Georgia

Location

• 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
• note 1: strategically located east of the Black Sea, Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them note 2: the world's four deepest caves are all in Georgia, including two that are the only known caves on earth deeper than 2,000 m: Krubera Cave at -2,197 m (-7,208 ft; reached in 2012) and Veryovkina Cave at -2,212 (-7,257 ft; reached in 2018)

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Tbilisi	1,049,498	Capital
Batumi	186,949
Kutaisi	135,201
Rustavi	128,249
Sokhumi	65,439
Gori	41,933
Poti	41,175
Zugdidi	40,067
Ts’khinvali	32,180
Stantsiya Novyy Afon	26,636

Size

• 26,911 square miles
• 69,700 square kilometers
• slightly smaller than South Carolina; slightly larger than West Virginia

History

The region of present-day Georgia once contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis (known as Egrisi locally) and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D., and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Persian, Arab, and Turk domination was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short when the Mongols invaded in 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1921 and regained its independence when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. In 2003, mounting public discontent over rampant corruption, ineffective government services, and a government attempt to manipulate parliamentary elections touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, who had been president since 1995. In the aftermath of this "Rose Revolution," new elections in 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI and his United National Movement (UNM) party into power. SAAKASHVILI made progress on market reforms and governance, but he faced accusations of abuse of office. Progress was further complicated when Russian support for the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia led to a five-day conflict between Russia and Georgia in August 2008, which included Russia invading large portions of Georgian territory. Russia initially pledged to pull back from most Georgian territory but then unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russian military forces have remained in those regions. Billionaire Bidzina IVANISHVILI's unexpected entry into politics in 2011 brought the divided opposition together under his Georgian Dream coalition, which won a majority of seats in the 2012 parliamentary elections and removed UNM from power. Conceding defeat, SAAKASHVILI named IVANISHVILI as prime minister and left the country after his presidential term ended in 2013. IVANISHVILI voluntarily resigned from office after the presidential succession, and in the years since, the prime minister position has seen frequent turnover. In 2021, SAAKASHVILI returned to Georgia, where he was immediately arrested to serve six years in prison on outstanding abuse-of-office convictions. Popular support for integration with the West is high in Georgia. Joining the EU and NATO are among the country's top foreign policy goals, and Georgia applied for EU membership in 2022, becoming a candidate country in December 2023. Georgia and the EU have a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, and since 2017, Georgian citizens have been able to travel to the Schengen area without a visa.

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; 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

Languages

Georgian (official) 87.6%, Azeri 6.2%, Armenian 3.9%, Russian 1.2%, other 1% (including Abkhaz, the official language in Abkhazia) (2014 est.)major-language sample(s): მსოფლიო ფაქტების წიგნი, ძირითადი ინფორმაციის აუცილებელი წყარო. (Georgian)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Eastern Orthodox Christian (official) 83.4%, Muslim 10.7%, Armenian Apostolic Christian 2.9%, other 1.2% (includes Roman Catholic Christian, Jehovah's Witness, Yazidi, Protestant Christian, Jewish), none 0.5%, unspecified/no answer 1.2% (2014 est.)

Government

semi-presidential republic

• Constitution: history: previous 1921, 1978 (based on 1977 Soviet Union constitution); latest approved 24 August 1995, effective 17 October 1995amendment process: 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
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal System: civil law system
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President Mikheil KAVELASHVILI (since 29 December 2024)head of government: Prime Minister Irakli KOBAKHIDZE (since 8 February 2024)cabinet: Cabinet of Ministerselection/appointment process: president elected by a 300-member College of Electors; prime minister nominated by Parliament, appointed by the presidentmost recent election date: 14 December 2024election results: 2024: Mikheil KAVELASHVILI (Georgian Dream Party) was formally inaugurated on 29 December 20242024: Irakli KOBAKHIDZE approved as prime minister by Parliamentary vote 84-102018: Salome ZOURABICHVILI elected president in second round; percent of vote in second round - Salome ZOURABICHVILI (independent, backed by Georgian Dream) 59.5%, Grigol VASHADZE (UNM) 40.5%; Irakli GARIBASHVILI approved as prime minister by Parliamentary vote 89-2expected date of next election: 2029
• Judicial Branch: 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) 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 termssubordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; regional (town) and district courtsnote: the Abkhazian and Ajarian Autonomous republics each have a supreme court and a hierarchy of lower courts
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Parliament (Sakartvelos Parlamenti)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 150 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 10/26/2024parties elected and seats per party: Georgian Dream (89); Coalition for Changes (19); Unity - National Movement (16); Strong Georgia – Lelo, For people, For Liberty! (14); For Georgia (12)percentage of women in chamber: 12.4%expected date of next election: October 2028

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• upper-middle income, fast-growing South Caucasus economy; regionally focused exporter of cars, metal ores, and energy; financial and migrant inflows resulting from Ukraine conflict; EU accession talks suspended over disputed election and foreign influence law; low inflation but persistent high unemployment
• Budget: revenues: $8.686 billion (2023 est.)expenditures: $9.307 billion (2023 est.)note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: timber, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth
• Industries: steel, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese, copper, gold), chemicals, wood products, wine
• Agricultural Products: milk, grapes, potatoes, maize, wheat, tangerines/mandarins, tomatoes, barley, apples, eggs (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 34.3% (2022 est.)arable land: 4.5% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 1.8% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 27.9% (2022 est.)forest: 40.6% (2022 est.)other: 25.1% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: cars, refined petroleum, packaged medicine, natural gas, garments (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: Turkey 16%, USA 13%, Russia 11%, China 8%, Germany 6% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: cars, copper ore, electricity, garments, wine (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: Azerbaijan 13%, Turkey 11%, Armenia 11%, Russia 10%, Kyrgyzstan 8% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports