Chapter 70
Orthodox Christian 83.9%, Muslim 9.9%, Armenian-Gregorian 3.9%, Catholic 0.8%, other 0.8%, none 0.7% (2002 census)
Languages:
Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7% note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2004 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 12 years male: 12 years female: 13 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
3.1% of GDP (2006)
Government Georgia
Country name:
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Georgia local long form: none local short form: Sak'art'velo former: Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: T'bilisi geographic coordinates: 41 43 N, 44 47 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
9 regions (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 1 city (k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika) regions: Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli city: Tbilisi autonomous republics: Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika (Bat'umi) note: the administrative centers of the two autonomous republics are shown in parentheses
Independence:
9 April 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 May (1918); note - 26 May 1918 was the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 9 April 1991 was the date of independence from the Soviet Union
Constitution:
adopted 24 August 1995
Legal system:
based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January 2004); the president is both the chief of state and head of government for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense head of government: President Mikheil SAAKASHVILI (since 25 January 2004); Prime Minister Grigol MGALOBLISHVILI (since 1 November 2008); the president is both the chief of state and head of government for the power ministries: state security (includes interior) and defense; the prime minister is head of the remaining ministries of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 5 January 2008 (next to be held January 2013) election results: Mikheil SAAKASHVILI reelected president; percent of vote - Mikheil SAAKASHVILI 53.5%, Levan GACHECHILADZE 25.7%, Badri PATARKATSISHVILI 7.1%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Parlamenti (also known as Supreme Council or Umaghlesi Sabcho) (235 seats; 150 members elected by proportional representation, 75 from single-seat constituencies, and 10 represent displaced persons from Abkhazia; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 21 May 2008 (next to be held in spring 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - National Movement-Democratic Front 59.2%, National Council-New Rights 17.7%, other parties 23.1%; seats by party - National Movement-Democratic Front 120, National Council-New Rights 16
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the president's or chairman of the Supreme Court's recommendation); Constitutional Court; first and second instance courts
Political parties and leaders:
Burjanadze-Democrats [Nino BURJANADZE]; Georgian People's Front [Nodar NATADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG [Panteleimon GIORGADZE]; Georgia's Way Party [Salome ZOURABICHVILI]; Greens [Giorgi GACHECHILADZE]; Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; Labor Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]; National Council-New Rights (a bloc uniting a nine-party alliance with New Rights); National Democratic Party or NDP [Bachuki KARDAVA]; National Movement-Democratic Front [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI] (bloc composed of National Movement and Burjanadze-Democrats); National Movement [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI]; New Rights [David GAMKRELIDZE]; Republican Party [David USUPASHVILI]; Socialist Party or SPG [Irakli MINDELI]; Traditionalists [Akaki ASATIANI]; Union of National Forces-Conservatives [Koba DAVITASHVILI and Zviad DZIDZIGURI]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
other: Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile; separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), ADB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Vasil SIKHARULIDZE chancery: 2209 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-2390 FAX: [1] (202) 393-4537
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John F. TEFFT embassy: 11 George Balanchine Street, T'bilisi 0131 mailing address: 7060 T'bilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521-7060 telephone: [995] (32) 27-70-00 FAX: [995] (32) 53-23-10
Flag description:
white rectangle, in its central portion a red cross connecting all four sides of the flag; in each of the four corners is a small red bolnur-katskhuri cross; the five-cross flag appears to date back to the 14th century
Economy Georgia
Economy - overview:
Georgia's economy has sustained robust GDP growth of close to 10% in 2006 and 12% in 2007, based on strong inflows of foreign investment and robust government spending. However, a widening trade deficit and higher inflation are emerging risks to the economy. Areas of recent improvement include increasing foreign direct investment as well as growth in the construction, banking services and mining sectors. Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, aircraft and chemicals. The country imports nearly all its needed supplies of natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable hydropower capacity, a growing component of its energy supplies. Despite the severe damage the economy suffered due to civil strife in the 1990s, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since 2000, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing inflation. Georgia's GDP growth neared 10% in 2006 and 2007 despite restrictions on commerce with Russia. Areas of recent improvement include increased foreign direct investment as well as growth in the construction, banking services, and mining sectors. In addition, the reinvigorated privatization process has met with success. However, a widening trade deficit and higher inflation are emerging risks to the economy. Georgia has suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues; however, the new government is making progress and has reformed the tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement, and cracked down on corruption. Government revenues have increased nearly four fold since 2003. Due to improvements in customs and financial (tax) enforcement, smuggling is a declining problem. Georgia has overcome the chronic energy shortages of the past by renovating hydropower plants and by bringing newly available natural gas supplies from Azerbaijan. It also has an increased ability to pay for more expensive gas imports from Russia. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on a determined effort to reduce regulation, taxes and corruption in order to attract foreign investment. The construction on the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline, and the Kars-Akhalkalaki Railroad are part of a strategy to capitalize on Georgia's strategic location between Europe and Asia and develop its role as a transit point for gas, oil and other goods.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$20.6 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$10.29 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
12% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$4,400 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13% industry: 28.7% services: 58.3% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
2.02 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 55.6% industry: 8.9% services: 35.5% (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate:
13.6% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line:
31% (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 27% (2005)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
40.4 (2003)
Investment (gross fixed):
29.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3.68 billion expenditures: $3.08 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9.3% (2007 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
20.41% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$1.154 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$1.379 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$3.374 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock
Industries:
steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine
Industrial production growth rate:
13.4% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
