Abkhazia

Autonomous republic in northwestern Georgia; area 8,600 sq km/3,320 sq mi; population (1993 est) 516,600. The region is located between the main range of the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, with a subtropical climate on the latter's shores, and with densely wooded foothills. Most of the population, including that of the capital, Sokhumi, and the cities of Ochamchire and Gagra, is located in the lowland of the coastal area. Industries include the mining of tin and coal, and lumbering and sawmilling, but agriculture, including fruit, tobacco, and tea cultivation, is still the leading occupation. Tourism and health resorts on the coast and on Lake Ritsa are also important.

Abkhazia was inhabited traditionally by Abkhazis, an ethnic group converted from Christianity to Islam in the 17th century. By the 1980s some 17% of the population were Muslims and two-thirds were of Georgian origin. Conflicts in which Abkhazis sought independence from the Georgian republic caused a substantial loss of population from Abkhazia through emigration in the later years of the 20th century.