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The Situation of Children and Young People at the Regional Level in Georgia Prepared by Georgia Country Statistical Team Co-ordinator: Teimuraz Gogishvili State Department of Statistics, Tbilisi MONEE Country Analytical Report November 2004 The project to monitor the impact of economic and social change on children in Eastern and Central Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (MONEE) was initiated at the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in 1992. The project seeks to monitor, analyse and disseminate information on economic and social trends affecting children’s rights and wellbeing in countries in the region. A key feature of the Project is a network of correspondents in the 27 National Statistical Offices (NSOs). On an annual basis these correspondents complete an extensive data template which in turn is used for calculating indicators, supporting research of the project and, in due course, being made publicly available as the TransMonee database and in tables and graphs of the Innocenti Social Monitor. For a number of years, each participating NSO prepared a Country Analytical Report based on extensive outline from UNICEF IRC on a different theme on the situation of children every year. These analytical reports have provided valuable input into the research at UNICEF IRC and, as significantly, have also served as important national documents on monitoring aspects of child wellbeing in the countries. Some of these Country Analytical Reports have been issued by the NSOs (in the national language) as part of their publication programme. UNICEF IRC attaches great value to these national assessments of the situation of children and is committed to promote the efforts, including through translating the reports into English (where the submitted report has been in Russian) and offering its website to make them accessible to a wider research audience. The Country Analytical Reports are owned and authored by the National Statistical Offices and are not the intellectual property of UNICEF (see below). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or view of UNICEF. The text has not been edited for official publication standards and UNICEF accepts no responsibility for errors. The designations in this publication do not imply an opinion on legal status of any country or territory, or of its authorities, or the delimitation of frontiers. 2 DEPARTMENT FOR STATISTICS OF GEORGIA INNOCENTI RESEARCH CENTRE “Public Policy and Social Conditions: Monitoring the Transition to the Market Economy in Central and Eastern Europe” (MONEE Project) SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL IN GEORGIA Country Analytical Report Tbilisi 2004 3 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION, GENERAL OVERVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE – TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF GEORGIA 2. POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE 3. REGIONAL ECONOMIC STRUCTURE AND CHANGE 4. REGIONAL STANDARTS OF LIVING 5. EDUCATION 6. HEALTH CARE 7. GOVERNMENT FINANCE 1. INTRODUCTION, GENERAL OVERVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE – TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF GEORGIA In accordance with Chapter 2 of the Constitution of Georgia – adopted on 24 August 1995 - “3. The territorial state structure of Georgia shall be determined by a Constitutional Law on the basis of the principle of circumscription of authorisation after the complete restoration of the jurisdiction of Georgia over the whole territory of the country”. The above said actually means that the existing administrative-territorial structure is provisional and will be amended in accordance with the new realities as soon as the territorial integrity of the country disrupted in 1991-1993 after secessionist movements in the former South Ossettia autonomous region and Abkhaz Autonomous Republic is restored. Hence all boundaries among basic administrative units within the country – districts (rayons) or equal are preserved as determined by the old Soviet definition by the year 1991. All changes in administrative- territorial structure that took place afterwards respect these boundaries. Today Georgia is the unified state that nevertheless includes Ajara Autonomous Republic within the old Soviet boundaries. Constitution of Georgia also recognizes Abkhaz Autonomous Republic, but this is currently outside the central government control. The first level of administrative division includes besides Ajara autonomy ten regions – the structure introduced in 1995 by the president of Georgia, but never legalized by the parliament. These regions are managed by representatives of the president of Georgia, appointed and removed from their posts personally by the president and answerable only to him. There are no elected governance bodies or other means of popular