber-optic submarine cable provides connectivity to Russia, Romania and Bulgaria;
• international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch;
• international electronic mail and telex service are available (2019)

• The Tbilisi-based Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) includes Channel 1, Channel 2 as well as the Batumi-based Adjara TV, and the State Budget funds all three;
• there are also a number of independent commercial television broadcasters, such as Imedi, Rustavi 2, Pirveli TV, Maestro, Kavkasia, Georgian Dream Studios (GDS), Obiektivi, and a small Russian language operator TOK TV;
• Tabula and Post TV are web-based television outlets;
• all of these broadcasters and web-based television outlets, except GDS, carry the news;
• the Georgian Orthodox Church also operates a satellite-based television station called Unanimity;
• there are 26 regional television broadcasters across Georgia that are members of the Georgian Association of Regional Broadcasters and/or the Alliance of Georgian Broadcasters;
• the broadcaster organizations seek to strengthen the regional media's capacities and distribution of regional products: a nationwide digital switchover occurred in 2015;
• there are several dozen private radio stations;
• GPB operates 2 radio stations (2019)

Georgian Defense Forces:

• Land Forces (include Air and Air Defense Forces);
• separatist Abkhazia Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Air Forces;
• separatist South Ossetia Armed Forces (2019)

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

number of registered air carriers:

5 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 13 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

232,263 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

185,040 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,363 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

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

broad gauge:

1,326 km 1.520-m gauge (1,251 km electrified) (2014)

total:

82

by type:

bulk carrier 1, general cargo 24, oil tanker 2, other 55 (2018)

IDPs:

293,000 (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) (2018)

stateless persons:

566 (2018)

• 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