Georgia’s population stands at 3.93 million as of November 14, 2024, marking a 5.8% increase, or 215,777 people, compared to the 2014 census, according to the results of the 2024 Population and Agricultural Census released by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

Presenting the findings, Geostat officials said the country’s population reached 3,929,581, with urban residents accounting for 62.5% of the total population and rural residents for 37.5%.

According to the census, ethnic Georgians remain the largest ethnic group, numbering 3,304,075 people, or 84.1% of the population. Their number increased by 2.5%, or about 80,000 people, compared to the 2014 census, although their share of the total population declined from 86.8% to 84.1%.

“Tbilisi’s population reached 1,331,485, up 20.1% from 2014, while the highest regional population growth outside the capital was recorded in Adjara, where the population increased by 20.7%. Population declines were registered in all other regions, with the sharpest decreases recorded in Guria (-9.7%) and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti (-7.6%)”, Geostat said.

“Batumi recorded the strongest growth among municipalities, with its population rising by 54.2% to 235,668 residents. Significant increases were also observed in Kazbegi, Lentekhi and Marneuli municipalities”, the census continued.

The census data showed that women account for 52.1% of Georgia’s population, while men make up 47.9%. The share of residents aged 65 and older increased to 17.6%, indicating a continuing ageing trend.

The number of Georgian citizens rose by 2.5% to 3,775,415, although their share of the total population declined from 99.2% to 96.1%. The number of foreign citizens permanently residing in Georgia reached 133,857. The largest groups were citizens of Russia (37,715), India (23,925), Ukraine (11,542), Azerbaijan (8,309) and Armenia (5,381).

Among ethnic groups, Azerbaijanis remained the second-largest community, numbering 268,832 people (6.8% of the population), followed by Armenians with 169,296 people (4.3%).

The census also recorded significant increases in the number of ethnic Russians, Indians, Ukrainians, Arabs, Belarusians and Iranians living in Georgia.

In terms of religion, Orthodox Christians accounted for 82% of the population, or 3.22 million people, while Muslims represented 11.1%, or 437,458 people. Although the number of Orthodox Christians increased by 4.1% since 2014, their share of the total population declined from 83.4% to 82%.

“Georgian remained the native language for 85.1% of the population, followed by Azerbaijani (6.8%) and Armenian (3.5%). While the number of Georgian speakers increased by 2.7%, their share of the total population declined from 87.6% to 85.1%”, Geostat concluded.