Georgia საქართველო (Georgian) Sakartvelo
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  ძალა ერთობაშია Dzala ertobashia "Strength is in Unity"
Anthem:  თავისუფლება Tavisupleba "Freedom"
Show globe Show map of Europe (claimed borders) Georgia in dark green; uncontrolled territory in light green
Capital and largest city	Tbilisi 41°43′N 44°47′E / 41.717°N 44.783°E / 41.717; 44.783
Official languages	Georgian
Recognised regional languages	Abkhaz[a]
Ethnic groups (2014)	86.8% Georgians 6.2% Azerbaijanis 4.5% Armenians 0.7% Russians 2.1% other
Religion (2014)	87.3% Christianity 83.4% Georgian Orthodoxy 3.9% other Christian 10.7% Islam 2% other / none[3]
Demonym(s)	Georgian
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• President	Salome Zourabichvili
• Prime Minister	Irakli Kobakhidze
• Chairperson of the Parliament	Shalva Papuashvili
Legislature	Parliament
Establishment history
• Colchis and Iberia	13th c. BC – 580 AD
• Kingdom of Abkhazia and Kingdom of the Iberians	786–1008
• Unification of the Georgian realm	1008
• The Tripartite division	1463–1810
• Russian annexation	12 September 1801
• Independence from the Russian Empire	26 May 1918
• Red Army invasion	12 February 1921
• Georgian SSR	25 February 1921
• Independence from the Soviet Union  • Declared  • Finalized	9 April 1991 26 December 1991
• Current constitution	24 August 1995
Area
• Total	69,700 km2 (26,900 sq mi) (119th)
Population
• 2022 estimate	3,688,647[4] 4,012,104 (126th)
• 2014 census	3,713,804[5]
• Density	57.6/km2 (149.2/sq mi) (137th)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$82.210 billion[6] (101st)
• Per capita	$22,357[6] (75th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$30.023 billion[6] (112th)
• Per capita	$8,165[6] (86th)
Gini (2021)	34.2[7] medium
HDI (2022)	0.814[8] very high (60th)
Currency	Georgian lari (₾) (GEL)
Time zone	UTC+4 (Georgia Time GET)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+995
ISO 3166 code	GE
Internet TLD	.ge, .გე
^ Not including occupied territories. ^ Including occupied territories.[citation needed]

Georgia (Georgian: საქართველო, romanized: sakartvelo, IPA: [sakʰartʰʷelo] ^ⓘ) is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe^[10][11][12] and West Asia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, Russia to the north and northeast, Turkey to the southwest, Armenia to the south, and Azerbaijan to the southeast. Georgia covers an area of 69,700 square kilometres (26,900 sq mi).^[13] It has a population of 3.7 million,^[b][14] of which over a third live in the capital and largest city, Tbilisi. Georgians, who are indigenous to the region, constitute a majority and a titular nation in Georgia.

Georgia has been inhabited since prehistoric times, hosting the world's earliest known sites of winemaking, gold mining, and textiles.^[15][16] The classical era saw the emergence of several kingdoms, such as Colchis and Iberia, that formed the nucleus of the modern Georgian state. In the early fourth century, Georgians officially adopted Christianity, which contributed to their gradual unification and ethnogenesis. In the High Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Georgia reached its Golden Age during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar. The kingdom subsequently declined and disintegrated under the hegemony of various regional powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia, before being gradually annexed into the Russian Empire starting in 1801.

After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Georgia briefly emerged as an independent republic under German protectorate,^[17] but was invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1922, becoming one of its constituent republics. In the 1980s, an independence movement grew quickly, leading to Georgia's secession from the Soviet Union in April 1991. For much of the subsequent decade, the country endured economic crises, political instability, and secessionist wars in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Following the peaceful Rose Revolution in 2003, Georgia strongly pursued a pro-Western foreign policy, introducing a series of democratic and economic reforms aimed at integration into the European Union and NATO. The country's Western orientation soon led to worsening relations with Russia, which culminated in the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 and continued Russian occupation of parts of Georgia.

Georgia is a representative democracy governed as a unitary parliamentary republic.^[18][19] It is a developing country with a very high Human Development Index. Economic reforms since independence have led to higher levels of economic freedom, as well as reductions in corruption indicators, poverty, and unemployment. Georgia is only the second country in the world to legalize cannabis, and the only former socialist state to do so. The country is a member of international organizations, including the Council of Europe, Eurocontrol, BSEC, GUAM, Energy Community. As part of the Association Trio, Georgia is a candidate for EU membership.^[20]

Etymology

Names of Georgia

Ancient Greeks (Strabo, Herodotus, Plutarch, Homer, etc.) and Romans (Titus Livius, Tacitus, etc.) referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians (Iberoi, Ἰβηροι in some Greek sources).^[21]

The first mention of the name Georgia is in Italian on the mappa mundi of Pietro Vesconte dated 1320.^[22] At the early stage of its appearance in the Latin world, the name was often spelled Jorgia.^[23] Lore-based theories were given by traveler Jacques de Vitry, who explained the name's origin by the popularity of St. George among Georgians,^[24] while Jean Chardin thought that Georgia came from the Greek γεωργός ('tiller of the land'). These centuries-old explanations for the word Georgia/Georgians are now mostly rejected by the scholarly community, who point to the Persian word gurğ/gurğān (گرگ, 'wolf'^[25]) as the likely root of the word.^[26] Under this hypothesis, the same Persian root was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages.^[26][27]

The native name is Sakartvelo (საქართველო; 'land of Kartvelians'), derived from the core central Georgian region of Kartli, recorded from the 9th century, and in extended usage referring to the entire medieval Kingdom of Georgia prior to the 13th century. The Georgian circumfix sa-X-o is a standard geographic construction designating 'the area where X dwell', where X is an ethnonym.^[28] The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi (ქართველები, i.e. 'Kartvelians'), first attested in the Umm Leisun inscription found in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth who medieval chroniclers believed to have been the root of the local name of their kingdom. However, scholars agree that the word Kartli is derived from the Karts, a proto-Kartvelian tribe that emerged as a dominant regional group in ancient times.^[26] The name Sakartvelo (საქართველო) consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i (ქართველ-ი), specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, or Iberia as it is known in sources of the Eastern Roman Empire.^[29]

State name

The official name of the country is Georgia per Article 2 of the Georgian Constitution.^[30] In Georgia's two official languages (Georgian and Abkhaz), the country is named საქართველო (Sak'art'velo) and Қырҭтәыла (Kərttʷʼəla) respectively. Prior to the adoption of the Constitution in 1995 and following the dissolution of the USSR, the country was commonly^{[citation needed]} called the "Republic of Georgia" and occasionally it still is.^[31]

