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

noun:

Georgian(s)

adjective:

Georgian

• 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:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.14 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.78 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.54 male(s)/female

total population:

0.92 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

total:

7.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.71 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

3.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

2.52 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

31.7% (2020 est.)

male:

56.3% (2020 est.)

female:

7.1% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

0.3%

women married by age 18:

13.9%

men married by age 18:

0.5% (2018 est.)

• 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, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

particulate matter emissions:

21.2 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

10.13 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

6.05 megatons (2020 est.)

urban population:

60.7% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.35% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data include Abkhazia and South Ossetia

municipal:

359,974,627.7 cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

402,206,287.9 cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

1,060,819,084.4 cubic meters (2017 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)

etymology:

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

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 2020 (legislative electoral system revised)

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

description:

unicameral Parliament or Sakartvelos Parlamenti (150 seats statutory, 144 current; 120 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by closed, party-list proportional representation vote and 30 directly elected in single-seat constituencies by at least 50% majority vote, with a runoff if needed; no party earning less than 40% of total votes may claim a majority; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 31 October and 21 November 2020 (next to be held in October 2024)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - Georgian Dream 48.2%, UNM 27.2%, European Georgia 3.8%, Lelo 3.2%, Strategy 3.2%, Alliance of Patriots 3.1%, Girchi 2.9%, Citizens 1.3%, Labor 1%;
• seats by party - Georgian Dream 90, UNM 36, European Georgia 5, Lelo 4, Strategy 4, Alliance of Patriots 4, Girchi 4, Citizens 2, Labor 1;
• composition (as of October 2021) - men 117, women 27, percent of women 18.8%

highest court(s):

• 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]
• Citizens Party [Aleko ELISASHVILI]
• European Georgia-Movement for Liberty [Giga BOKERIA]
• European Socialists [Fridon INJIA]
• For Georgia [Giorgi GAKHARIA]
• Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia [Irakli KOBAKHIDZE]
• Girchi-More Freedom [Zurab JAPARIDZE]
• Labor Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]
• Lelo for Georgia [Mamuka KHAZARADZE]
• New Political Centre-Girchi [Iago KHVICHIA]
• Republican Party [Khatuna SAMNIDZE]
• Strategy Aghmashenebeli [Giorgi VASHADZE]
• United National Movement or UNM [Nikanor "Nika" MELIA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador David ZALKALIANI (since 7 June 2022)

chancery:

1824 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone:

[1] (202) 387-2390

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-0864

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://georgiaembassyusa.org/contact/

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kelly C. DEGNAN (since 31 January 2020)

embassy:

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

mailing address:

7060 Tbilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060

telephone:

[995] (32) 227-70-00

FAX:

[995] (32) 253-23-10

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://ge.usembassy.gov/

• 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 is based on a 14th century banner of the Kingdom of Georgia

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

total World Heritage Sites:

4 (3 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Gelati Monastery (c);
• Historical Monuments of Mtskheta (c);
• Upper Svaneti (c);
• Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (n)

Fitch rating:

BB (2019)

Moody's rating:

Ba2 (2017)

Standard & Poors rating: BB (2019)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

55.6%

industry:

8.9%

services:

35.5% (2006 est.)

total:

31.3%

male:

30.5%

female:

32.7% (2020 est.)

lowest 10%:

2%

highest 10%:

31.3% (2008)

production:

99,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

362,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

1,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

277,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

201 million metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

300 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

32,400 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

100 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

35 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

6.088 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

consumption:

2,539,649,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

2,534,892,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

8.495 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• The Tbilisi-based Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) includes Channel 1, Channel 2, and 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, Mtavari Arkhi, 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)

number of registered air carriers:

4 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 12

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

516,034 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

750,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

1,363 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

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

broad gauge:

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

total:

25

by type:

bulk carrier 2, general cargo 3, other 20 (2021)

Georgian Defense Forces:

• Land Forces (includes
  • Aviation and Air Defense Forces),
  • Special Operations Forces,
  • National Guard
  ;
• Ministry of Internal Affairs: Border Police, Coast Guard (includes Georgian naval forces, which were merged with the Coast Guard in 2009) (2022)

• the Georgian Defense Forces are equipped mostly with older Russian and Soviet-era weapons;
• since 2010, it has received limited quantities of equipment from European countries and the US (2021)

refugees (country of origin):

25,204 (Ukraine) (as of 15 November 2022)

IDPs:

305,000 (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) (2021)

stateless persons:

534 (mid-year 2021)