Georgia has a population estimated at 4.3 million (UN, 2009) with an area of 69,700 sq km (26,911 sq miles). The capital is Tbilisi. The major languages are Georgian and Russian.

After a brief period of independence following the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1921, becoming the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. After independence in 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil unrest and economic crisis for most of the 1990s. This lasted until the Rose Revolution of 2003, after which the new government introduced democratic and economic reforms.

Georgia is a member of the Council of Europe and the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development. It contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 South Ossetia war between Georgia and Russia. Georgia still considers the regions to be part of its sovereign territory.

• Georgia ratified The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on October 26, 1994
• Georgia launched its National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) in December 2011.  Please click here for further information.
• Georgia had a UN peacekeeping mandate: United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia from August 1993 to June 2009

Sources:BBC; Amnesty International; UNIFEM