Several languages continue to use the Russian variant of the country's name, Gruzia, which the Georgian authorities have sought to replace through diplomatic campaigns. Since 2006, Israel,^[32] Japan,^[33] and South Korea^[34] legally changed their appellation of the country to variants of the English Georgia.^[35] In 2020, Lithuania became the first country in the world to adopt Sakartvelas in all official communications.^[36]

History

Prehistory

The oldest traces of archaic humans in what is now Georgia date from approximately 1.8 million years ago in the form of the Dmanisi hominins, a subspecies of Homo erectus representing the oldest-known fossils of hominins in Eurasia.^[37] Buffered by the Caucasus and benefiting from the Black Sea ecosystem, the region seems to have served as a refugium throughout the Pleistocene,^[38] while the first continuous primitive settlements date back to the Middle Paleolithic, close to 200,000 years ago.^[39] During the Upper Paleolithic, settlements developed mostly in Western Georgia, in the valleys of the Rioni and Qvirila rivers.^[40]

Signs of agriculture date back to at least the 6th millennium BC, especially in Western Georgia, while the Mtkvari basin became stably populated in the 5th millennium BC, as evidenced with the rise of various cultures closely associated with the Fertile Crescent, including the Trialetian Mesolithic, the Shulaveri–Shomu culture, and the Leyla-Tepe culture.^[41] Archaeological findings show that settlements in modern-day Georgia were responsible for the first use of fibers, possibly for clothing, more than 34,000 years ago,^[42] the first cases of viticulture (7th millennium BC),^{[43][better source needed]} and the first signs of gold mining (3rd millennium BC).^[44]

The Kura-Araxes, Trialeti, and Colchian cultures coincided with the development of proto-Kartvelian tribes that may have come from Anatolia during the expansion of the Hittite Empire, including the Mushki, Laz, and Byzeres. Some historians have suggested that the collapse of the Hittite world in the Late Bronze Age led to an expansion of the influence of these tribes to the Mediterranean Sea, notably with the Kingdom of Tabal.^[45]

Antiquity

The classical period saw the rise of a number of Georgian states, including Colchis in western Georgia, where Greek mythology located the Golden Fleece sought after by the Argonauts. Archaeological evidence points to a wealthy kingdom in Colchis as early as the 14th century BC^[46] and an extensive trade network with Greek colonies on the eastern Black Sea shore (such as Dioscurias and Phasis),^[47] though, the entire region would be annexed first by Pontus and then by the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC.

Eastern Georgia remained a decentralized mosaic of various clans (ruled by individual mamasakhlisi) until the 4th century BC when it was conquered by Alexander the Great, eventually leading to the creation of the Kingdom of Iberia under the protectorate of the Seleucid Empire, an early example of advanced state organization under one king and an aristocratic hierarchy.^[48] Various wars with the Roman Empire, Parthia, and Armenia made Iberia regularly change its allegiance, though it remained a Roman client state for most of its history.

In 337, King Mirian III adopted Christianity as the state religion of Iberia, beginning the christianization of the Western Caucasus region and solidly anchoring it in Rome's sphere of influence by abandoning the ancient Georgian polytheistic religion heavily influenced by Zoroastrianism.^[49] However, the Peace of Acilisene in 384 formalized the Sasanian control over the entire Caucasus, though Christian rulers of Iberia sought to rebel at times, leading to devastating wars in the 5–6th centuries, most famously under the rule of King Vakhtang Gorgasali who expanded Iberia to its largest historical extent by capturing all of western Georgia and building a new capital in Tbilisi.

Medieval unification of Georgia

In 580, the Sasanian Empire abolished the Kingdom of Iberia, leading to the disintegration of its constituent territories into various feudal regions by the early Middle Ages. The Roman–Persian Wars plunged the region into chaos, with both Persia and Constantinople supporting various warring factions in the Caucasus; however, the Byzantine Empire was able to establish control over Georgian territories by the end of the 6th century, ruling Iberia indirectly through a local Kouropalates.^[50]

In 645, the Arabs invaded southeastern Georgia, starting an extended period of Muslim domination in the region and leading to the establishment of several feudal states seeking independence from each other, such as the Emirate of Tbilisi and the Principality of Kakheti.^[51] Western Georgia remained mostly a Byzantine protectorate, especially following the Lazic War.^[52]

The lack of a central government in Georgia allowed the rise of the Bagrationi dynasty in the early 9th century. Consolidating lands in the southwestern region of Tao-Klarjeti, Prince Ashot I (813–830) used infighting between Arab governors to expand his influence to Iberia and was recognized as Presiding Prince of Iberia by both the Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire. Though Ashot's descendants formed competing princely lines, Adarnase IV managed to unify most Georgian lands (except for Kakheti and Abkhazia) and was crowned King of the Iberians in 888, restoring the monarchy abolished three centuries prior.^[53]

In Western Georgia, the Kingdom of Abkhazia benefited from the weakening of Byzantium in the region to unify various tribes and become one of the most powerful states of the Caucasus in the 8th century.^[54] In the 9th-10th centuries, Abkhazia grew its influence through several military campaigns and came to control much of Iberia and competing with the Bagrationi. Dynastic conflicts eventually weakened Abkhazia in the second half of the 10th century while in Tao-Klarjeti, Prince David III used his influence within Byzantine Anatolia to empower the Bagrationi. Bagrat III, heir of the Bagrationi dynasty, successively became King of Abkhazia (978), Prince of Tao-Klarjeti (1000), and King of the Iberians (1008), allowing him to unify most Georgian feudal states and be crowned in 1010 as King of Georgia.

Golden Age and Division

For much of the 11th century, the nascent Georgian kingdom experienced geopolitical and internal difficulties, with various noble factions opposed to the centralization of the Georgian state. They were often backed by the Byzantine Empire, which feared a dominion of the Caucasus region by the Bagrationi dynasty, and in some instances fueled internal conflict through aristocratic families seeking more power. However, ties between Byzantium and Georgia were normalized when the two countries faced a new common enemy, the rising Seljuk Empire in the 1060s. Following the decisive Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Constantinople started to retreat from eastern Anatolia and entrusted Georgia with its administration, placing Georgia at the forefront of Turkish in the 1080s.

