Imereti

Imereti (Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 municipalities and the city of Kutaisi, which is the capital of the region.

Imereti
იმერეთი
Mkhare (region)
Overlapping borders of de jure Imereti region and de facto South Ossetia[nt 1]
Country Georgia
CapitalKutaisi
Government
 • GovernorZviad Shalamberidze[1] (Georgian Dream)
Area
[2]
 • Total6,680 km2 (2,580 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total481,473
 • Density72/km2 (190/sq mi)
ISO 3166 codeGE-IM
Districts11 districts, 1 city
HDI (2017)0.764[4]
high · 4th
Websiteimereti.ge

Subdivisions

The Imereti region has one self governing city (Kutaisi) and 11 municipalities with 163 administrative communities (temi), totalling to 549 populated settlements:

Map Municipality
City of Kutaisi
Baghdati Municipality
Vani Municipality
Zestafoni Municipality
Terjola Municipality
Samtredia Municipality
Sachkhere Municipality
Tqibuli Municipality
Chiatura Municipality
Tsqaltubo Municipality
Kharagauli Municipality
Khoni Municipality

Economy

Aside from the capital Kutaisi, significant towns and regional centres include Samtredia, Chiatura (manganese production centre), Tkibuli (coal mining centre), Zestafoni (known for metals production), Vani, Khoni, and Sachkhere. Traditionally, Imereti is an agricultural region, known for its mulberries and grapes.

Demographics

The 800,000 Imeretians speak a Georgian dialect; they are one of the local culture-groups of the ethnically subdivided Georgian people.

Demographic
Population development of the region Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti[5]
19591970197919892002*2002**20142021
Imereti 651,959 718,558 739,189 772,251 699,410 632,126 533,906 481,473
City of Kutaisi 128,203 162,787 194,297 234,870 185,965- 147,635 134,378
Baghdati Municipality 29,560 30,973 30,056 29,053 29,235- 21,582 18,363
Chiatura Municipality 64,562 72,059 69,582 68,501 56,341- 39,884 38,231
Kharagauli Municipality 36,486 35,591 31,948 28,702 27,885- 19,473 18,571
Khoni Municipality 32,548 32,718 37,968 34,979 31,749- 23,570 21,123
Sachkhere Municipality*** 38,202 45,552 44,859 44,968 46,590- 37,775 34,848
Samtredia Municipality 62,556 67,141 65,400 64,504 60,456- 48,562 43,448
Terjola Municipality 43,847 46,438 44,709 44,019 45,496- 35,563 31,427
Tqibuli Municipality 44,411 42,733 39,451 36,686 31,132- 20,839 17,898
Tsqaltubo Municipality 62,389 67,086 69,738 75,061 73,889- 56,883 46,803
Vani Municipality 40,999 41,505 38,346 35,369 34,464- 24,512 21,241
Zestafoni Municipality 68,196 73,975 72,835 75,539 76,208- 57,628 55,142
* Research after 2014 census showed the 2002 census was inflated by 8-9 percent.[6]
**Corrected data based on retro-projection 1994-2014 in collaboration with UN[7]
*** Part of Sachkhere is outside Georgian government authority and has not been counted since 2002.

History

In late antiquity and early Middle Ages the ancient western Georgian kingdom of Egrisi existed on the territory of Imereti. Its king declared Christianity as an official religion of Egrisi in 523 AD. In 975-1466 Imereti was part of the united Georgian Kingdom. Since its disintegration in the 15th century, Imereti was an independent kingdom.

In the 17th-18th centuries, the kingdom of Imereti experienced frequent invasions by the Turks and paid patronage to the Ottoman Empire until 1810, when it was invaded and annexed by the Russian Empire. The last King of Imereti was Solomon II (1789-1810).

From 1918 to 1921, Imereti was part of the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia. Within the USSR, the region was part of the Transcaucasian SFSR from 1922–1936, and part of the Georgian SSR from 1936–1991. Since Georgian independence in 1991, Imereti has been a region of Georgia with Kutaisi as the regional capital.

See also

Notes
  1. South Ossetia's status is disputed. It considers itself to be an independent state, but this is recognised by only a few other countries. The Georgian government and most of the world's other states consider South Ossetia de jure a part of Georgia's territory.

References
  1. "New Governor of Imereti Appointed".
  2. Nominal area 6,680 km², de facto controlled by Georgia 6,415 km².
  3. "Population and Demography - Population by cities and boroughs as of 1 January". National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat). Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  4. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  5. "Divisions of Georgia". Population Statistics Eastern Europe and former USSR. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  6. "Population Dynamics in Georgia - An Overview Based on the 2014 General Population Census Data" (PDF). National Statistics Office of Georgia, Geostat. 2017-11-29. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  7. "Retro-projection of main demographic indicators for the period 1994-2014". National Statistics Office of Georgia, Geostat. 2018-05-18. pp. 3, Table 1. Retrieved 2022-02-04.

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