Georgia is an independent republic that is situated in Southwest Asia on the Black Sea between Armenia to its south, Azerbaijan to its east, Russia to the North and Turkey to the south-east. The country lies on 26,911 sq. miles. The capital city is Tbilisi. Other major cities include Batumi, Poti and Rustavi. Georgia’s main ports are, Bat'umi, P'ot'I and Sokhumi.
The official language is Georgian, however Russian, Azeri and other languages are also spoken. The local currency is the Lari.
Georgia’s has an important role to world energy markets because of its strategic location. It has the potential to be an oil transit centre between the energy-rich Caspian Sea countries and the Western markets. Georgia also has rich hydrocarbon resources.
Georgia’s importance as a transit route for oil could increase dramatically with the completion of a proposed main export route for oil exports from the AIOC.
Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and struggled through major economic crises, suffering super high inflation rates and declines in the GDP. The country has stabilised somewhat by implementing reform measures of privatisation. Many of the targeted small and medium scale enterprises had been privatised by 1998. Georgia still relies heavily on borrowing from other countries, and has a growing foreign debt problem. Much of this debt is for fuel payments to Russia for electricity and Turkmenistan for natural gas.
Georgia has natural resources of hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits. Other important industries are the citrus and tea sectors that are produced along the coast.
Georgia’s transport system is varied. The capital, Tbilisi, has an underground train system, trams, bus and cable car running. Georgia’s road network is generally in poor condition, however it does extend across the country. The Transcaucasian Railway connects two main branches from Baku, Azerbaijan and from Yerevan, Armenia. The line stretches towards Russia through Georgia. Tbilisi’s Central airport is an international Airport and has domestic flights to Kutaisi, Butami and Senaki.
The international time zone is GMT + 4. The international dialing code is +995. Visa’s for Georgia must be obtained, however citizens from Poland, Bulgaria and the other CIS countries can enter Georgia without a visa.
Medical care in Georgia is limited, and it is recommended that you obtain any medical attention or insurance in advance. The state of health and immunisation status, location and the local disease situation lead to risk of contraction of rabies, hepatitis A and tuberculosis.
