Arctic Ocean (2001) | Georgia (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 9 regions (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 9 cities (k'alak'ebi, singular - k'alak'i), 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 cities: Chiat'ura, Gori, K'ut'aisi, P'ot'i, Rust'avi, T'bilisi, Tqibuli, Tsqaltubo, Zugdidi autonomous republics: Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika (Bat'umi) note: the administrative centers of the 2 autonomous republics are shown in parentheses |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 18% (male 444,779/female 398,162)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,480,557/female 1,603,743) 65 years and over: 16% (male 300,859/female 449,301) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock |
Airports | - | 30 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 17
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
14.056 million sq km note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 69,700 sq km
land: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. | 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 AD and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th to the 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 until the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Despite myriad problems, some progress on market reforms and democratization has been made since then. An attempt by the government to manipulate legislative elections in November 2003 touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. New elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his National Movement Party. |
Birth rate | - | 10.25 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $671.7 million
expenditures: $804.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | - | T'bilisi |
Climate | polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow | warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast |
Coastline | 45,389 km | 310 km |
Constitution | - | adopted 24 August 1995 |
Country name | - | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Georgia local long form: none local short form: Sak'art'velo former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Death rate | - | 9.09 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $1.8 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard M. MILES
embassy: #25 Atoneli Street, T'bilisi 0105 mailing address: 7060 Tbilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060 telephone: [995] (32) 989-967/68 FAX: [995] (32) 933-759 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission: Ambassador Levan MIKELADZE
chancery: Suite 602, 1101 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 387-4537 FAX: [1] (202) 393-4537 |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia; UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a peacekeeping force in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scattered throughout the former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia; boundary with Armenia remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian government; Azerbaijan and Georgia cannot resolve the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas |
Economic aid - recipient | - | ODA $150 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. | Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of agricultural products such as citrus fruits, tea, hazelnuts, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since 1995, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing inflation. However, the Georgian Government has suffered from limited resources due to a chronic failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia's new government is making progress in reforming the tax code, enforcing taxes, and cracking down on corruption. Georgia also suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the T'bilisi electricity distribution network in 1998, but payment collection rates remain low, both in T'bilisi and throughout the regions. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a transit state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 6.811 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 300 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 850 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 6.732 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fram Basin -4,665 m highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | - | 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 |
Ethnic groups | - | Georgian 83.8%, Azeri 6.5%, Armenian 5.7%, Russian 1.5%, other 2.5% (2002 census) |
Exchange rates | - | lari per US dollar - 1.9167 (2004), 2.1457 (2003), 2.1957 (2002), 2.073 (2001), 1.9762 (2000) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense
head of government: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January 2004); Prime Minister Zurab NOGHAIDELI (since 17 February 2005); note - the president is the chief of state and head of government for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense; the prime minister is head of the remaining ministries of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 January 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI elected president; percent of vote - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI 96.3%, Temur SHASHIASHVILI 1.9% |
Exports | - | NA |
Exports - commodities | - | scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel reexports; citrus fruits, tea, wine |
Exports - partners | - | Turkey 18.3%, Turkmenistan 17.8%, Russia 16.2%, Armenia 8.4%, UK 4.9% (2004) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | - | white rectangle, in its central portion a red cross connecting all four sides of the flag; in each of the four corners is a small red bolnur-katskhuri cross; the five-cross flag appears to date back to the 14th century |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 20.5%
industry: 22.6% services: 56.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 9.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 90 00 N, 0 00 E | 42 00 N, 43 30 E |
Geography - note | major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months | strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them |
Heliports | - | 2 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 20,229 km
paved: 18,914 km unpaved: 1,315 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 27.9% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 |
Imports | - | NA |
Imports - commodities | - | fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | - | Russia 14%, Turkey 11%, UK 9.3%, Azerbaijan 8.5%, Germany 8.2%, Ukraine 7.7%, US 6% (2004) |
Independence | - | 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3% (2000) |
Industries | - | steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 18.59 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 5.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | - | BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | - | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's recommendation); Constitutional Court; first and second instance courts |
Labor force | - | 2.1 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | - | total: 1,461 km
border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 11.44%
permanent crops: 3.86% other: 84.7% (2001) |
Languages | - | Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia |
Legal system | - | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats - 150 elected by party lists); members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held spring 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - National Movement-Democrats 67.6%, Rightist Opposition 7.6%, all other parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - National Movement-Democrats 135, Rightist Opposition 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 75.88 years
male: 72.59 years female: 79.67 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 100% female: 98% (1999 est.) |
Location | body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia |
Map references | Arctic Region | Asia |
Maritime claims | - | NA |
Merchant marine | - | total: 175 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 855,908 GRT/1,288,812 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 133, container 3, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 6, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 105 (Albania 1, Azerbaijan 2, Cyprus 2, Egypt 3, Estonia 1, Germany 1, Greece 4, Israel 1, Lebanon 3, Romania 6, Russia 8, Syria 27, Turkey 14, Ukraine 30, UAE 2) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military - note | - | a CIS peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces (includes National Guard), Air and Air Defense Forces, Maritime Defense Force, Interior Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $23 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.59% (FY00) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 is the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | - | noun: Georgian(s)
adjective: Georgian |
Natural hazards | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May | earthquakes |
Natural resources | sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) | forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth |
Net migration rate | - | -4.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,697 km; oil 1,027 km; refined products 232 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Burjanadze-Democrats [Nino BURJANADZE]; Georgian People's Front [Nodar NATADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG [Panteleimon GIORGADZE]; Greens [Giorgi GACHECHILADZE]; Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; Labor Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Bachuki KARDAVA]; National Movement Democratic Front [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI] bloc composed of National Movement and Burjanadze-Democrats; National Movement [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI]; New Right [David GAMKRELIDZE]; Republican Party [David BERDZENISHVILI]; Rightist Opposition [David GAMKRELIDZE] bloc composed of Industrialists and New Right Party; Socialist Party or SPG [Irakli MINDELI]; Traditionalists [Akaki ASATIANI]; Union of National Forces-Conservatives [Koba DAVITASHVILI and Zviad DZIDZIGURI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile; separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; supporters of the late ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA |
Population | - | 4,677,401 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 54% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | -0.35% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe Bay (US) | Bat'umi, P'ot'i |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 1,612 km (1,612 km electrified)
broad gauge: 1,575 km 1.520-m gauge (1,575 electrified) narrow gauge: 37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 electrified) (2004) |
Religions | - | Orthodox Christian 83.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%, Catholic 0.8%, Muslim 9.9%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.16 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: NA
domestic: local - T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi have cellular telephone networks; urban telephone density is about 20 per 100 people; rural telephone density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi; nationwide pager service is available international: country code - 995; Georgia and Russia are working on a fiber-optic line between P'ot'i and Sochi (Russia); present international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service are available |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 650,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 522,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 12 (plus repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) | 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; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.41 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Transportation - note | - | transportation network is in poor condition resulting from ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages; network lacks maintenance and repair |
Unemployment rate | - | 17% (2001 est.) |