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