Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 provided courtesy of The Libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis Match 90 DB Rec# - 55,837 Dataset-WOFACT Source :CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Source key :CI Program :WORLD FACTBOOK Program key :CI WOFACT Update sched. :Annually ID number :CI WOFACT 089 Title :GEORGIA Data type :TEXT End year :1994 Date of record:02/16/1994 Keywords 3 : | GEORGIA Text : its Abkazian and South Ossetian enclaves, and supporters of ousted President GAMAKHURDIA control much of western Georgia GEOGRAPHY Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia Map references: Africa, Asia, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World Area: total area: 69,700 km2 land area: 69,700 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than South Carolina Land boundaries: total 1,461 km, Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km Coastline: 310 km note: 12 nm in 1973 USSR-Turkish Protocol concerning the sea boundary between the two states in the Black Sea; Georgia claims the coastline along the Black Sea as its international waters, although it cannot control this area and the Russian navy and commercial ships transit freely International disputes: none Climate: 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; Kolkhida Lowland opens to the Black Sea in the west; Kura River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida lowland Natural resources: forest lands, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ores, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth Land use: arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA% Irrigated land: 4,660 km2 (1990) Environment: air pollution, particularly in Rustavi; heavy pollution of Kura River, Black Sea PEOPLE Population growth rate: 0.85% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 16.48 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 8.68 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: 0.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) note - this data may be low because of movement of Ossetian, Russian, and Abkhaz refugees due to ongoing conflicts Infant mortality rate: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.58 years male: 68.89 years female: 76.46 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 2.21 children born/woman (1993 est.) Nationality: noun: Georgian(s) adjective: Georgian Ethnic divisions: Georgian 70.1%, Armenian 8.1%, Russian 6.3%, Azeri 5.7%, Ossetian 3%, Abkhaz 1.8%, other 5% Religions: Georgian Orthodox 65%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Muslim 11%, Armenian Orthodox 8%, unknown 6% Languages: Armenian 7%, Azerbaijani 6%, Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, other 7% Literacy: age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% Labor force: 2.763 million by occupation: industry and construction 31%, agriculture and forestry 25%, other 44% (1990) GOVERNMENT Names: conventional long form: Republic of Georgia conventional short form: Georgia local long form: Sakartvelo Respublika former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic Digraph: GG Type: republic Capital: T'bilisi (Tbilisi) Administrative divisions: 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika); Abkhazia (Sukhumi), Ajaria (Batumi) note: the administrative centers of the autonomous republics are included in parentheses; there are no oblasts - the rayons around T'bilisi are under direct republic jurisdiction; also included is the South Ossetia Autonomous Oblast Independence: 9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union) Constitution: adopted NA 1921; currently amending constitution for Parliamentary and popular review by late 1995 Legal system: based on civil law system National holiday: Independence Day, 9 April 1991 Political parties and leaders: All-Georgian Merab Kostava Society, Vazha ADAMIA, chairman; All-Georgian Traditionalists' Union, Akakiy ASATIANI, chairman; Georgian National Front - Radical Union, Ruslan GONGADZE, chairman; Georgian Social Democratic Party, Guram MUCHAIDZE, chairman; Green Party, Zurab ZHVANIA, chairman; Monarchist-Conservative Party (MCP), Temur ZHORZHOLIANI, chairman; Georgian Popular Front (GPF), Nodar NATADZE, chairman; National Democratic Party (NDP), Georgi CHANTURIA, chairman; National Independence Party (NIP), Irakli TSERETELI and Irakli BATIASHVILI, chairmen; Charter 1991 Party, Tedo PAATASHVILI, chairman; Democratic Georgia Party, Georgiy SHENGELAYA, Chairman; Peace Bloc; Unity; October 11 Other political or pressure groups: supporters of ousted President GAMSAKHURDIA boycotted the October elections and remain an important source of opposition and instability Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Elections: Chairman of Parliament: last held NA October 1992 (next to be held NA); results - Eduard SHEVARDNADZE 95% Georgian Parliament (Supreme Soviet): last held 11 October 1992 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (225 total) number of seats by party NA; note - representatives of 26 parties elected; Peace Bloc, October 11, Unity, National Democratic Party, and the Greens Party won the largest representation Executive branch: chairman of Parliament, Council of Ministers, prime minister Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament Leaders: Chief of State: Chairman of Parliament Eduard Amvrosiyevich SHEVARDNADZE (since 10 March 1992) Head of Government: Prime Minister Tengiz SIGUA (since NA January 1992); First Deputy Prime Minister Roman GOTSIRIDZE (since NA); Deputy Prime Ministers Aleksandr KAVADZE, Avtandil