The Kingdom of Georgia reached its zenith in the 12th to early 13th centuries. This period during the reigns of David IV (r. 1089–1125) and his great-granddaughter Tamar (r. 1184–1213) has been widely termed as the Georgian Golden Age.^[55] This early Georgian renaissance, which preceded its Western European analogue, was characterized by impressive military victories, territorial expansion, and a cultural renaissance in architecture, literature, philosophy and the sciences.^[56] The Golden Age of Georgia left a legacy of great cathedrals, romantic poetry and literature, and the epic poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin, considered a national epic.^[57][58]

David IV suppressed dissent of feudal lords and centralized power in his hands to effectively deal with foreign threats. In 1121, he decisively defeated much larger Turkish armies during the Battle of Didgori and abolished the Emirate of Tbilisi.^[59]

The 29-year reign of Tamar, the first female ruler of Georgia, is considered the most successful in Georgian history.^[61] Tamar was given the title "king of kings"^[60] and succeeded in neutralizing her opposition, while embarking on an energetic foreign policy aided by the downfall of the rival powers of the Seljuks and Byzantium. Supported by a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire which dominated the Caucasus, and extended over large parts of present-day Azerbaijan, Armenia, eastern Turkey, and northern Iran, and used the vacuum of power left by the Fourth Crusade to create the Empire of Trebizond as a Georgian vassal state.^[62]

The revival of the Kingdom of Georgia was set back after Tbilisi was captured and destroyed by the Khwarezmian leader Jalal ad-Din in 1226,^[63] followed by devastating invasions by Mongol ruler Genghis Khan. The Mongols were expelled by George V the Brilliant (r. 1299–1302), known for reuniting eastern and western Georgia and restoring the country's previous strength and Christian culture. After his death, local rulers fought for their independence from central Georgian rule, until the total disintegration of the kingdom in the 15th century. Georgia was further weakened by several disastrous invasions by Timur. Invasions continued, giving the kingdom no time for restoration, with both Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu Turkomans constantly raiding its southern provinces.

Tripartite division

The Kingdom of Georgia collapsed into anarchy by 1466 and fragmented into three independent kingdoms and five semi-independent principalities. Neighboring large empires subsequently exploited the internal division of the weakened country, and beginning in the 16th century, various Ottoman and Iranian forces subjugated western and eastern regions of Georgia, respectively.^[64] This pushed local Georgian rulers to seek closer ties with Russia. In 1649, the Kingdom of Imereti sent ambassadors to the Russian royal court, with Russia returning the favor in 1651. In the presence of these ambassadors, Alexander III of Imereti swore an oath of allegiance to Tsar Alexis of Russia on behalf of Imereti.^[65] Subsequent rulers also sought assistance from Pope Innocent XII but without success.^[66]

The rulers of regions that remained partly autonomous organized rebellions on various occasions. As a result of incessant Ottoman–Persian Wars and deportations, the population of Georgia dwindled to 784,700 inhabitants at the end of the 18th century.^[67] Eastern Georgia, composed of the regions of Kartli and Kakheti, had been under Iranian suzerainty since the Peace of Amasya signed with neighbouring rivalling Ottoman Turkey (Safavid Georgia). With the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II, who succeeded in stabilizing Eastern Georgia to a degree.^[68]

In 1783, Russia and the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti signed the Treaty of Georgievsk, which made eastern Georgia a protectorate of Russia, guaranteed its territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning Bagrationi dynasty in return for prerogatives in the conduct of Georgian foreign affairs.^[69]

Despite its commitment to defend Georgia, Russia rendered no assistance when the Iranians invaded in 1795, capturing and sacking Tbilisi and massacring its inhabitants.^[70] Although Russia initiated a punitive campaign against Persia in 1796, the Russian Imperial authorities subsequently violated key promises of the Georgievsk Treaty and in 1801 proceeded to annex eastern Georgia, while abolishing the Georgian royal Bagrationi dynasty, as well as the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Pyotr Bagration, one of the descendants of the abolished house of Bagrationi, later joined the Russian army and became a prominent general in the Napoleonic wars.^[71]

Within the Russian Empire

On 22 December 1800, Tsar Paul I of Russia, at the alleged request of the Georgian King George XII, signed the proclamation on the incorporation of Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti) within the Russian Empire, which was finalized by a decree on 8 January 1801,^[72][73] and confirmed by Tsar Alexander I on 12 September 1801.^[74][75] The Bagrationi royal family was deported from the kingdom. The Georgian envoy in Saint Petersburg reacted with a note of protest that was presented to the Russian vice-chancellor, Prince Kurakin.^[76]

In May 1801, under the oversight of General Carl Heinrich von Knorring, Imperial Russia transferred power in eastern Georgia to the government headed by General Ivan Petrovich Lazarev.^[77] The Georgian nobility did not accept the decree until 12 April 1802, when Knorring assembled the nobility at the Sioni Cathedral and forced them to take an oath on the Imperial Crown of Russia. Those who disagreed were temporarily arrested.^[78]

In the summer of 1805, Russian troops on the Askerani River near Zagam defeated the Iranian army during the 1804–13 Russo-Persian War and saved Tbilisi from reconquest now that it was officially part of the Imperial territories. Russian suzerainty over eastern Georgia was officially finalized with Iran in 1813 following the Treaty of Gulistan.^[79] Following the annexation of eastern Georgia, the western Georgian kingdom of Imereti was annexed by Tsar Alexander I. The last Imeretian king and the last Georgian Bagrationi ruler, Solomon II, died in exile in 1815, after attempts to rally people against Russia and to enlist foreign support against the latter, had been in vain.^[80]

From 1803 to 1878, as a result of numerous Russian wars now against Ottoman Turkey, several of Georgia's previously lost territories – such as Adjara – were recovered, and also incorporated into the empire. The principality of Guria was abolished and incorporated into the Empire in 1829, while Svaneti was gradually annexed in 1858. Mingrelia, although a Russian protectorate since 1803, was not absorbed until 1867.^[81]

Russian rule offered the Georgians security from external threats, but it was also often heavy-handed and insensitive. By the late 19th century, discontent with the Russian authorities grew into a national revival movement led by Ilia Chavchavadze. This period also brought social and economic change to Georgia, with new social classes emerging: the emancipation of the serfs freed many peasants but did little to alleviate their poverty; the growth of capitalism created an urban working class in Georgia. Both peasants and workers found expression for their discontent through revolts and strikes, culminating in the Revolution of 1905. Their cause was championed by the socialist Mensheviks, who became the dominant political force in Georgia in the final years of Russian rule.

