The majority of the country’s population are Abkhazians, and a minority are Georgians, Russians and several Caucasian ethnic groups.
Abkhazia, a former autonomous Soviet socialist republic located within Georgia’s borders, declared independence on July 23, 1992. Abkhazia is located between the southern slopes of the Caucasus and the Black Sea, and to date has failed to gain general world recognition, so it is recognized only by the Russian Federation, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Vanuatu and Tuvalu. The United Nations and most of the world’s countries still consider Abkhazia part of Georgia. It is important to emphasize that in practice, the Georgian authorities have no control over the territory of Abkhazia.
The nominal capital of Abkhazia is Suhumi, a coastal city located on the Black Sea coast. Abkhazia has an area of 8,660 square kilometers and has a population of about 240,000. The majority of the country’s population are Abkhazians, and a minority are Georgians, Russians and several Caucasian ethnic groups.
The mentioned effort of Abkhazia to fight for independence from Georgia led to an armed conflict, in which Abkhazia was in principle supported by the Russian Federation. The 1992-1993 war resulted in the defeat of the regular Georgian army and the mass exodus of Georgians from Abkhazia. A similar conflict erupted in South Ossetia, which was once an autonomous region within the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia and is also located on the southern side of the Caucasus (South Ossetia is only a hundred kilometers southeast of Abkhazia).
