| GEOGRAPHY |
| 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 |
| Capital: |
T'bilisi |
| Location: |
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
42 00 N, 43 30 E |
| Area: |
total: 69,700 sq km
land: 69,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 1,461 km
border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km |
| Coastline: |
310 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
NA |
| 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; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
forests, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic |
| Administratives
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 |
| Independence |
9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| 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 |
| Constitution: |
adopted 17 October 1995 |
| Legal
System; |
based on civil law system |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| 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% |
| 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 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's recommendation); Constitutional Court; first and second instance courts |
| 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] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
4,677,401 (July 2005 est.) |
| 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.) |
| Median age: |
total: 37.36 years
male: 34.93 years
female: 39.7 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Georgian(s)
adjective: Georgian |
| Ethnic groups: |
Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5% |
| Religions: |
Georgian Orthodox 65%, Muslim 11%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6% |
| Languages: |
Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
650,500 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
522,300 (2003) |
| 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 |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
12 (plus repeaters) (1998) |
| Internet country
code: |
.ge |
| Internet hosts: |
5,160 (2004) |
| Internet users: |
150,500 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| 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) (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 20,229 km
paved: 18,914 km
unpaved: 1,315 km (2002) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
gas 1,697 km; oil 1,027 km; refined products 232 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi |
| 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) |
| 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.) |
| Heliports: |
2 (2004 est.) |
|
