Georgia

semi-presidential republic

name: Tbilisi geographic coordinates: 41 41 N, 44 50 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name comes from the Georgian word tbili , meaning "warm" and referring to the hot sulfur springs in the area

chief of state: President Mikheil KAVELASHVILI (since 29 December 2024) head of government: Prime Minister Irakli KOBAKHIDZE (since 8 February 2024) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers election/appointment process: president elected by a 300-member College of Electors; prime minister nominated by Parliament, appointed by the president most recent election date: 14 December 2024 election results: 2024: Mikheil KAVELASHVILI (Georgian Dream Party) was formally inaugurated on 29 December 2024 2024: Irakli KOBAKHIDZE approved as prime minister by Parliamentary vote 84-10 2018: Salome ZOURABICHVILI elected president in second round; percent of vote in second round - Salome ZOURABICHVILI (independent, backed by Georgian Dream) 59.5%, Grigol VASHADZE (UNM) 40.5%; Irakli GARIBASHVILI approved as prime minister by Parliamentary vote 89-2 expected date of next election: 2029

legislature name: Parliament (Sakartvelos Parlamenti) legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 150 (all directly elected) electoral system: proportional representation scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 4 years most recent election date: 10/26/2024 parties elected and seats per party: Georgian Dream (89); Coalition for Changes (19); Unity - National Movement (16); Strong Georgia – Lelo, For people, For Liberty! (14); For Georgia (12) percentage of women in chamber: 16.8% expected date of next election: October 2028

highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of 28 judges organized into several specialized judicial chambers; number of judges determined by the president of Georgia); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the High Council of Justice (a 14-member body consisting of the Supreme Court chairperson, common court judges, and appointees of the president of Georgia) and appointed by Parliament; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Court judges appointed 3 each by the president, by Parliament, and by the Supreme Court judges; judges appointed for 10-year terms subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; regional (town) and district courts note: the Abkhazian and Ajarian Autonomous republics each have a supreme court and a hierarchy of lower courts

history: previous 1921, 1978 (based on 1977 Soviet Union constitution); latest approved 24 August 1995, effective 17 October 1995 amendment process: proposed as a draft law supported by more than one half of the Parliament membership or by petition of at least 200,000 voters; passage requires support by at least three fourths of the Parliament membership in two successive sessions three months apart and the signature and promulgation by the president of Georgia

ADB, BSEC, CD, CE, CPLP (associate), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-11, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

1.7% of GDP (2024 est.) 1.7% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.6% of GDP (2022 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2021 est.) 1.6% of GDP (2020 est.)

Georgian Defense Forces (GDF; aka Defense Forces of Georgia, DFG): Ground Forces, Air Force, Special Operations Forces, National Guard Ministry of Internal Affairs: Police, Border Police of Georgia, Coast Guard of Georgia (includes naval forces, which were merged with the Coast Guard in 2009) (2025)

18-35 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription was abolished in 2016, but reinstated in 2017 for men 18-27 years of age; conscript service obligation is up to 11 months depending on the assigned ministry, job specialty, and if the service is carried out in a combat unit (2025) note: conscripts serve in the Defense Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or the Ministry of Corrections

the Defense Forces of Georgia (DFG) are responsible for protecting the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the country; the DFG also provides units for multinational military operations abroad and supports the Border Police in border protection and civil authorities in counter-terrorist operations, if requested; it is focused primarily on Russia, which maintains military bases and troops in occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia; a five-day conflict with Russian forces in 2008 resulted in the defeat and expulsion of Georgian forces from the breakaway regions Georgia is not a member of NATO but has had a relationship with the Alliance since 1992 and declared its aspiration to join in 2002; the military is working to make itself more compatible with NATO and has participated in multinational exercises and security operations abroad with NATO, such as Afghanistan, where it was one of the top non-NATO contributors, and Kosovo; the DFG has also contributed troops to EU and UN missions (2025)

$91.849 billion (2024 est.) $83.935 billion (2023 est.) $77.838 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$25,000 (2024 est.) $22,600 (2023 est.) $21,000 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

9.4% (2024 est.) 7.8% (2023 est.) 11% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

1.1% (2024 est.) 2.5% (2023 est.) 11.9% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

43.4% of GDP (2023 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

$16.321 billion (2024 est.) $15.173 billion (2023 est.) $13.24 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$18.915 billion (2024 est.) $17.816 billion (2023 est.) $15.665 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

11.5% (2024 est.) 11.6% (2023 est.) 11.7% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $8.686 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $9.307 billion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

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

milk, grapes, potatoes, maize, wheat, tangerines/mandarins, tomatoes, barley, apples, eggs (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 4,900,961 (2024 est.) male: 2,343,068 female: 2,557,893

-0.45% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 20.6% (male 520,091/female 489,882) 15-64 years: 62.7% (male 1,500,036/female 1,572,637) 65 years and over: 16.7% (2024 est.) (male 322,941/female 495,374)

11.74 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

12.89 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-3.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 72.8 years (2024 est.) male: 68.7 years female: 77.2 years

urban population: 60.7% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.35% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) note: data include Abkhazia and South Ossetia

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

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) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

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.)

total population: 99.7% (2024 est.) male: 99.8% (2024 est.) female: 99.6% (2024 est.)

timber, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth

refugees: 31,791 (2024 est.) IDPs: 347,754 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 488 (2024 est.)

21 (2025)

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)

total: 26 (2023) by type: general cargo 3, other 23

total subscriptions: 5.91 million (2023 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 156 (2022 est.)

percent of population: 82% (2023 est.)