Where do you see your children’s future – in Georgia or abroad? JAMnews street poll. Video
Where do parents see their children’s future in ten years’ time – in Georgia or abroad? What influences their choices, and how confident are they that their children can have a better life in Georgia? This time, we put these questions to passers-by on the streets of Tbilisi.
Context
Over the past few years, increasing numbers of people have been leaving Georgia. Emigration has long been one of the country’s main challenges, but its nature and scale have now changed.
In the past, those who left were mostly middle-aged people, often just one member of a family, seeking work abroad. Now, however, young people and families with children are leaving. Most have no plans to return.
According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia, 114,374 people left the country in 2025, most of them young people, official data show.
Some leave to study, others to find better jobs. Others have lost everything they had in Georgia because of the country’s ongoing political and economic crisis. People who have experienced political repression are also choosing to emigrate.
Most respondents said they would all like to live in Georgia. They enjoy life there and believe that living in one’s homeland is always better. However, they feel that opportunities to do so are becoming increasingly scarce.
Some said their children had been living abroad for a long time. They had settled there and started families of their own. “Sadly, my grandchildren do not even speak Georgian,” one respondent lamented.
Many respondents admitted that they would like their children to stay in their homeland, close to their parents. However, they do not want to deprive them of opportunities to build a better future.
Here are some of the most telling responses we received:
“My children live abroad. Not because life there is better, but because life here was bad. They want to return to Georgia. But I am a mother, and I want to make sure they do not face discrimination or disadvantage here”;
“Life in Georgia is still better. But given the current situation and the atmosphere in the country, I would not be entirely happy for my child to grow up here”;
“I will support my child whatever they want and decide. If they want to stay in Georgia, they can stay. If not, they can go abroad. Personally, I think going abroad is better because I don’t see much opportunity for development here. I cannot create the future I want for my child,” said a young woman pushing a pram with her newborn baby.
One respondent said that she had lived in Spain with her three children for several years, but the family had recently decided to return to Georgia so that the children would not forget their mother tongue.
“When they grow up, they can choose for themselves where they want to live. But I want conditions here to be good enough for them not even to think about leaving.”
Street poll in Tbilisi
