Akhaltsikhe Municipality

Akhaltsikhe (Georgian: ახალციხის მუნიციპალიტეტი, Akhaltsikhis munitsip’alit’et’i)) is a municipality in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. Covering an area of 1,010.4 km² (390 sq mi). As of 2021 it had a population of 39,463 people.^[2] The city of Akhaltsikhe is its administrative centre.

Akhaltsikhe Municipality ახალციხის მუნიციპალიტეტი
Rabati Castle
Flag Seal
Country	Georgia
Mkhare	Samtskhe-Javakheti
Capital	Akhaltsikhe
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Mayor	Irakli Lazarashvili (GD)
Area [1]
• Total	1,010.4 km2 (390.1 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	39,463
• Density	39/km2 (100/sq mi)
Population by ethnicity[3]
• Georgians	68,00 %
• Armenians	30,92 %
• Russians	0,37 %
• Greeks	0,18 %
• Azerbaijanis	0,15 %
Time zone	UTC+4 (Georgian Time)

Administrative divisions

Atsquri Fortress

Akhaltsikhe municipality is administratively divided into two cities (Akhaltsikhe and Vale) and 14 communities (თემი, temi) with 46 villages (სოფელი, sopeli).^[1]

The city of Akhaltsikhe was separated in 2014 from the municipality and was a so-called "self-governed" city (or kalaki). This administrative and governance reform was deemed too inefficient and expensive and was revoked in 2017.^[4] Since then, the city of Akhaltsikhe has been part of the general municipality again.

Politics

Akhaltsikhe Municipal Assembly (Georgian: ახალციხის საკრებულო, Akhaltsikhe Sakrebulo) is a representative body in Akhaltsikhe Municipality, consisting of 39 members which are elected every four years. The last election was held in October 2021. Irakli Lazarashvili of Georgian Dream was elected mayor.

Party		2017[5]	2021[6]	Current Municipal Assembly
	Georgian Dream	28	25
	United National Movement	2	8
	People's Power		3[a]
	For Georgia		2
	European Georgia	3	1
Total		33	39

Population

By the start of 2021 the population was determined at 39,463 people,^[2] a slight increase compared to the 2014 census.^[8] The population of Akhaltsikhe city decreased slightly during the same period. The population density of the municipality is 39.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (103/sq mi).

The population of Akhaltsikhe consists for 68% of Georgians. By far the largest ethnic minority are the Armenians, who make up 31% of the population. Other minorities are a few dozen Russians, Greeks, Ukrainians, Ossetes and a few Abkhazians. In terms of religion, 68% of the population are followers of the Georgian Orthodox Church and 17.4% are followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Another large group by Georgian standards are Catholics (12.6%). Furthermore, there are small numbers of followers of Jehovah's Witnesses and Islam.

Population Akhaltsikhe Municipality
	1897	1922	1926	1939	1959	1970	1979	1989	2002[9]	2014	2021
Akhaltsikhe Municipality	-	-	-	55,490	50,420	51,907	49,836	54,747	46,134	[8] 38,895	39,463
Akhaltsikhe city	15,357	10,153	12,328	12,180	16,868	18,972	19,742	24,570	18,452	17,903	17,070
Vale	-	-	-	-	9,629	7,326	6,244	6,305	5,031	3,646	5,215
Data: Population statistics Georgia 1897 to present.[10][11][12] Note:[9]

In November 1944, the Meskhetian Turks, a Turkic-speaking ethnic group of predominantly Muslim faith living in this area, were deported to Soviet Central Asian republics as part of a Stalinist resettlement operation.^[14] At that time, the Meskhetians constituted half of the population of the raion Akhaltsikhe (1939: 28,428 of the 55,490 inhabitants).^[12] Attempts to return them to independent Georgia have failed, with local resistance.^[15][16]

See also

• List of municipalities in Georgia (country)

External links

• Website Municipality

Explanatory notes

1. Split from Georgian Dream.^[7]

References

1. "Main Results of the 2014 Census (Publication)" (PDF). Census.ge, National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) (in Georgian). 2016-04-28. pp. 283–284, 299–303. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
2. "Population and Demography - Population by cities and boroughs (daba), as of 1 January". National Statistics Office of Georgia, Geostat. 2021-01-01. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
3. "Ethnic composition of Georgia 2014". mashke.org. Archived from the original on 2018-11-04.
4. "Parliament Reduces Number of Self-Governing Cities".
5. "Protocol elected municipal council members and mayors 2017" (PDF) (in Georgian). CESKO Central Election Commission. pp. 40–42. Retrieved 2021-01-06.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
6. "Protocol elected municipal council members and mayors 2021" (PDF) (in Georgian). CESKO Central Election Commission. pp. 49–51. Retrieved 2021-01-06.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
7. "'ხალხის ძალას' სამცხე-ჯავხეთიდან 'ოცნების' 10–მდე დეპუტატი შეუერთდა". sknews.ge (in Georgian). 2022-10-25. Archived from the original on 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
8. Combined figures of the 2014-2017 city municipality (kalaki) Akhalkalaki and the municipality of Akhalkalaki.^[1]
9. The 2014 census found an inexplicable gap with the data from the national statistical office Geostat. UN-assisted research has found the 2002 census was inflated by about 8-9 percent. See,^[13] "1. Introduction", Page 1.
10. "Population divisions of Georgia". Population Statistics Eastern Europe and former USSR. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
11. "Population cities & towns of Georgia". Population Statistics Eastern Europe and former USSR. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
12. "1939 census". Ethno Kavkaz (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-02-23.
13. "Population Dynamics in Georgia - An Overview Based on the 2014 General Population Census Data" (PDF). National Statistics Office of Georgia, Geostat. 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
14. "From Exile to Exile: The Perpetual Deportation of the Ahıska Turks". Genocide Watch. 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
15. "Meskhetian Turks Return to Lost Homeland in Georgia". Eurasianet. 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
16. "Meskhetian Turks: Still Struggling to Return to Their Homeland". Eurasianet. 2003-03-25. Retrieved 2022-02-15.

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