* As of 6/9/2025
1 birth
Every 12.5 minutes
1 death
Every 11.7 minutes
1 immigrant
Every 6.0 hours
1 person
Every 6.0 hours
Most Georgians do not fit into main ethnic groups of Asia or Europe. It is believed that modern-day Georgians are the result of a fusion of aboriginal inhabitants with immigrants from South Caucasus. Ethnic Georgians account for 84% of the population, with other ethnicities including Armenians, Greeks, Russians, Jews, Azerbaijanis, Ossetians, and Abkhazians. Georgian Jews are one of the oldest Jewish communities on earth.
The official language used here is Georgian, with additional use of Azeri, Armenian, and Russian.
The median age of the overall population in Georgia is currently at 38.1 years of age in 2018, with a total life expectancy of approximately 76.4 years.
Although Georgia has had a history of religious disputes with surrounding nations, there is harmony among religious groups within the country and there is no official state religion. Orthodox Christianity accounts for 83.4% of the population, and the Georgian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. An additional 10.7% of Georgians practice Islam, which has been in the area since 645 AD. Within the Muslim community, there are are two major groups: the Sunni Hanafi and the Azerbaijani Muslims which are separated largely by region. There is a small Jewish community in Tbilisi as well as small numbers of Roman Catholics scattered throughout the country.
The Georgian economy has been going well in the years since the fall of the Soviet Union largely due to economic and democratic reforms made in the area. In 2007, Georgia was named the World’s number one economic reformer. Georgia is known for being easy to do business with and is one of the least corrupt nations in the European Union. Major industries in Georgia include energy because of its huge hydroelectric capacity, agriculture which employs 55% of the population, and tourism.
Starting in the year 1801, present-day Georgia was part of the Russian Empire. Georgia declared its independence in 1918, which Russia did not approve of and they absorbed the country into the newly forming Soviet Union. The people of Georgia fought back against Soviet forces for much of the 1900s and there were many violent and deadly clashes during that period before they were finally successful in gaining their independence in 1991.
By 1992 Abkhazia in the northwest region of the country fought against the Georgian government for their liberation, but a ceasefire agreement was signed by 1994. In 2001 Russia accused Georgia of harboring rebels from Chechenia and raided the nation, but the United States helped equip Georgia to fight back. In 2006 a pipeline burst on the Russian border, forcing Georgia to receive gas from Iran, but escalating tensions with Russia, beginning more years of fighting.
