Honduras (2008) | Georgia (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro | 53 rayons (raionebi, singular - raioni), 9 cities* (k'alak'ebi, singular - k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics** (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika); Abashis, Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Sokhumi), Adigenis, Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Bat'umi), Akhalgoris, Akhalk'alak'is, Akhalts'ikhis, Akhmetis, Ambrolauris, Aspindzis, Baghdat'is, Bolnisis, Borjomis, Chiat'ura*, Ch'khorotsqus, Ch'okhatauris, Dedop'listsqaros, Dmanisis, Dushet'is, Gardabanis, Gori*, Goris, Gurjaanis, Javis, K'arelis, Kaspis, Kharagaulis, Khashuris, Khobis, Khonis, K'ut'aisi*, Lagodekhis, Lanch'khut'is, Lentekhis, Marneulis, Martvilis, Mestiis, Mts'khet'is, Ninotsmindis, Onis, Ozurget'is, P'ot'i*, Qazbegis, Qvarlis, Rust'avi*, Sach'kheris, Sagarejos, Samtrediis, Senakis, Sighnaghis, T'bilisi*, T'elavis, T'erjolis, T'et'ritsqaros, T'ianet'is, Tqibuli*, Ts'ageris, Tsalenjikhis, Tsalkis, Tsqaltubo*, Vanis, Zestap'onis, Zugdidi*, Zugdidis
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 39.3% (male 1,500,949/female 1,439,084)
15-64 years: 57.2% (male 2,142,953/female 2,140,432) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 117,774/female 142,571) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
19.59% (male 498,575; female 478,663) 15-64 years: 67.91% (male 1,632,338; female 1,755,910) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 241,824; female 381,975) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp, tilapia, lobster; corn, African palm | citrus, grapes, tea, vegetables, potatoes; livestock |
Airports | 112 (2007) | 31 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total:
16 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 100
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 83 (2007) |
total:
15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
total:
69,700 sq km land: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Tennessee | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. | 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. Russian troops remain garrisoned at four military bases and as peacekeepers in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (but are scheduled to withdraw from two of the bases by July 2001). Despite a badly degraded transportation network - brought on by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages - the country continues to move toward a market economy and greater integration with Western institutions. |
Birth rate | 27.59 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.18 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.089 billion
expenditures: $2.357 billion; including capital expenditures of $106 million (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$437 million expenditures: $626 million, including capital expenditures of $60 million (1999) |
Capital | name: Tegucigalpa
geographic coordinates: 14 06 N, 87 13 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November; note - these dates become effective in 2007 |
T'bilisi |
Climate | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains | warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast |
Coastline | 820 km | 310 km |
Constitution | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended many times | adopted 17 October 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Georgia local long form: none local short form: Sak'art'velo former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | - | lari (GEL) |
Death rate | 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.58 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.871 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $1.9 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. FORD
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 236-9320, 238-5114 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Kenneth S. YALOWITZ embassy: #25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi 380026 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [995] (32) 989-967/68 FAX: [995] (32) 933-759 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto FLORES BERMUDEZ
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Tedo JAPARIDZE chancery: Suite 300, 1615 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 387-2390 FAX: [1] (202) 393-4537 |
Disputes - international | International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $680.8 million (2005) | $212.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America and one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Despite improvements in tax collections, the government's fiscal deficit is growing due to increases in current expenditures and financial losses from the state energy and telephone companies. Honduras is the fastest growing remittance destination in the region with inflows representing over a quarter of GDP, equivalent to nearly three-quarters of exports. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices, however, investments in the maquila and non-traditional export sectors are slowly diversifying the economy. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, and on reduction of the high crime rate, as a means of attracting and maintaining investment. | Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. 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, increasing GDP growth and slashing inflation. The Georgian economy continues to experience large budget deficits due to a failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia also still suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the distribution network in 1998, and deliveries are steadily improving. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery on the development of an international transportation corridor through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. The growing trade deficit, continuing problems with tax evasion and corruption, and political uncertainties cloud the short-term economic picture. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.036 billion kWh (2005) | 7.117 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 850 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 57 million kWh (2005) | 550 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 5.339 billion kWh (2005) | 7.975 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
20.38% hydro: 79.62% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m |
lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Mt'a Mqinvartsveri (Gora Kazbek) 5,048 m |
Environment - current issues | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 1% | Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | lempiras per US dollar - 18.9 (2007), 18.895 (2006), 18.92 (2005), 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003) | lari per US dollar - 1.9798 (December 2000), 1.9762 (2000), 2.0245 (1999), 1.3898 (1998), 1.2975 (1997), 1.2628 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Manuel ZELAYA Rosales (since 27 January 2006); Vice President Elvin Ernesto SANTOS Ordonez (since 27 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: Manuel ZELAYA Rosales elected president - 49.8%, Porfirio "Pepe" LOBO Sosa 46.1%, other 4.1% |
chief of state:
President Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (previously elected chairman of the Government Council 10 March 1992; Council has since been disbanded; previously elected chairman of Parliament 11 October 1992; president since 26 November 1995); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (previously elected chairman of the Government Council 10 March 1992; Council has since been disbanded; previously elected chairman of Parliament 11 October 1992; president since 26 November 1995); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Eduard SHEVARDNADZE reelected president; percent of vote - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 80% |
Exports | 765.4 bbl/day (2004) | $372 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber | citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products; diverse types of machinery and metals; chemicals; fuel reexports; textiles |
