How Many Georgians Live Abroad? What the Migration Data Actually Show — and Why the Labour Market Should Care

GILS Research Team

Editor: Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze, MD, MPH, PhD

Georgian Institute of Labour Studies · GILS Analysis

20 September 2026

Claims that 1.5 million Georgians work abroad circulate widely, but they are not supported by official data. United Nations estimates put the number of people born in Georgia and living abroad at between roughly 670,000 and 860,000 in 2020, depending on the compilation. What the data do show is a sustained net outflow of Georgian citizens — about 265,000 more left than returned between 2014 and 2023 — with a young age profile that has lasting consequences for the labour market.

1. Introduction

Labour emigration is one of the most discussed features of Georgian society, and one of the most poorly measured. Figures of 1 million, 1.5 million or more Georgians abroad appear regularly in public debate. This matters: estimates of the diaspora shape policy on remittances, return migration, pensions and labour supply.

This analysis asks what reliable sources actually show about the scale and composition of Georgian emigration, and what it means for the domestic labour market. Our thesis is that the stock of Georgians abroad is smaller than commonly claimed, but that the flow is large, persistent and increasingly composed of young people and families — a pattern more consequential for the labour market than the headline number.

2. Data and Measurement

Georgia measures migration flows using border-crossing data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, processed by Geostat. Emigrants are identified from border-crossing records, regardless of citizenship (Geostat, 2024). Flow data capture all citizenships, which matters in recent years because of large movements of Russian citizens through Georgia. The stock of Georgians living abroad is not measured nationally; estimates come from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, based on destination-country data, and different compilations produce different totals.

3. Findings

3.1 How many Georgians live abroad?

The two UN-based estimates differ, likely because of different treatment of migrants in post-Soviet countries, especially Russia. PMCG notes that the emigrant stock fell by 17% between 2010 and 2020 as numbers in post-Soviet destinations declined, while numbers in the EU rose (PMCG Research, n.d.). IDFI projects that the number may have approached one million by 2024 given recent trends (IDFI, 2024). On any of these estimates, the claim of 1.5 million Georgians working abroad overstates the stock substantially.

3.2 Flows: a decade of net loss

Between 2014 and 2023, 815,608 Georgian citizens emigrated and 550,919 returned (IDFI, 2024). The net loss of about 265,000 citizens is equivalent to roughly 7% of the population on 1 January 2024 (GILS calculation). Georgia’s population fell to about 3.69 million in 2024, with negative net migration of −39,207 and a negative natural increase in 2023 (Civil.ge, 2024).

Total emigration rose by 95.6% in 2023, to 245,064, before falling by 50.5% in 2024, to 121,425 (Geostat, via Civil.ge and 1TV). Part of the 2023 volatility reflects movements of Russian citizens: of the 2023 emigrants, 35,344 were Russian citizens (Sakartvelos Ambebi, 2024). In 2024, 53.2% of emigrants were Georgian citizens, and 85.8% were of working age (15–64) (1TV, 2025).

3.3 Who leaves: the young and their families

The age profile is striking. Of the 163,480 Georgian citizens who emigrated in 2023, 114,438 (70%) were under 30, and 70,003 (43%) were children under 15 (IDFI, 2024). A large share of children among emigrants indicates family migration — parents leaving with their children — which is more likely to be long-term or permanent than the circular labour migration of individual workers.

4. Discussion

Argument 1: Accurate numbers matter for policy

Overstating the diaspora inflates assumptions about remittance potential, return migration and the labour reserve available to Georgia. Understating it hides a real demographic loss. Policy should be based on the best available estimates, with their uncertainty acknowledged, rather than on round numbers without a source.

Argument 2: Family emigration is a long-term labour supply loss

When young workers emigrate alone, many return. When families leave with children, the children are likely to be educated and to enter the labour market abroad. The 2023 profile suggests that Georgia is losing not only current workers but part of its future workforce, at a time when its working-age population is already ageing.

Counter-argument: emigration has benefits

Emigration reduces unemployment pressure, and remittances support household incomes and reduce poverty (see GILS analysis of remittances). Returning migrants can bring skills and savings. These benefits are real, and the 2024 fall in emigration may indicate that pressures are easing. But the benefits depend on circularity and return; family emigration and the permanent loss of young people work against them.

5. Limitations

Stock estimates are indirect and differ between compilations. Flow data are based on border-crossing records and do not record the purpose of migration or labour market status. Figures for different years and sources are not fully comparable, and the 2023 increase may partly reflect transit migration by non-citizens.

6. Conclusion

The best available evidence suggests that between roughly 670,000 and 860,000 Georgian-born people lived abroad in 2020 — far fewer than the 1.5 million often cited. But the flows tell a more urgent story: a decade of net loss of about 265,000 citizens, and an emigrant population dominated by young people and children. For Georgia’s labour market, the question is not only how many have left, but whether those now leaving will ever come back.

GILS analyses are prepared with AI-assisted drafting. All figures and claims are verified against the cited primary sources and reviewed under the responsibility of the Editor.

This analysis is also published in GMJ News — Work & Health, the news service of the Georgian Medical Journal.