Land area

69,700 sq km

Population

4.44m (January 1st 2010)

Main towns

Population in '000 (2010 National Statistics Office)

Tbilisi (capital): 1,153

Kutaisi: 193

Zugdidi: 175

Batumi: 124

Climate

Western Georgia has a humid, subtropical climate. The climate in the east varies from subtropical to temperate. The average temperature ranges from 2°C in January to 24°C in August

Language

Georgian is the state language; Russian is spoken in the towns; Armenian, Azeri, Abkhaz and Ossetian are also spoken

Measures

Metric system

Currency

The lari was introduced on September 25th 1995, replacing the Georgian coupon

Time

Four hours ahead of GMT

Public holidays

January 1st (New Year); January 7th (Christmas); January 19th (Epiphany); Easter Monday (April 25th in 2011); May 26th (Independence Day of the 1918 Georgian Republic); August 28th (Assumption of the Virgin); October 14th (Svetitskhovloba); November 23rd (St George's Day)