Country Facts - Georgia

The People

Ethnic Composition

Georgian	70.1%
Armenian	8.1%
Russian	6.3%
Azeri	5.7%
Ossetian	3%
Abkhaz	1.8%
Other	5%

Religious Composition

Georgian Orthodox	65%
Muslim	11%
Russian Orthodox	10%
Armenian Apostolic	8%
Other and nonaffiliated	6%

Languages Spoken

Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia

Education and Literacy

Education is compulsory for 12 years. Adult literacy stands at 99 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 2.1 million (2001)
By occupation:

Services	40%
Industry	20%
Agriculture	40%

Geography

Land Mass Total

26,911 sq mi (69,700 sq km)

Land

26,911 sq mi (69,700 sq km)

Water

0 sq mi (0 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 907 mi (1,461 km)

Border countries: Armenia 101 mi (164 km), Azerbaijan 200 mi (322 km), Russia 449 mi (723 km), Turkey 156 mi (252 km)

Coastline

192 mi (310 km)

Climate/Weather

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.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Black Sea 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Mt'a Mqinvartsveri (Gora Kazbek) 16,561 ft (5,048 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.

Land use

Arable land	11%
Permanent crops	4%
Other	85%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Earthquakes.

Environment - current issues

Air pollution, particularly in Rustavi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals.

Geography Note

Strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them.

Demographics

Population

4,960,951 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	19%	Male: 481,669	Female: 462,966
15-64 years:	68.2%	Male: 1,631,351	Female: 1,752,230
65 years and over:	12.8%	Male: 246,663	Female: 386,072

Growth Rate

-0.55% (2002)

Life Expectancy

64.67 years (2002)
Female: 68.32 years
Male: 61.19 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$3,100 (2001)

Infant Mortality

51.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

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:	0.64 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.91 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-2.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

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 suffers from limited resources due to a chronic failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia also suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the T'bilisi distribution network in 1998, but collection rates are low, making the venture unprofitable. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery on its role as a transit state for pipelines and trade. The start of construction on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, in the summer of 2002, brought much-needed investment and job opportunities to the country. However, rebel activity in next-door Chechnya spilled over into Georgia causing more investor fear and further drain on tax funds. Georgia hopes that by aligning itself with the U.S. on the war on terror it can gain investment (and a protector) in the aftermath.....

Unemployment

17% (2001)

Inflation Rate

4.6% (2001)

Industries

Steel, aircraft, machine tools, electric locomotives, trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes, chemicals, wood products, wine.

Exports

US$450 million (2001)

Imports

US$723 million (2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$15.5 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Turkey 22.3%, Russia 20.6%, Germany 10.4%, Azerbaijan 6.3%, Armenia 4%, US 2.2% (2000)

Top Import Partners

EU 23.8%, Turkey 16%, Russia 12.8%, US 10.1%, Germany 7.9% (2000)

Top Exports

Scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel re-exports; citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products

Top Imports

Fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals.

Debt - external

US$1.7 billion (2001)

Economic aid

Recipient: US$212.7 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	9a.m. to 6p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 7p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. until 2p.m.
Banks	10a.m. to 7p.m., with an extended break during the day that varies by locality. Some banks close early on Friday.	Some banks are open on Saturdays.
Government	9a.m. to 3p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Christmas Day (Orthodox)¹	January 7	January 7	January 7
Epiphany	January 19	January 19	January 19
Mother's Day	March 13	March 13	March 13
Easter (Orthodox)²	April 27	April 11	May 1
Independence Day	May 26	May 26	May 26
Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Mariamoba)	August 28	August 28	August 28
Svetitskhovloba	October 14	October 14	October 14
St. George's Day (Giorgoba)	November 23	November 23	November 23

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press