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Georgia Country Guide

Explore Georgia in Asia

Georgia with the capital city Tbilisi is located in Asia (Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea). It covers some 69,700 square kilometres (slightly smaller than South Carolina) with 4,630,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Georgia

The terrain features largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south with Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west, Mtkvari River Basin in the east and good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland. The average density of population is approximately 66 per km². The notable climate conditions in Georgia can be described as warm and pleasant with Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast. Potential natural disasters are earthquakes.

To reach someone in Georgia dial +995 prior to a number. There are 620,000 installed telephones. And there are 2,837,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900/1800 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".ge". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Georgia

Georgia Flag Icon

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; although adopted as the official Georgian flag in 2004, the five-cross flag design appears to date back to the 14th century.


The region of present day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D., and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 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. Mounting public discontent over rampant corruption and ineffective government services, followed by an attempt by the incumbent Georgian Government to manipulate national legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. In the aftermath of that popular movement, which became known as the "Rose Revolution," new elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his United National Movement (UNM) party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Periodic flare-ups in tension and violence culminated in a five-day conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia, including the invasion of large portions of undisputed Georgian territory. Russian troops pledged to pull back from most occupied Georgian territory, but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russian military forces remain in those regions. Billionaire philanthropist Bidzina IVANISHVILI's unexpected entry into politics in October 2011 brought the divided opposition together under his Georgian Dream coalition, which won a majority of seats in the October 2012 parliamentary election and removed UNM from power. A new constitution shifting many powers from the president to the prime minister and parliament, including the power to name the prime minister and government ministers, does not go into effect until after a new president is elected in the fall of 2013. Conceding defeat, SAAKASHVILI named IVANISHVILI as prime minister and allowed Georgian Dream to create a new government. Tensions remain high as IVANISHVILI, SAAKASHVILI, and their supporters struggle to co-exist until the end of the president's term.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Asia
Neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia
Capital: Tbilisi
Size69,700 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 26,911 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than South Carolina
Population4,630,000
CurrencyName Lari, Currency Code:GEL
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).ge
Telephone Country Prefix+995
Mobile Phone Connections2,837,000
Landline Phone Connections620,000

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area69,700 (sq km)121

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population4,555,911 122
Population growth rate-0.33 (%)218
Birth rate10.72 (births/1,000 population)180
Death rate10.17 (deaths/1,000 population)49
Net migration rate-3.86 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)187
Maternal mortality rate67.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)90
Infant mortality rate14.21 (deaths/1,000 live births)116
Life expectancy at birth77.51 (years)65
Total fertility rate1.46 (children born/woman)194
Health expenditures10.10 (% of GDP)29
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.10 (%)129
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS3,500 126
HIV/AIDS - deaths100 133
Obesity - adult prevalence rate22.10 (%)82
Children under the age of 5 years underweight1.10 (%)128
Education expenditures2.70 (% of GDP)152
Unemployment, youth ages 15-2435.60 (%)16

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)27,110,000,000 116
GDP - real growth rate6.50 (%)36
GDP - per capita (PPP)6,000 150
Labor force1,959,000 122
Unemployment rate15.10 (%)147
Distribution of family income - Gini index46.00 35
Investment (gross fixed)34.30 (% of GDP)13
Taxes and other revenues25.70 (% of GDP)116
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-4.40 (% of GDP)146
Public debt36.30 (% of GDP)99
Inflation rate (consumer prices)-0.90 (%)2
Central bank discount rate6.50 (%)54
Commercial bank prime lending rate25.87 (%)11
Stock of narrow money1,636,000,000 134
Stock of broad money4,720,000,000 130
Stock of domestic credit5,350,000,000 116
Market value of publicly traded shares1,060,000,000 108
Industrial production growth rate11.80 (%)6
Current account balance-1,669,000,000 132
Exports3,324,000,000 128
Imports6,623,000,000 114
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold2,873,000,000 109
Debt - external13,360,000,000 90
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home9,133,000,000 82
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad741,600,000 77

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production9,694,000,000 (kWh)94
Electricity - consumption9,379,000,000 (kWh)92
Electricity - exports528,000,000 (kWh)59
Electricity - imports614,000,000 (kWh)72
Electricity - installed generating capacity4,538,000 (kW)75
Electricity - from fossil fuels37.20 (% of total installed capacity)173
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants62.80 (% of total installed capacity)28
Crude oil - production980 (bbl/day)99
Crude oil - exports531 (bbl/day)67
Crude oil - proved reserves33,190,000 (bbl)83
Refined petroleum products - production858 (bbl/day)115
Refined petroleum products - consumption17,280 (bbl/day)139
Refined petroleum products - imports18,500 (bbl/day)108
Natural gas - production9,151,000 (cu m)91
Natural gas - consumption1,970,000,000 (cu m)80
Natural gas - imports1,960,000,000 (cu m)50
Natural gas - proved reserves93,410,000,000 (cu m)57
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy5,302,000 (Mt)122

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use1,345,000 67
Telephones - mobile cellular4,430,000 113
Internet hosts357,864 59
Internet users1,300,000 90

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports22 134
Railways1,612 (km)78
Roadways20,329 (km)106
Merchant marine142 40

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures1.90 (% of GDP)75

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery
The construction of Bagrati Cathedral, named after Bagrat III, the first king of united Georgia, started at the end of the 10th century and was completed in the early years of the 11th century. Although partly destroyed by the Turks in 1691, its ruin ...
1994
Historical Monuments of Mtskheta
The historic churches of Mtskheta, former capital of Georgia, are outstanding examples of medieval religious architecture in the Caucasus. They show the high artistic and cultural level attained by this ancient kingdom. ...
1994
Upper Svaneti
Preserved by its long isolation, the Upper Svaneti region of the Caucasus is an exceptional example of mountain scenery with medieval-type villages and tower-houses. The village of Chazhashi still has more than 200 of these very unusual houses, which ...
1996