Declaration of independence

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was established with Nikolay Chkheidze acting as its president. The federation consisted of three nations: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.^[17] As the Ottomans advanced into the Caucasian territories of the crumbling Russian Empire, Georgia declared independence on 26 May 1918.^[82] The Menshevik Social Democratic Party of Georgia won the parliamentary election and its leader, Noe Zhordania, became prime minister. Despite the Soviet takeover, Zhordania was recognized as the legitimate head of the Georgian Government by France, UK, Belgium, and Poland through the 1930s.^[83]

The 1918 Georgian–Armenian War, which erupted over parts of disputed provinces between Armenia and Georgia populated mostly by Armenians, ended because of British intervention. In 1918–1919, Georgian general Giorgi Mazniashvili led an attack against the White Army led by Moiseev and Denikin to claim the Black Sea coastline from Tuapse to Sochi and Adler for the independent Georgia.^[84] In 1920 Soviet Russia recognized Georgia's independence with the Treaty of Moscow. But the recognition proved to be of little value, as the Red Army invaded Georgia in 1921 and formally annexed it into the Soviet Union in 1922.^[82]

Soviet Socialist Republic

In February 1921, during the Russian Civil War, the Red Army advanced into Georgia and brought the local Bolsheviks to power. The Georgian army was defeated, and the Social Democratic government fled the country. On 25 February 1921, the Red Army entered Tbilisi and established a government of workers' and peasants' soviets with Filipp Makharadze as acting head of state. Georgia was incorporated into what would soon become the Soviet Union. Soviet rule was firmly established only after local insurrections were defeated.^[85] Georgia would remain an unindustrialized periphery of the USSR until the first five-year plan when it became a major centre for textile goods.

Joseph Stalin, an ethnic Georgian, was prominent among the Bolsheviks.^[86] Stalin was to rise to the highest position, leading the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death on 5 March 1953.

In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union on an immediate course towards Caucasian oil fields and munitions factories. They never reached Georgia, however, and almost 700,000 Georgians fought in the Red Army to repel the invaders and advance towards Berlin. Of them, an estimated 350,000 were killed.^[87]

After Stalin's death, Nikita Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union and implemented a policy of de-Stalinization. Khrushchev's purges were met with riots, which had to be dispersed by military force. This violent turn of events that compromised Georgian loyalty to the Soviet Union, contributing to the nation's consolidation.^[88] 1978 Georgian demonstrations saw the return of mass anti-Soviet protests, but this time government backed down.

Throughout the remainder of the Soviet period, Georgia's economy continued to grow and experience significant improvement, though it increasingly exhibited blatant corruption and alienation of the government from the people. With the beginning of perestroika in 1986, the Georgian Soviet leadership proved so incapable of handling the changes that most Georgians, including rank and file communists, concluded that the only way forward was a break from the existing Soviet system.

Restoration of independence

Starting in 1988, mass protests erupted in Georgia in favor of independence, led by Georgian nationalists such as Merab Kostava and Zviad Gamsakhurdia. The following year, the brutal suppression by Soviet forces of a large peaceful demonstration held in Tbilisi on 4–9 April 1989 proved to be a pivotal event in discrediting the continuation of Soviet rule over the country.^[89]

In October 1990, the first multi-party elections were held in Soviet Georgia, which turned out to be the first multi-party elections in the entire Soviet Union, in which the opposition groups were registered as formal political parties.^[90] The Round Table—Free Georgia coalition led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia secured victory in this election and formed a new government. On 9 April 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Council of Georgia declared independence after a referendum held on 31 March.^[91] Georgia was the first non-Baltic republic of the Soviet Union to officially declare independence,^[92] with Romania becoming the first country to recognize Georgia in August 1991.^[93] On 26 May, Gamsakhurdia was elected president in the first presidential election with 86.5% of the vote on a turnout of over 83%.^[94]

Gamsakhurdia was soon deposed in a bloody coup d'état, from 22 December 1991 to 6 January 1992. The coup was instigated by part of the National Guard and a paramilitary organization called "Mkhedrioni" ("horsemen"). The country then became embroiled in a bitter civil war, which lasted until 1994. Simmering disputes within two regions of Georgia; Abkhazia and South Ossetia, between local separatists and the majority Georgian populations, erupted into widespread inter-ethnic violence and wars.^[95] Supported by Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia achieved de facto independence from Georgia, with Georgia retaining control only in small areas of the disputed territories.^[95] Eduard Shevardnadze (Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1991) returned to Georgia in 1992 and was elected as head of state in that year's elections, and as president in 1995.^[96]

During the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), roughly 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians^[97] were expelled from Abkhazia by Abkhaz separatists and North Caucasian volunteers (including Chechens). Around 23,000 Georgians fled South Ossetia while 100,000 Ossetians fled Georgia.^[98]

In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won re-election in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud.^[99] The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shevardnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004.^[100]

Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms were launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities, as well as to reorient its foreign policy westwards. The new government's efforts to reassert Georgian authority in the southwestern autonomous republic of Adjara led to a major crisis in 2004.^[101]

The country's newly pro-Western stance, along with accusations of Georgian involvement in the Second Chechen War,^[102] resulted in a severe deterioration of relations with Russia, fuelled also by Russia's open assistance and support to the two secessionist areas. Despite these increasingly difficult relations, in May 2005 Georgia and Russia reached a bilateral agreement^[103] by which Russian military bases (dating back to the Soviet era) in Batumi and Akhalkalaki were withdrawn. Russia withdrew all personnel and equipment from these sites by December 2007^[104] while failing to withdraw from the Gudauta base in Abkhazia, which it was required to vacate after the adoption of the Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty during the 1999 Istanbul summit.^[105]

Russo-Georgian War

There was a Russo-Georgian diplomatic crisis in April 2008.^[106][107] A bomb explosion on 1 August 2008 targeted a car transporting Georgian peacekeepers. South Ossetians were responsible for instigating this incident, which marked the opening of hostilities and injured five Georgian servicemen, then several South Ossetian militiamen were killed by snipers.^[108][109] South Ossetian separatists began shelling Georgian villages on 1 August. These artillery bombardments caused Georgian servicemen to return fire periodically.^{[106][109][110][111][112]}

On 7 August 2008, the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili announced a unilateral ceasefire and called for peace talks.^[113] More attacks on Georgian villages (located in the South Ossetian conflict zone) were soon matched with gunfire from Georgian troops, who then proceeded to move in the direction of the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia (Tskhinvali) on the night of 8 August, reaching its centre in the morning of 8 August.^{[114][115][116]} According to Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer, the Ossetian provocation was aimed at triggering Georgian retaliation, which was needed as a pretext for a Russian military invasion.^[117] According to Georgian intelligence and several Russian media reports, parts of the regular (non-peacekeeping) Russian Army had already moved to South Ossetian territory through the Roki Tunnel before the Georgian military action.^[118][119]

