The National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) said in its preliminary 2024 census update that foreign nationals permanently residing in Georgia account for “no more than 6.6%” of the country’s population, signalling a tenfold increase in both share and absolute numbers compared to the 2014 census.
While the final data are yet to be published, 6.6 percent of Georgia’s preliminary 2024 census population of 3.91 million amounts to over 250,000 people, up from a mere 22,131 foreign residents recorded in the 2014 census. Back then, they accounted for 0.6% of the total population of 3,713,804.
According to the same estimates, the share of Georgian citizens in the 2024 census is “at least 93.4%” of 3.91 million, which would be 3,655,676. The preliminary figure, if left unchanged in final estimates, could mark a decline of about 22,000 over the decade, compared to 3,677,833 recorded in the final data of the 2014 census.
“According to preliminary data, as of November 14, 2024, the Population of Georgia amounted to 3,914 thousand people, of which 2,078 thousand (53 percent) are women, and 1,836 thousand (47 percent) are men,” Geostat said in its August 26 update, adding that at least 93.4 percent of the population “are citizens of Georgia, and no more than 6.6 percent are foreign citizens permanently residing in the country.”
The population census was conducted by the National Statistics Office (Geostat) from November 14 to December 31, 2024, covering all of Georgia except the Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali. Geostat first published preliminary data in June, showing that the population had grown by over 200,000 since the previous 2014 census.
Geostat said that the 2024 census covered “all citizens of Georgia permanently residing in the country, as well as foreign citizens and stateless persons residing in the country for more than 12 months.”
The final data of the 2024 census are expected to be released in June next year.
The data comes amid persisting concerns of the mass emigration of Georgians, but also growing rhetoric by Georgian authorities against immigration, introducing legislative curbs while also regularly updating about the expulsions of foreigners illegally staying in Georgia.
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