Shida Kartli: population and official figures

Shida Kartli is a first-level division of Georgia, number 7 of 11 by population. Shida Kartli had 248,396 residents on 1 January 2026, 6.3% of the population of Georgia outside the occupied territories and 5th smallest of 11 regions by population.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Shida Kartli: The economy of Shida Kartli generated 3.4 billion lari of gross value added in 2024 at current prices, 4.2% of Georgia's total and 5th smallest of 11 regional economies.
• Health in Shida Kartli: Shida Kartli had 737 doctors of all specialties at the end of 2025, about 30 per 10,000 residents, 4th lowest of 11 regions (Georgia 57).
• Education in Shida Kartli: Shida Kartli had 170 general education schools with 39,582 pupils at the start of the 2025/26 school year, 6.1% of Georgia's pupils and 5th smallest of 11 regions by school enrolment.
• Poverty and living standards in Shida Kartli: Average household income in Shida Kartli was 529 lari per person a month in 2025, 16.2% below the national average of 631 lari and 3rd lowest of 11 regions (up from 490 lari in 2024).
• Government budget and revenue in Shida Kartli: The 4 municipal budgets in Shida Kartli spent 244.67 million lari in 2025, about 985 lari per resident, the lowest of 11 regions (all Georgian municipalities: 1,427 lari per resident).

More figures

• During 2025 the population of Shida Kartli fell by 1.2% (Georgia 0.3%); 42% of its residents live in towns and cities. Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) · saved copy

How first-level divisions are governed in Georgia

Autonomous Republic of Adjara. Supreme Council (21 members) directly elected; head of the Adjara government nominated at national level and approved by the Supreme Council. Autonomous powers in economy, health, education and culture; contains 5 municipalities and the city of Batumi.

Every tier of government in Georgia

Other first-level divisions of Georgia

• Tbilisi 1,369,356
• Imereti 492,505
• Kvemo Kartli 440,058
• Adjara Aut. Rep. 413,214
• Kakheti 300,049
• Samergelo and Zemo (upper) Svaneti 297,820
• Samtskhe-Javakheti 155,480
• Guria 101,557
• Mtskheta-Mtianeti 93,187
• Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo (lower) Svaneti 29,481

Up a level: Georgia · government and power in Georgia · cities

Sources

• National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat): Regional Statistics: population and vital statistics, regional GDP, labour force, earnings, household incomes and expenditures, health care and social protection, schools and universities, household infrastructure, hotels and foreign direct investment by region (the eleven Excel files offered on the page, saved unmodified in one archive with a manifest of their download links), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a38acfadfe56…)
• Ministry of Finance of Georgia: Republican budgets of the autonomous republics and budgets of municipalities by functional classification, 2025 (thousand lari), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 8e0d187c398c…)
• National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat): Regional Statistics, Business Sector: turnover, value added, employment, pay and investment of businesses by region, city and municipality, 2014-2024, read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f87cc320c757…)
• National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat): Statistical Yearbook of Georgia 2024 (published December 2025): population of cities and active entities by administrative-territorial unit, read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 75cc83526308…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.