Exports - partners | US 70.6%, Guatemala 3.5%, El Salvador 3.4% (2006) | Russia 19%, Turkey 16%, Azerbaijan 8%, Armenia 6% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band | maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $22.8 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13.5%
industry: 31% services: 55.6% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
32% industry: 23% services: 45% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | 1.9% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 86 30 W | 42 00 N, 43 30 E |
Geography - note | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast | - |
Highways | - | total:
33,900 km paved: 29,500 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 4,400 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 42.2% (2003) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity | 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 | 42,620 bbl/day (2004) | $898 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs | fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts, transport equipment |
Imports - partners | US 53%, Guatemala 7%, El Salvador 4.5%, Costa Rica 4.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2006) | EU 22%, Russia 19%, Turkey 12%, US 12% (1999) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.3% (2007 est.) | -0.3% (1998 est.) |
Industries | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products | steel, aircraft, machine tools, electric locomotives, trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes, chemicals, wood products, wine |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
52.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2007 est.) | 4.1% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 800 sq km (2003) | 4,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (15 judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) | Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's recommendation); Constitutional Court |
Labor force | 2.812 million (2007 est.) | 3.08 million (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 34%
industry: 23% services: 43% (2003 est.) |
industry 20%, agriculture 40%, services 40% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
total:
1,461 km border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km |
Land use | arable land: 9.53%
permanent crops: 3.21% other: 87.26% (2005) |
arable land:
9% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 34% other: 28% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish, Amerindian dialects | Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia |
Legal system | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 62, PN 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU 2 |
unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 October and 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - CUG 41.85%, AGUR 25.65%, IWSG 7.8%, all other parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - CUG 130, AGUR 58, IWSG 15, Abkhaz deputies 12, independents 17, other 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.35 years
male: 67.78 years female: 70.99 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
64.57 years male: 61.04 years female: 68.28 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 80% male: 79.8% female: 80.2% (2001 census) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 100% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
Location | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm |
NA |
Merchant marine | total: 126 ships (1000 GRT or over) 352,534 GRT/481,217 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 58, chemical tanker 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 27, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 40 (Bangladesh 1, Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 4, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Israel 1, Japan 4, South Korea 6, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Singapore 10, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, US 1, Vietnam 1) (2007) |
total:
37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 131,316 GRT/190,289 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 25, chemical tanker 2, container 2, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | a CIS peacekeeping force consisting 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 | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Honduran Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Hondurena, FAH) (2007) | Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Forces, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $23 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006 est.) | 0.59% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,296,199 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,024,574 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
41,561 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | 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: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
noun:
Georgian(s) adjective: Georgian |
Natural hazards | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast | earthquakes |
Natural resources | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower | 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 | -1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 370 km; refined products 300 km; natural gas 440 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Felicito AVILA]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Cesar HAM]; Liberal Party or PL [Patricia RODAS]; National Innovation and Unity Party or PINU [Jorge AQUILAR Paredes]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Porfirio LOBO] | Citizen's Union of Georgia or CUG [Eduard SHEVARDNADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG [Panteleimon GIORGADZE, chairman]; Industry Will Save Georgia or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Irina SARISHVILI-CHANTURIA]; Socialist Party or SPG [Temur GAMTSEMLIDZE]; Union for "Revival" Party or AGUR [Alsan ABASHIDZE]; United Republican Party or URP [Nodar NATADZE, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH | Georgian refugees from Abkhazia (Abkhaz faction in Georgian Parliament); separatist elements in the breakaway region of Abkhazia; supporters of the late ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA remain a source of opposition |
Population | 7,483,763
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
4,989,285 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50.7% (2004) | 60% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.091% (2007 est.) | -0.59% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (1998) | AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.02 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2006) |
total:
1,583 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 1,583 km 1.520-m gauge (1993) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% | Georgian Orthodox 65%, Muslim 11%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.043 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.001 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.826 male(s)/female total population: 1.011 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate system
domestic: beginning in 2003, private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed-lines in order to expand telephone coverage; fixed-line teledensity has increased to about 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone service has been increasing rapidly and subscribership in 2006 exceeded 30 per 100 persons international: country code - 504; landing point for both the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) and the MAYA-1 fiber optic submarine cable system that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave 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: 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 | 708,400 (2006) | 620,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.241 million (2006) | 30,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) | 12 (plus repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains | 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 | 3.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.45 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.8% (2007 est.) | 14.9% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007) | none |