Demographics of Georgia (country)

Demographic trends

The demographic situation in Georgia, like that of some other former Soviet republics (especially Estonia and Latvia), has been characterized by two prominent features since independence: decline in total population and significant "Georgianization" of the ethnic composition. The proportion of ethnic Georgians increased by full 10 percentage points between 1989 and 2002, rising from 73.7% to 83.7% of the population.

The population grew steadily while Georgia was part of the Soviet Union and during the first years of independence, rising from less than 4 million in the 1950s to a peak of 5.5 million in 1992. Then the trend changed and the population began to decline, dropping to 4.5 million in 2005 according to the estimates by the Georgian Department of Statistics. This figure represents the total population, including the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, whose population in 2005 was estimated at 178,000 and 49,200, respectively. Without Abkhazia and South Osetia, the population in the regions controlled by the central government of Georgia was 4,321,500 in 2005 and 4,382,100 in 2008 (compare the 2008 figure with the CIA estimate of 4,630,841 for all of Georgia, including Abkhazia and South Osetia).

Georgia was named among the highest-emigration countries in the world (with respect to population) in the 2007 World Bank report. The 2002 population census in Georgia revealed a net migration loss of 1.1 million persons, or 20% of the population, since the early 90s. The decline in Georgia's population is caused by the emigration in search of employment, and a sharp fall of birth rates. Over 300,000 Russians, 200,000 Georgians, 200,000 Armenians, 85,000 Greeks, 50,000 Azerbaijanis, 50,000 Ukrainians and 20,000 Jews have migrated from Georgia since independence.

Vital statistics

Sources: United Nations and GeoStat

Total area

¹Births and deaths until 1959 are estimates.

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (01.07.2012) (Estimates) :

Ethnic groups

Georgians are the predominant ethnic group in Georgia, according to the 2014 census 86.8% of the population. The proportion in 2014 was much higher than in preceding censuses as in 2014 (most parts of) Abkhazia and (most parts of) South Ossetia were not under government control and therefore not included. As a result of this the proportion of Ossetians and Abkhazians was very low (0.4% and 0.3%, respectively).

CIA World Factbook 2012 demographic statistics

Ethnic groups:

Georgian 83.8%,

Azeri 6.5%

Armenian 5.7%

Russian 1.5%

Other 2.5%

Languages:

Georgian (official) 71%

Russian 9%

Armenian 7%

Azeri 6%

Other 7%

Religions:

Orthodox Christian (official) 83.9%

Islam 9.9%

Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%

Roman Catholic 0.8%

Other 0.8%

None 0.7%

Age structure:

0–14 years: 16.9% (male 401,3/female 359,8)

15–64 years: 69.4% (male 1,509,8/female 1,610,8)

65 years and over: 13.7% (male 232,7/female 383,2) (2012 resultat.)

Median age:

total: 39.1 years

male: 36.6 years

female: 41.6 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate:

-0.327% (2012 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.15 male(s)/female

15–64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female

total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2012 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 14.68 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 16.58 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 12.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 74,5 years

male: 70,2 years

female: 78,6 years (2012 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2012 est.)

HIV/AIDS

adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2007 est.)

people living with HIV/AIDS: 2,700 (2007 est.)

deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Georgian(s)

adjective: Georgian

Literacy:, age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 100%

male: 100%

female: 100% (2004 est.)

Population growth rate by province

Source: Statistics Georgia: Population by region