MARGIANI, Zurab KERVALISHVILI (since NA) Member of: BSEC, CSCE, EBRD, IBRD, IMF, NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: NA chancery: NA telephone: NA US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Kent N. BROWN embassy: #25 Antoneli Street, T'bilisi mailing address: APO AE 09862 telephone: (7) 8832-74-46-23 Flag: maroon field with small rectangle in upper hoist side corner; rectangle divided horizontally with black on top, white below ECONOMY Overview: Among the former Soviet republics, Georgia has been noted for its Black Sea tourist industry, its large output of citrus fruits and tea, and an industrial sector that accounted, however, for less than 2% of the USSR's output. Another salient characteristic of the economy has been a flourishing private sector (compared with the other republics). About 25% of the labor force is employed in agriculture. Mineral resources consist of manganese and copper, and, to a lesser extent, molybdenum, arsenic, tungsten, and mercury. Except for very small quantities of domestic oil, gas, and coal, fuel must be imported from neighboring republics. Oil and its products have been delivered by pipeline from Azerbaijan to the port of Batumi for export and local refining. Gas has been supplied in pipelines from Krasnodar and Stavropol'. The dismantling of central economic controls has been delayed by political factionalism, marked by bitter armed struggles. In early 1993 the Georgian economy was operating at well less than half capacity due to disruptions in fuel supplies and vital transportation links as a result of conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, antigovernment activity in Western Georgia, and Azerbaijani pressure against Georgian assistance for Armenia. To restore economic viability, Georgia must establish domestic peace and must maintain economic ties to the other former Soviet republics while developing new links to the West. National product: GDP $NA National product real growth rate: -35% (1992 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50% per month (January 1993 est.) Unemployment rate: 3% but large numbers of underemployed workers Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA Exports: $NA commodities: citrus fruits, tea, other agricultural products; diverse types of machinery; ferrous and nonferrous metals; textiles partners: Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan (1992) Imports: $NA commodities: machinery and parts, fuel, transport equipment, textiles partners: Russia, Ukraine (1992) External debt: $650 million (1991 est.) Industrial production: growth rate -50% (1992) Electricity: 4,875,000 kW capacity; 15,800 million kWh produced, about 2,835 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: heavy industrial products include raw steel, rolled steel, cement, lumber; machine tools, foundry equipment, electric mining locomotives, tower cranes, electric welding equipment, machinery for food preparation, meat packing, dairy, and fishing industries; air-conditioning electric motors up to 100 kW in size, electric motors for cranes, magnetic starters for motors; devices for control of industrial processes; trucks, tractors, and other farm machinery; light industrial products, including cloth, hosiery, and shoes Agriculture: accounted for 97% of former USSR citrus fruits and 93% of former USSR tea; berries and grapes; sugar; vegetables, grains, potatoes; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry; tobacco Illicit drugs: illicit producers of cannabis and opium; mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe Economic aid: NA Currency: coupons introduced in April 1993 to be followed by introduction of the lari at undetermined future date; Russian ruble remains official currency until introduction of the lari Exchange rates: rubles per US$1 - 415 (24 December 1992) but subject to wide fluctuations Fiscal year: calendar year COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 1,570 km, does not include industrial lines (1990) Pipelines: crude oil 370 km, refined products 300 km, natural gas 440 km (1992) Ports: coastal - Batumi, Poti, Sukhumi Merchant marine: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 658,192 GRT/1,014,056 DWT; includes 16 bulk cargo, 30 oil tanker, and 1 specialized liquid carrier Airports: total: 37 useable: 26 with permanent-surface runways: 19 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 10 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 9 Telecommunications: poor telephone service; as of 1991, 672,000 republic telephone lines providing 12 lines per 100 persons; 339,000 unsatisfied applications for telephones (31 January 1992); international links via landline to CIS members and Turkey; low capacity satellite earth station and leased international connections via the Moscow international gateway switch; international electronic mail and telex service established Note: transportation network is disrupted by ethnic conflict, criminal activities, and fuel shortages Defense forces Branches: Army, National Guard, Interior Ministry Troops Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,338,606; fit for military service 1,066,309; reach military age (18) annually 43,415 (1993 est.) Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GNP Note: Georgian forces are poorly organized and not fully under the government's control -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 produced by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK CD-ROM, July, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/7/v.1-2 / R. Muns, UM-St. Louis Libraries Local Filename: WF940088.TXT