Day: August 26, 2025

Every year on August 26, the world celebrates the International Day of Azerbaijani Mugham and the Music of the Countries Along the Great Silk Road, Azernews reports.

The Baku Network analytical center, with the financial support of the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, held the next event within the framework of its project “Analysis of Hybrid and Ideological Threats”, Azernews reports.

With the Armenia-Azerbaijan Deal, It’s a New Era in the Caucasus  Foreign Policy

The modernization of Azerbaijan’s railway infrastructure has taken a new step forward with the completion of digital train traffic management on the Baku-Boyuk Kesik line, a key segment of the international transport corridor connecting Azerbaijan with Georgia, Azernews reports, citing the Russian company Natsproektstroy.

The world is witnessing the last grasp of Russia to retain its influence in the South Caucasus. Finally, Nikol Pashinyan, the leader of a country long considered Russia’s final bastion in the region, openly criticised Moscow’s “divide and rule” policy.

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.

Also Read:

• 02/07/2025 – Georgian Dream Grants Interior Ministry Authority to Inspect Foreigners’ Homes, Workplaces
• 19/03/2024 – Citing labor shortages, Georgian businesses eye employing migrant workers
• 14/09/2022 – Study Shows 23% of Georgian Population has Emigrated in a Decade

The military victories achieved under the leadership of President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, along with Azerbaijan’s peace initiatives, were formally recognized in Washington with the participation and signature of the U.S. President, Prime Minister Ali Asadov said at a special Cabinet meeting dedicated to President Aliyev’s historic visit to the United States.