7.116 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
6.694 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
635 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
532 million kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 19.7% hydro: 80.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Oil - production:
979.1 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
12,980 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
2,492 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
15,820 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
35 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
10 million cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
1.49 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
1.48 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
8.495 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
-$2.044 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$2.104 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
scrap metal, wine, mineral water, ores, vehicles, fruits and nuts
Exports - partners:
Turkey 13%, US 11.2%, Azerbaijan 6.3%, UK 5.4%, Bulgaria 5.1%, Ukraine 5%, Armenia 4.8%, Turkmenistan 4.5%, Canada 4.2% (2007)
Imports:
$4.977 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
fuels, vehicles, machinery and parts, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners:
Turkey 14%, Russia 12.3%, Ukraine 8.5%, Azerbaijan 7.3%, Germany 6.8%, US 5%, Bulgaria 4.6% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $309.8 million (2005 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.361 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$4.5 billion (2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$1.39 billion (2007)
Currency (code):
lari (GEL)
Currency code:
GEL
Exchange rates:
laris (GEL) per US dollar - 1.7 (2007), 1.78 (2006), 1.8127 (2005), 1.9167 (2004), 2.1457 (2003)
Communications Georgia
Telephones - main lines in use:
544,000 (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
2.4 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: fixed-line telecommunications network has only limited coverage outside Tbilisi; multiple mobile-cellular providers provide services to an increasing subscribership throughout the country domestic: cellular telephone networks now cover the entire country; urban telephone density is about 20 per 100 people; rural telephone density is about 4 per 100 people; intercity facilities include a fiber-optic line between T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi; nationwide pager service is available international: country code - 995; the Georgia-Russia fiber optic submarine cable provides connectivity to Russia; international service is available by microwave, landline, and satellite through the Moscow switch; international electronic mail and telex service are available
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 7, FM 12, shortwave 4 (1998)
Radios:
3.02 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
12 (plus repeaters) (1998)
Televisions:
2.57 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.ge
Internet hosts:
27,905 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)
Internet users:
360,000 (2007)
Transportation Georgia
Airports:
23 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 19 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Heliports:
3 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 1,591 km; oil 1,253 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 1,612 km broad gauge: 1,575 km 1.520-m gauge (1,575 electrified) narrow gauge: 37 km 0.912-m gauge (37 electrified) (2006)
Roadways:
total: 20,329 km paved: 7,854 km (includes 13 km of expressways) unpaved: 12,475 km (2006)
Merchant marine:
total: 191 by type: bulk carrier 18, cargo 148, carrier 2, chemical tanker 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: 153 (China 10, Cyprus 1, Egypt 12, Germany 2, Greece 5, Hong Kong 2, Israel 2, Lebanon 4, Monaco 4, Nigeria 1, Romania 16, Russia 12, Syria 49, Turkey 14, Ukraine 18, UAE 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Bat'umi, P'ot'i
Transportation - note:
large parts of transportation network are in poor condition because of lack of maintenance and repair
Military Georgia
Military branches:
Georgian Armed Forces: Land Forces, Navy (includes coast guard), Air and Air Defense Forces, National Guard (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 to 34 years of age for compulsory and voluntary active duty military service; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,113,251 females age 16-49: 1,168,021 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 910,720 females age 16-49: 967,566 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 35,917 female: 34,566 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.59% of GDP (2005 est.)
Military - note:
a CIS peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia
Transnational Issues Georgia
Disputes - international:
Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia; UN Observer Mission in Georgia has maintained a peacekeeping force in Georgia since 1993; Meshkheti Turks scattered throughout the former Soviet Union seek to return to Georgia; boundary with Armenia remains undemarcated; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian government; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 1,100 (Russia) IDPs: 220,000-240,000 (displaced from Abkhazia and South Ossetia) (2007)
Illicit drugs:
limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for opiates via Central Asia to Western Europe and Russia
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
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@Germany
Introduction Germany
Background:
As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
Geography Germany
Location:
Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark
Geographic coordinates:
51 00 N, 9 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 3,621 km border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
Coastline:
2,389 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind
Terrain:
lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
Natural resources:
coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 33.13% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005)
Irrigated land:
4,850 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
188 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 38.01 cu km/yr (12%/68%/20%) per capita: 460 cu m/yr (2001)
Natural hazards:
flooding
Environment - current issues:
emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea
People Germany
Population:
82,369,552 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 5,826,066/female 5,524,568) 15-64 years: 66.2% (male 27,763,917/female 26,739,934) 65 years and over: 20% (male 6,892,743/female 9,622,320) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 43.4 years male: 42.2 years female: 44.7 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.044% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
8.18 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
10.8 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
2.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.03 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.46 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.1 years male: 76.11 years female: 82.26 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.41 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
43,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 1,000 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: German(s) adjective: German
Ethnic groups:
German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)
Religions:
Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%
Languages:
German
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 16 years male: 16 years female: 16 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
4.6% of GDP (2004)
People - note:
second most populous country in Europe after Russia
Government Germany
Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich
Government type:
federal republic
Capital:
name: Berlin geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat)
Independence:
18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991
National holiday:
Unity Day, 3 October (1990)
Constitution:
23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united Germany 3 October 1990
Legal system:
civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: