Georgia

Map of Georgi

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:: Tbilisi
geographic coordinates: 41 41 N, 44 50 E
time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Location	Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia, with a sliver of land north of the Caucasus extending into Europe; note - Georgia views itself as part of Europe
Geographic coordinates	42 00 N, 43 30 E
Map references	Asia
Area	total: 69,700 sq km land: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries	total: 1,461 km border countries: Armenia 164 km, Azerbaijan 322 km, Russia 723 km, Turkey 252 km
Coastline	310 km
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate	warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast
Terrain	largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; good soils in river valley flood plains, foothills of Kolkhida Lowland
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,201 m
Natural resources	timber, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth
Land use	arable land: 11.51% permanent crops: 3.79% other: 84.7% (2005)
Irrigated land	4,330 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	63.3 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 3.61 cu km/yr (20%/21%/59%) per capita: 808 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	earthquakes
Environment - current issues	air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them