Georgia Travel Podcast with Nino Beridze

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

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

Climate

Warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast

Elevation

Highest point

Mt'a Shkhara 5,193 m

Lowest point

Black Sea 0 m

Mean elevation

1,432 m

Area

Total

69,700 sq km

Land

69,700 sq km

Water

0 sq km

Size comparison

Slightly smaller than South Carolina; slightly larger than West Virginia

Coastline

310 km

Land borders

Total

1,814 km

Border countries

Armenia 219 km; Azerbaijan 428 km; Russia 894 km; Turkey 273 km

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

Land use

Agricultural land

34.1% (2023 est.)

Arable land

4.4% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

1.8% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

27.9% (2023 est.)

Forest

44.6% (2023 est.)

Other

21.2% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Earthquakes

Note

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

Total

4,900,961 (2024 est.)

Male

2,343,068

Female

2,557,893

Nationality

Noun

Georgian(s)

Adjective

Georgian

Ethnic groups

Georgian 86.8%, Azeri 6.3%, Armenian 4.5%, other 2.3% (includes Russian, Ossetian, Yazidi, Ukrainian, Kist, Greek) (2014 est.)

Languages

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)

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.)

Median age

Total

38.6 years (2025 est.)

Male

35.9 years

Female

40.6 years

Life expectancy

Total population

72.8 years (2024 est.)

Male

68.7 years

Female

77.2 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

60.7% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

0.35% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

Settlement concentrated in the central valley, particularly in the capital city of Tbilisi in the east; smaller urban agglomerations dot the Black Sea coast, with Bat'umi being the largest

Largest cities

1.082 million TBILISI (capital) (2023)

Background

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.

Government

Semi-presidential republic

Capital

Tbilisi

Time zone

UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

Republic of Georgia

Independence

9 April 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier date: A.D. 1008 (Georgia unified under King BAGRAT III)

National day

Independence Day, 26 May (1918)

Overview

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

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$25,000 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$22,600 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$21,000 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

1.1% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

2.5% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

11.9% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

11.5% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

11.6% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

11.7% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Laris (GEL) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2024

2.721 (2024 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

2.628 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

2.916 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

3.222 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

3.109 (2020 est.)

Main industries

Steel, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese, copper, gold), chemicals, wood products, wine

Agriculture

Milk, grapes, potatoes, maize, wheat, tangerines/mandarins, tomatoes, barley, apples, eggs (2023)

Airports

21 (2025)

Railways

Total

1,363 km (2014)

Narrow gauge

37 km (2014) 0.912-m gauge (37 km electrified)

Broad gauge

1,326 km (2014) 1.520-m gauge (1,251 km electrified)

Ports

Total ports

3 (2024)

Large

0

Medium

0

Small

1

Very small

2

Ports with oil terminals

2

Key ports

Batumi, Sokhumi, Supsa Marine Terminal

Internet domain

.ge

Internet users

Percent of population 82% (2023 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

5.91 million (2023 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

156 (2022 est.)

Environmental issues

Air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy water pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals; land and forest degradation; biodiversity loss; waste management

Fresh water

63.33 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)