SHASHIASHVILI 1.9%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Supreme Council (commonly referred to as Parliament) or
Umaghiesi Sabcho (235 seats - 150 elected by party lists); members
are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held spring 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - National
Movement-Democrats 67.6%, Rightist Opposition 7.6%, all other
parties received less than 7% each; seats by party - National
Movement-Democrats 135, Rightist Opposition 15
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges elected by the Supreme Council on the
president'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]; Greens [Giorgi GACHECHILADZE]; Industry
Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; Labor
Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]; 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
Right [David GAMKRELIDZE]; Republican Party [David BERDZENISHVILI];
Rightist Opposition [David GAMKRELIDZE] bloc composed of
Industrialists and New Right Party; Socialist Party or SPG [Irakli
MINDELI]; Traditionalists [Akaki ASATIANI]; Union of National
Forces-Conservatives [Koba DAVITASHVILI and Zviad DZIDZIGURI]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile;
separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia;
supporters of the late ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA
International organization participation:
BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt,
ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Levan MIKELADZE
chancery: Suite 602, 1101 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 387–4537
FAX: [1] (202) 393–4537
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard M. MILES embassy: #25 Atoneli Street, T'bilisi 0105 mailing address: 7060 Tbilisi Place, Washington, DC 20521–7060 telephone: [995] (32) 989–967/68 FAX: [995] (32) 933–759
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 main economic activities include the cultivation of
agricultural products such as citrus fruits, tea, hazelnuts, and
grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small
industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages,
metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of
its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only
sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe
damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with
the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic
gains since 1995, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing
inflation. However, the Georgian Government has suffered from
limited resources due to a chronic failure to collect tax revenues.
Georgia's new government is making progress in reforming the tax
code, enforcing taxes, and cracking down on corruption. Georgia also
suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the T'bilisi
electricity distribution network in 1998, but payment collection
rates remain low, both in T'bilisi and throughout the regions. The
country is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a
transit state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the
Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas
pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$14.45 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
9.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 20.5% industry: 22.6% services: 56.9% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
2.1 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
17% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
54% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 27.9% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
37.1 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.5% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
18.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $671.7 million
expenditures: $804.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)
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:
3% (2000)
Electricity - production:
6.732 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 19.7% hydro: