Demographic problems in Georgia

At the end of the 20th century around 100,000 babies were born in Georgia each year. By 2006 this figure had decreased dramatically. According to estimates if this trend had continued Georgia’s population would have decreased by 50% by 2050.

In 2006 46,000 infants were born in Georgia. However in 2007 this figure rose to 48,000, in 2008 to 57,000 and in 2009 to 62,000. Chairman of the Civil Registry Giorgi Vashadze gives a very interesting explanation of this, saying that it signifies that a lot of people are now employed, in particular the younger generation.

Government officials state that even these small increases in the birth rate confirm that the country’s economic situation has improved. There is also another factor behind them, the offer by Patriarch Ilia II to personally baptise every third and more child of a married couple. The Patriarch has been acting as Godfather to such children since 2008 and the number of infants he has baptised is in excess of 4,000.

Avtandil Sulaberidze, a demographic analyst, thinks that as the Georgian Government has not created a stable policy for improving the demographic picture the country could still face difficulties. In the first five months of this year 23,000 citizens of Georgia died but only 25,000 babies were born.