participation and/or control on the regional level. These representatives have wide authority over regional affairs often compared with these of governors (these people are often referred to as governors even by government officials), although hardly formalized. Nevertheless in February 1997 the Parliament of Georgia factually recognized this regional structure by adopting law on creation of president’s representatives’ funds financed primarily by the central budget of Georgia. As a result this structure today is the basic one for managing territorial affairs within the country. Today virtually all central government bodies have established their regional branches, all financed through the central budget, although only in few cases (education for instance) existence of these branches is determined by the appropriate law. The capital of Georgia – Tbilisi – is also dealt with as a separate, eleventh region, although its formal status is regulated by the special law. It has the elected council, representative city government, but the appointed mayor. 4 Table 1.1 The Basic Administrative – Territorial Structure of Georgia 1 Autonomies/Regions Number of Districts Cities (Rayons) (Outside District Jurisdiction) City of Tbilisi Ajara AR 4 1 Guria 3 Imereti 11 1 Kakheti 8 Kvemo Kartli 6 1 Mtskheta-Mtianeti 5 Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti 4 Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti 8 1 Samtskhe-Javakheti 6 Shida Kartli 42 The organic law on the local self-governance and governance adopted in 1997 regulates the rest of administrative-territorial structure of Georgia. According to this law districts (rayons) within the boundaries and with names inherited from the Soviet period, plus cities formally outside district jurisdiction, create the basic layer of the local governance in the country. Today the central government controls 59 such districts and 4 cities 3. Factual, if not formal, status of these districts and role they play in management of local affairs is gradually dwindling, this being taken over by regions. On the other hand, status of four leading cities of the country besides the capital, still gives them some deal of autonomy in dealing with local problems, regional administrations notwithstanding. The lowest – self-governance level includes more than four thousand villages, settlements, local communities and towns within district jurisdiction. This is the only type of local authorities specifically mentioned in the Constitution (Article 3.4). In spite of this that part of administrative-territorial division of Georgia is so far the weakest, underdeveloped and has a little influence on local affairs. There are just few exceptions, usually on towns’ level. 1 De facto situation, excludes territories currently outside control of Georgian authorities. 2 Plus 4 local communities – formally parts of districts currently under control of breakaway South Ossettia authorities. 3 Status of urban settlement in Georgia is specifically determined in each individual case. 5 2. POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE During a period between two population censuses in 1989 and 2002 population of Georgia has reduced by about 1030 thousand or 19.1% of its 1989 amount. Very approximately from one third to half of this reduction may be attributed to results of secessionist conflicts of now breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. But even taking into account only territories currently under control of the central government, the reduction constitutes at least 10% of population of year 1994 when it reached its peak – i.e. it took place in the time of peace. Table 2.1 Population Change in Georgia in 1989 – 2002 2002 as % of Urban % of Population 1989 2002 1989 thousand % thousand % 1989 2002 National total 5400841 100 4371535 100 80.9 55,4 52,3 City of Tbilisi 1246936 23.1 1081679 24.7 86.7 100 100 Abkhaz AR 525061 9.7 1956 4 2.7 0.4 47,8 ... Ajara AR 392432 7.3 376016 8.6 95.8 46,2 44,3 Guria 158053 2.9 143357 3.3 90.7 28,6 26,2 Imereti 766892 14.2 699666 16.0 91.2 53,4 46,3 Kakheti 441045 8.2 407182 9.3 92.3 22,7 20,8 Kvemo Kartli 608491 11.2 497530 11.4 81.8 44,5 37,5 Mtskheta-Mtianeti 133864 2.5 125443 2.9 93.7 28,4 25,6 Racha-Lechkhumi 1.1 85.3 and Kvemo Svaneti 59757 50969 1.2 21 18,8 Samegrelo-Zemo 7.9 109.7 Svaneti 424748 466100 10.1 40,2 39,3 Samtskhe- 4.3 88.1 Javakheti 235512 207598 4.7 36,6 31,6 Shida Kartli 408050 7.6 314039 7.2 77.0 42,3 36,2 All regions of Georgia, except for Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti have suffered from this process. Formally the central government retained control of about 3% of Abkhaz AR population of year 1989. Taking into account very approximate evaluation of amount of population living within formal boundaries of Abkhazia today at 180 thousand, reduction of population here is still around 2/3. Shida Kartli that formally includes South Ossetia has lost more