Unemployment, migration and census

There are different figures about Georgia's current population. During the last election campaign several projects were implemented to count voters but it was very difficult to achieve reliable statistics. The Georgian census has not been regularly conducted and the previous census figures were not reliable. There is no correct information about the number of people who have left the country. Numbers are based on estimates.

The Georgian government estimates that around 700,000 Georgian citizens live in Russia and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union; up to 120,000 in Turkey; up to 300,000 in Greece; up to 150,000 in the United States; approximately 50,000 in Germany; upwards of 150,000 in Spain and 150,000 in Italy. Almost every Georgian family has at least one family member living outside of the country, not for education or on an extended holiday but for work. By these estimates more than one million people have left Georgia.