Russia accused Georgia of "aggression against South Ossetia" and began a large land, air and sea invasion of Georgia under the pretext of a "peace enforcement" operation on 8 August 2008.^[120][111] Abkhaz forces opened a second front on 9 August with the Battle of the Kodori Valley, an attack on the Kodori Gorge, held by Georgia.^[121] Tskhinvali was seized by the Russian military by 10 August.^[122] Russian forces occupied Georgian cities beyond the disputed territories.^[123]

During the conflict, there was a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Georgians in South Ossetia, including destruction of Georgian settlements after the war had ended.^[124][125] The war displaced 192,000 people and while many were able to return to their homes after the war, a year later around 30,000 ethnic Georgians remained displaced.^[126][127] In an interview published in Kommersant, South Ossetian leader Eduard Kokoity said he would not allow Georgians to return.^[128][129]

The President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, negotiated a ceasefire agreement on 12 August 2008.^[130] Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August.^[131] The Georgian government severed diplomatic relations with Russia.^[132] Russian forces left the buffer areas bordering Abkhazia and South Ossetia on 8 October and the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia was dispatched to the buffer areas.^[133][134] Since the war, Georgia has maintained that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are occupied Georgian territories.^[135][136]

Georgian Dream government (2012–present)

In preparation for the 2012 parliamentary elections, Georgia implemented constitutional reforms to switch to a parliamentary democracy, moving executive powers from the President to the Prime Minister.^[137] The transition was set to start with the October 2012 parliamentary elections and to be completed with the 2013 presidential elections. Against the expectations of the ruling United National Movement (UNM) of president Mikheil Saakashvili, a 6-party coalition centred around the newly founded Georgian Dream party won the parliamentary elections in October 2012, bringing an end to nine years of UNM rule and marking the first peaceful electoral transfer of power in Georgia. President Saakashvili acknowledged the defeat of his party on the following day.^[138] Georgian Dream was founded, led and financed by tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country's richest man, who was subsequently elected by parliament as new Prime Minister.^[139] Due to the incomplete transition to parliamentary democracy, a year of uneasy cohabitation between Ivanishvili and Saakashvili followed until the presidential election in October 2013,^[140][141] which was won by Giorgi Margvelashvili from the Georgian Dream party.^[142] With the completed transfer of power, Prime Minister Ivanishvili stepped aside and named one of his close business associates, Irakli Garibashvili, as the next prime minister.^[143] Ivanishvili has since been called the informal leader of Georgia, arranging political reappointments from behind the scenes.^[144] Saakashvili left Georgia shortly after the election. In 2018 he was convicted in absentia on corruption charges and abuse of power, which he denied.^[145]

Georgian Dream won the parliamentary elections with 48.61% of the vote while UNM received 27.04%.^[146] As result of the mixed proportional-majoritarian voting system, this translated into a parliamentary supermajority of 115 out of 150 seats (77%). This electoral imbalance became a key issue of political and civil society strife in the following years.^{[147][148][149]} In the 2018 presidential election, the Georgian Dream party backed Salome Zurabishvili, who won in the second round, becoming the first woman in Georgia to hold the office in full capacity.^[150] This was the last direct election of a Georgian president, as additional constitutional reforms removed the popular vote.^[151]

After international mediation to overcome the deep political crisis in the runup to the 2020 parliamentary elections, an amended electoral system was adopted, specifically for the 2020 elections.^[152] Nine parties were elected to parliament. Georgian Dream secured over 48% of votes, which translated into 90 out of 150 seats. They were thus able to continue to govern alone. The opposition made accusations of fraud, which Georgian Dream denied. Thousands of people gathered outside the Central Election Commission to demand a new vote.^[153] This led to a new political crisis that was (temporarily) resolved by an EU brokered agreement,^[154] from which the Georgian Dream later withdrew.^[155] In February 2021, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned and Irakli Garibashvili became Prime Minister once more.^[156]

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Georgia has topped the list of countries which Russian exiles departed to after the war began; Russians are allowed to stay in Georgia for at least one year without a visa, though many Georgians view the presence of more Russian citizens in Georgia as a security risk.^[157]

Government and politics

Salome Zourabichvili President	Irakli Kobakhidze Prime Minister

Georgia is a representative democratic parliamentary republic, with the President as the largely ceremonial^[158] head of state, and Prime Minister as the head of government. The executive branch of power is made up of the Cabinet of Georgia. The Cabinet is composed of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, and appointed by the Parliament. Salome Zurabishvili is the current President of Georgia after winning 59.52% of the vote in the 2018 Georgian presidential election. Since February 2021, Irakli Gharibashvili has been the prime minister of Georgia.

Legislative authority is vested in the Parliament of Georgia. It is unicameral and has 150 members, known as deputies, of whom 30 are elected by plurality to represent single-member districts, and 120 are chosen to represent parties by proportional representation. Members of parliament are elected for four-year terms.

Different opinions exist regarding the degree of political freedom in Georgia. Saakashvili believed in 2008 that the country is "on the road to becoming a European democracy."^[159] In their 2022 report^[update] Freedom House lists Georgia as a partly free country, recognizing a trajectory of democratic improvement surrounding the 2012–13 transfer of power, yet observing a gradual backslide in later years.^[160] In their Democracy Index 2021 report^[update] the Economist Intelligence Unit classifies Georgia as a hybrid regime which is above the threshold for an authoritarian regime but below the threshold needed to be classified as a flawed democracy.^[161]

Foreign relations

The explicit western orientation of Georgia, deepening political ties with the US and European Union, notably through its EU and NATO membership aspirations, the US Train and Equip military assistance programme, and the construction of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline, increasingly strained Tbilisi's relations with Moscow in the early 2000s. Georgia's decision to boost its presence in the coalition forces in Iraq was an important initiative.^[162] The European Union has identified Georgia as a prospective member,^[163] and Georgia has sought membership.^[164]

Georgia is currently working to become a full member of NATO. In August 2004, the Individual Partnership Action Plan of Georgia was submitted officially to NATO. On 29 October 2004, the North Atlantic Council of NATO approved the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) of Georgia, and Georgia moved on to the second stage of Euro-Atlantic Integration. In 2005, the agreement on the appointment of Partnership for Peace (PfP) liaison officer between Georgia and NATO came into force, whereby a liaison officer for the South Caucasus was assigned to Georgia. On 2 March 2005, the agreement was signed on the provision of the host nation support to and transit of NATO forces and NATO personnel. On 6–9 March 2006, the IPAP implementation interim assessment team arrived in Tbilisi. On 13 April 2006, the discussion of the assessment report on implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan was held at NATO Headquarters, within 26+1 format.^[165] In 2009 the Georgia-NATO Interparliamentary Council was created within the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to hold twice yearly meetings to discuss all aspects of Georgia-NATO cooperation. The majority of Georgians and politicians in Georgia support the push for NATO membership.^[166]

In 2011, the North Atlantic Council designated Georgia as an "aspirant country".^[167] Since 2014, Georgia–NATO relations are guided by the Substantial NATO–Georgia Package (SNGP), which includes the NATO–Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Centre and facilitation of multi-national and regional military drills.^[168]

In September 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "NATO approaching our borders is a threat to Russia."^[169] He was quoted as saying that if NATO accepts Georgian membership with the article on collective defence covering only Tbilisi-administered territory (i.e., excluding the Georgian territories Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are currently Russian-supported unrecognized breakaway republics), "we will not start a war, but such conduct will undermine our relations with NATO and with countries who are eager to enter the alliance."^[170]

George W. Bush became the first sitting US president to visit the country.^[171] The street leading to Tbilisi International Airport has since been dubbed George W. Bush Avenue.^[172] On 2 October 2006, Georgia and the European Union signed a joint statement on the agreed text of the Georgia–European Union Action Plan within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The Action Plan was formally approved at the EU–Georgia Cooperation Council session on 14 November 2006, in Brussels.^[173] In June 2014, the EU and Georgia signed an Association Agreement, which entered into force on 1 July 2016.^[174] On 13 December 2016, EU and Georgia reached the agreement on visa liberalization for Georgian citizens.^[175] On 27 February 2017, the Council adopted a regulation on visa liberalization for Georgians travelling to the EU for a period of stay of 90 days in any 180-day period.^[176]

Georgia applied for EU membership on 3 March 2022, soon after the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[177]

On 14 December 2023, Georgia was granted EU Candidate status by the European Council. Charles Michel said that "EUCO granted candidate status to Georgia and that the council decided to open accession negotiations to Ukraine and Moldova".^{[178][179][180][181]} Georgia is currently an EU candidate.

Military

Georgia's military is organized into land and air forces collectively known as the Georgian Defense Forces (GDF). The mission and functions of the GDF are based on the Constitution of Georgia, Georgia's Law on Defense and National Military Strategy, and international agreements to which Georgia is signatory.^{[citation needed]} As of 2021, Georgia's military budget was 900₾ ($280) million, of which newly two-thirds is allocated for maintaining defence forces readiness and potency development.^[182] After its independence from the Soviet Union, Georgia began to develop its own military industry, namely through the state owned STC Delta.^[183] The country produces a range of indigenous military equipment, including armoured vehicles, artillery systems, aviation systems, personal protection equipment, and small arms.^[184]

Georgian military personnel have served in several international operations. During later periods of the Iraq War, Georgia had up to 2,000 soldiers serving in the American-led Multi-National Force.^[185] Georgia also participated in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan; with 1,560 troops in 2013, it was at that time the largest contributor among non-NATO countries^[186] and in per capita terms.^[187][188] Over 11,000 Georgian soldiers rotated through Afghanistan during the course of the war,^[189] of whom 32 were killed,^[190] most of them during the Helmand campaign, and 435 were wounded, including 35 amputees.^[191][192]

Law enforcement

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia is charged with internal law enforcement. In recent years, the Patrol Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has undergone a radical transformation, with the police having now absorbed a great many duties previously performed by dedicated independent government agencies. New duties performed by the police include border security and customs functions and contracted security provision; the latter function is performed by the dedicated 'security police'.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, President Mikheil Saakashvili fired the entire traffic police force (numbering around 30,000 police officers) of the Georgian National Police due to corruption.^[193][194] A new force was then subsequently built around new recruits.^[193] The U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law-Enforcement Affairs has provided assistance to the training efforts and continues to act in an advisory capacity.^[195]

The new Patruli force was first introduced in the summer of 2005 to replace the traffic police, a force which was accused of widespread corruption.^[196] The police introduced a 0–2–2 (currently, 1–1–2) emergency dispatch service in 2004.^[197]

Corruption

Prior to the Rose Revolution, Georgia was among the most corrupt countries in the world.^[198] However, following the reforms brought by the peaceful revolution, corruption in the country abated dramatically. In 2010, Transparency International (TI) named Georgia "the best corruption-buster in the world."^[199] In 2012, the World Bank called Georgia a "unique success" of the world in fighting corruption, noting "Georgia's experience shows that the vicious cycle of endemic corruption can be broken and, with appropriate and decisive reforms, can be turned into a virtuous cycle."^[200]

Although Georgia has been very successful in reducing blatant forms of corruption, other more subtle corrupt practices have been noted. For example, in its 2017 report, Council of Europe observed that while most day-to-day corruption has been eliminated, there are some indications of a "clientelistic system" whereby the country's leadership may allocate resources in ways that generate the loyalty and support it needs to stay in power.^[201] Since 2012 stagnation in corruption fighting efforts can be observed, according to Transparency International.^[202] Since 2016 the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index hovers around 56 out of 100 points. In comparison, that places Georgia in the top 50 out of 180 countries, among Central European and Mediterranean EU member states.^[203]

Human rights

Human rights in Georgia are guaranteed by the country's constitution. There is an independent human rights public defender elected by the Parliament of Georgia to ensure such rights are enforced.^[204] Georgia has ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 2005. NGO "Tolerance", in its alternative report about its implementation, speaks of a rapid decrease in the number of Azerbaijani schools and cases of appointing headmasters to Azerbaijani schools who do not speak the Azerbaijani language.^[205]

The government came under criticism for its alleged use of excessive force on 26 May 2011 when it dispersed protesters led by Nino Burjanadze, among others, with tear gas and rubber bullets after they refused to clear Rustaveli Avenue for an independence day parade despite the expiration of their demonstration permit and despite being offered to choose an alternative venue.^{[206][207][208][209]} While human rights activists maintained that the protests were peaceful, the government pointed out that many protesters were masked and armed with heavy sticks and molotov cocktails.^[210] Georgian opposition leader Nino Burjanadze said the accusations of planning a coup were baseless, and that the protesters' actions were legitimate.^[209][211]

Since independence, Georgia maintained harsh policies against drugs, handing out lengthy sentences even for marijuana use. This came under criticism from human rights activists^[212] and led to protests.^[213] In response to lawsuits from civil society organizations, in 2018 the Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled that "consumption of marijuana is an action protected by the right to free personality"^[214] and that " can only harm the user's health, making that user him/herself responsible for the outcome. The responsibility for such actions does not cause dangerous consequences for the public."^[215] With this ruling, Georgia became one of the first countries in the world to legalize cannabis, although using the drug in the presence of children is still illegal and punishable by fines or imprisonment.^[216]

Administrative divisions

Georgia is administratively divided into 9 regions, 1 capital region, and 2 autonomous republics. These in turn are subdivided into 67 districts and 5 self-governing cities.^[217]

Georgia contains two official autonomous regions, of which one has declared independence. Officially autonomous within Georgia,^[218] the de facto independent region of Abkhazia declared independence in 1999.^[219] In addition, another territory not officially autonomous has also declared independence. South Ossetia is officially known by Georgia as the Tskinvali region, as it views "South Ossetia" as implying political bonds with Russian North Ossetia.^[220] It was called South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast when Georgia was part of Soviet Union. Its autonomous status was revoked in 1990. De facto separate since Georgian independence, offers were made to give South Ossetia autonomy again, but in 2006 an unrecognized referendum in the area resulted in a vote for independence.^[220]

In both Abkhazia and South Ossetia large numbers of people had been given Russian passports, some through a process of forced passportization by Russian authorities.^[221] This was used as a justification for Russian invasion of Georgia during the 2008 South Ossetia war after which Russia recognized the region's independence.^[222] Georgia considers the regions as occupied by Russia.^[135][223] The two self-declared republics gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Most countries consider the regions to be Georgian territory under Russian occupation.^[224]

Region	Centre	Area (km2)	Population[5]	Density
Abkhazia	Sukhumi	8,660	242,862est	28.04
Adjara	Batumi	2,880	333,953	115.95
Guria	Ozurgeti	2,033	113,350	55.75
Imereti	Kutaisi	6,475	533,906	82.45
Kakheti	Telavi	11,311	318,583	28.16
Kvemo Kartli	Rustavi	6,072	423,986	69.82
Mtskheta-Mtianeti	Mtskheta	6,786	94,573	13.93
Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti	Ambrolauri	4,990	32,089	6.43
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti	Zugdidi	7,440	330,761	44.45
Samtskhe-Javakheti	Akhaltsikhe	6,413	160,504	25.02
Shida Kartli	Gori	5,729	300,382est	52.43
Tbilisi	Tbilisi	720	1,108,717	1,539.88

Geography

Georgia is a mountainous country situated almost entirely in the South Caucasus, while some slivers of the country are situated north of the Caucasus Watershed in the North Caucasus.^[225][226] The country lies between latitudes 41° and 44° N, and longitudes 40° and 47° E, with an area of 67,900 km² (26,216 sq mi). The Likhi Range divides the country into eastern and western halves.^[227] Historically, the western portion of Georgia was known as Colchis while the eastern plateau was called Iberia.^[228]

The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range forms the northern border of Georgia.^[227] The main roads through the mountain range into Russian territory lead through the Roki Tunnel between Shida Kartli and North Ossetia and the Darial Gorge (in the Georgian region of Khevi). The southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains.^[227] The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range is much higher in elevation than the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 metres (16,404 ft) above sea level.

The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,203 metres (17,070 ft), and the second highest is Mount Janga at 5,059 m (16,598 ft) above sea level. Other prominent peaks include Mount Kazbek at 5,047 m (16,558 ft), Shota Rustaveli Peak 4,960 m (16,273 ft), Tetnuldi 4,858 m (15,938 ft), Ushba 4,700 m (15,420 ft), and Ailama 4,547 m (14,918 ft).^[227] Out of the abovementioned peaks, only Kazbek is of volcanic origin. The region between Kazbek and Shkhara (a distance of about 200 km (124 mi) along the Main Caucasus Range) is dominated by numerous glaciers.^[228]

The term Lesser Caucasus Mountains is often used to describe the mountainous (highland) areas of southern Georgia that are connected to the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range by the Likhi Range.^[227] The overall region can be characterized as being made up of various, interconnected mountain ranges (largely of volcanic origin) and plateaus that do not exceed 3,400 metres (11,155 ft) in elevation. Prominent features of the area include the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau, lakes, including Tabatskuri and Paravani, as well as mineral water and hot springs. Two major rivers in Georgia are the Rioni and the Mtkvari.^[228]

Topography

The landscape within the nation's boundaries is quite varied. Western Georgia's landscape ranges from low-land marsh-forests, swamps, and temperate rainforests to eternal snows and glaciers, while the eastern part of the country even contains a small segment of semi-arid plains.^[228]

Much of the natural habitat in the low-lying areas of western Georgia has disappeared during the past 100 years because of the agricultural development of the land and urbanization. The large majority of the forests that covered the Colchis plain are now virtually non-existent with the exception of the regions that are included in the national parks and reserves (e.g. Lake Paliastomi area). At present, the forest cover generally remains outside of the low-lying areas and is mainly located along the foothills and the mountains. Western Georgia's forests consist mainly of deciduous trees below 600 metres (1,969 ft) above sea level and contain species such as oak, hornbeam, beech, elm, ash, and chestnut. Evergreen species such as box may also be found in many areas. Ca. 1000 of all 4000 higher plants of Georgia are endemic to this country.^[229]

The west-central slopes of the Meskheti Range in Ajaria as well as several locations in Samegrelo and Abkhazia are covered by temperate rain forests. Between 600–1,000 metres (1,969–3,281 ft) above sea level, the deciduous forest becomes mixed with both broad-leaf and coniferous species making up the plant life. The zone is made up mainly of beech, spruce, and fir forests. From 1,500–1,800 metres (4,921–5,906 ft), the forest becomes largely coniferous. The tree line generally ends at around 1,800 metres (5,906 ft) and the alpine zone takes over, which in most areas, extends up to an elevation of 3,000 metres (9,843 ft) above sea level.^[228] Eastern Georgia's landscape (referring to the territory east of the Likhi Range) is considerably different from that of the west, although, much like the Colchis plain in the west, nearly all of the low-lying areas of eastern Georgia including the Mtkvari and Alazani River plains have been deforested for agricultural purposes.^{[citation needed]} The general landscape of eastern Georgia comprises numerous valleys and gorges that are separated by mountains. In contrast with western Georgia, nearly 85 per cent of the forests of the region are deciduous. Coniferous forests only dominate in the Borjomi Gorge and in the extreme western areas. Out of the deciduous species of trees, beech, oak, and hornbeam dominate. Other deciduous species include several varieties of maple, aspen, ash, and hazelnut.^[228]

At higher elevations above 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) above sea level (particularly in the Tusheti, Khevsureti, and Khevi regions), pine and birch forests dominate. In general, the forests in eastern Georgia occur between 500–2,000 metres (1,640–6,562 ft) above sea level, with the alpine zone extending from 2,000–2,300 to 3,000–3,500 metres (6,562–7,546 to 9,843–11,483 ft). The only remaining large, low-land forests remain in the Alazani Valley of Kakheti.^[228]

