GeoStat on the State of the Georgian Population

Nearly 100,000 people emigrated from Georgia in 2018, according to new data compiled by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GeoStat). A 15.8% increase from the previous year, the 98,935 emigrants represent 2.66% of the entire population of Georgia, some 3.72 million people.

Additionally, the number of immigrants to Georgia increased by 5.9%, a total of 88,152 persons. The majority of both emigrants (86.6%) and immigrants (84.5%) are of working age (15-64 years old).

Recent surveys, however, suggest that most Georgians do not favor permanent emigration. The results of the Caucasus Barometer 2017, an annual household survey conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Center, found that 90% of respondents were not currently interested in leaving Georgia permanently. 55%, however, were interested in leaving temporarily.

According to 2014 census data used in the 2017 Migration Profile of Georgia, compiled by the State Commission on Migration Issues, 66% of emigrants lived in urban areas before they left Georgia. Most of the emigrants left from Tbilisi, Imereti and Kvemo Kartli.

The number of applications submitted by Georgians for Schengen Area visas nearly doubled between 2010 and 2016, from 59,275 to 106,024, according to the migration profile.

In a further report, Geostat has revealed that Georgia’s population has decreased by 0.2% and amounted to 3,723,500 as of January 1, 2019.

The agency says that 52% of the population is female and 48% male. Of these, 14.8% of the population is of age 65 and older. The share of persons aged from zero to 14 stands at 20.3% and the share of the working-age population (15-64 years old) equals 64.9%.

In addition, life expectancy was an average of 74 years in 2018. For male, the average life expectancy was 69.7 years and for female – 78.2 years.

“2018 resulted in a positive natural increase (4,614) and negative net migration (-10,783)”, said Geostat.

The agency also reports that 58.7% of the population lives in cities and 41.3% in rural areas.

The majority of the Georgian population lives in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi: 1.2 million people. This is followed by the Imereti region, 497,400; Kvemo Kartli, 433,200; Ajara, 349,000; Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, 316,200; Kakheti, 312,500; Shida Kartli, 257,300; Samtskhe-Javakheti, 154,100; Guria, 109,000; Mtskheta-Mtianeti, 93,600; Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, 29,700.

By Lucy Papachristou & Thea Morrison