Population of Georgia

All topics about Georgia

Population structure

(The information can also be found on the internet)

In 2020, the population of Georgia will be 3.7 million. The annual population growth rate was +0.1%. The average number of children born per woman was 2. The median age of the population was 38.3 years. In the same year, 20.9% of the population was younger than 15 years, while the proportion of people older than 64 years was 14.5%

Emigration

Since the country’s independence in 1991, more than a million people have left Georgia. Between 2000 and 2005, the Georgian population fell by about one per cent annually. In particular, well-educated residents initially found work in other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and The largest Georgian community outside the country is in Moscow, with around 300,000 people.

Refugees

The civil wars in Abkhazia and Samachablo/South Ossetia forced around 250,000 people to flee or be displaced. In 2004, some 230,000 displaced persons from Abkhazia and 12,200 from South Ossetia were housed in other regions of Georgia. In addition, there were around 3,000 refugees from Chechnya.

In addition to these conflicts, the country has also suffered a significant population loss for other reasons. Georgia’s deteriorating socio-economic situation since 1990 has not only led to an increase in disease and mortality, but also to a significant population loss through migration. In 1994, 62% of all Georgian emigrants moved to Israel, while Greece was a popular destination in 1995, with 42% of emigrants.

Minorities

Traditionally, various ethnic groups live in Georgia, making the country a multi-ethnic state. More than 26 ethnic groups live in Georgia, with Georgians making up the largest population group at 83.8%. In eastern Georgia, they make up about 74.81% of the population, while in the west of the country they dominate at 97.33%. They are followed by Azerbaijanis (6.5%), Armenians (5.7%), Russians (1.55%), Ossetians (0.9%), Abkhazians (0.1%), Assyrians (0.1%) and other groups such as Pontic Greeks, Kurds, Georgian Jews and some Ashkenazim.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many Greeks emigrated to Greece and a significant number of Georgian Jews emigrated to Israel. The 2005 census recorded about 125,000 Abkhazians (about 2.7%).

During various phases of history, such as between 1918 and 1921, during the Second World War and in the early 1990s, many of these ethnic groups in Georgia were discriminated against. Under Stalin, about 40,000 Caucasus Germans were deported in 1941 and the Meskhetians were expelled from Georgia in 1944.

Georgia has ratified the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, albeit with restrictions on the right of national minorities to use their mother tongue (Articles 10 and 11).

Georgia’s population has a particular structure in some regions where non-Georgian ethnic groups form the majority. For example, there are as many Azerbaijanis as Georgians living in Lower Kartlia, while Armenians even slightly outnumber Georgians in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region bordering Armenia.

Since 1989, many members of minorities, especially Russians, have left the country, so that the proportion of the population of Georgian origin in Georgia has fallen from 6.32% to just 1.55% in 13 years. Other minorities such as Greeks, Armenians, Ukrainians, Jews and Ossetians have also left the country in droves since independence. In 2017, 2% of the population were born abroad.

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