Climate

The climate of Georgia is extremely diverse, considering the nation's small size. There are two main climatic zones, roughly corresponding to the eastern and western parts of the country. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range plays an important role in moderating Georgia's climate and protects the nation from the penetration of colder air masses from the north. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains partially protect the region from the influence of dry and hot air masses from the south.^[230]

Much of western Georgia lies within the northern periphery of the humid subtropical zone with annual precipitation ranging from 1,000–2,500 mm (39–98 in), reaching a maximum during the Autumn months. The climate of the region varies significantly with elevation and while much of the lowland areas of western Georgia are relatively warm throughout the year, the foothills and mountainous areas (including both the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains) experience cool, wet summers and snowy winters (snow cover often exceeds 2 metres or 6 feet 7 inches in many regions).^[230]

Eastern Georgia has a transitional climate from humid subtropical to continental. The region's weather patterns are influenced both by dry Caspian air masses from the east and humid Black Sea air masses from the west. The penetration of humid air masses from the Black Sea is often blocked by mountain ranges (Likhi and Meskheti) that separate the eastern and western parts of the nation.^[228] The wettest periods generally occur during spring and autumn, while winter and summer months tend to be the driest. Much of eastern Georgia experiences hot summers (especially in the low-lying areas) and relatively cold winters. As in the western parts of the nation, elevation plays an important role in eastern Georgia where climatic conditions above 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) are considerably colder than in the low-lying areas.^[228]

Biodiversity

Because of its high landscape diversity and low latitude, Georgia is home to about 5,601 species of animals, including 648 species of vertebrates (more than 1% of the species found worldwide) and many of these species are endemics.^[231] A number of large carnivores live in the forests, namely Brown bears, wolves, lynxes and Caucasian Leopards. The common pheasant (also known as the Colchian Pheasant) is an endemic bird of Georgia which has been widely introduced throughout the rest of the world as an important game bird. The species number of invertebrates is considered to be very high but data is distributed across a high number of publications. The spider checklist of Georgia, for example, includes 501 species.^[232] The Rioni River may contain a breeding population of the critically endangered bastard sturgeon.^[233]

Slightly more than 6,500 species of fungi, including lichen-forming species, have been recorded from Georgia,^[234][235] but this number is far from complete. The true total number of fungal species occurring in Georgia, including species not yet recorded, is likely to be far higher, given the generally accepted estimate that only about seven per cent of all fungi worldwide have so far been discovered.^[236] Although the amount of available information is still very small, a first effort has been made to estimate the number of fungal species endemic to Georgia, and 2,595 species have been tentatively identified as possible endemics of the country.^[237] 1,729 species of plants have been recorded from Georgia in association with fungi.^[235] According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are 4,300 species of vascular plants in Georgia.^[238]

Georgia is home to four ecoregions: Caucasus mixed forests, Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests, Eastern Anatolian montane steppe, and Azerbaijan shrub desert and steppe.^[239] It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.79/10, ranking it 31st globally out of 172 countries.^[240]

Economy

Archaeological research demonstrates that Georgia has been involved in commerce with many lands and empires since ancient times, largely due its location on the Black Sea and later on the historical Silk Road. Gold, silver, copper and iron have been mined in the Caucasus Mountains. Georgian wine making is a very old tradition and a key branch of the country's economy. The country has sizeable hydropower resources.^[241] Throughout Georgia's modern history agriculture and tourism have been principal economic sectors, because of the country's climate and topography.

For much of the 20th century, Georgia's economy was within the Soviet model of command economy. Since the fall of the USSR in 1991, Georgia embarked on a major structural reform designed to transition to a free market economy. As with all other post-Soviet states, Georgia faced a severe economic collapse. The civil war and military conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia aggravated the crisis. The agriculture and industry output diminished. By 1994 the gross domestic product had shrunk to a quarter of that of 1989.^[242]

Since the early 21st century visible positive developments have been observed in the economy of Georgia. In 2007, Georgia's real GDP growth rate reached 12 per cent, making Georgia one of the fastest-growing economies in Eastern Europe. Georgia has become more integrated into the global trading network: its 2015 imports and exports account for 50% and 21% of GDP respectively.^[243] Georgia's main imports are vehicles, ores, fossil fuels and pharmaceuticals. Main exports are ores, ferro-alloys, vehicles, wines, mineral waters and fertilizers.^[244][245] The World Bank dubbed Georgia "the number one economic reformer in the world" because it has in one year improved from rank 112th to 18th in terms of ease of doing business,^[246] and by 2020 further improved its position to 6th in the world.^[247] As of 2021, it ranked 12th in the world for economic freedom. In 2019, Georgia ranked 61st on the Human Development Index (HDI). Between 2000 and 2019, Georgia's HDI score improved by 17.7%.^[248] Of factors contributing to HDI, education had the most positive influence^[249] as Georgia ranks in the top quintile in terms of education.

Georgia is developing into an international transport corridor through Batumi and Poti ports, Baku–Tbilisi–Kars Railway line, an oil pipeline from Baku through Tbilisi to Ceyhan, the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) and a parallel gas pipeline, the South Caucasus Pipeline.^[250]

Since coming to power the Saakashvili administration accomplished a series of reforms aimed at improving tax collection. Among other things a flat income tax was introduced in 2004.^[251] As a result, budget revenues have increased fourfold and a once large budget deficit has turned into a surplus.^[252][253]

As of 2001, 54 per cent of the population lived below the national poverty line but by 2006 poverty decreased to 34 per cent and by 2015 to 10.1 per cent.^[254] In 2015, the average monthly income of a household was 1,022.3₾ (about $426).^[255] 2015 calculations place Georgia's nominal GDP at US$13.98 billion.^[256] Georgia's economy is becoming more devoted to services (as of 2016^[update], representing 59.4 per cent of GDP), moving away from the agricultural sector (6.1 per cent).^[257] Since 2014, unemployment has been gradually decreasing each year but remained in double digits and worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[258] A perception of economic stagnation led to a 2019 survey of 1,500 residents finding unemployment was considered a significant problem by 73% of respondents, with 49% reporting their income had decreased over the prior year.^[259]

Georgia's telecommunications infrastructure is ranked the last among its bordering neighbours in the World Economic Forum's Network Readiness Index (NRI) – an indicator for determining the development level of a country's information and communication technologies. Georgia ranked number 58 overall in the 2016 NRI ranking,^[260] up from 60 in 2015.^[261] Georgia was ranked 65th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023, down from 48th in 2019.^{[262][263][264]}

Tourism

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