Abkhazia surpasses Russia in cars per capita: is it good or bad?
Abkhazia has overtaken Russia in cars per capita. On the surface, this might seem like a point of pride — but there are some nuances.
According to the Abkhazian traffic police, 82,000 vehicles are currently registered in the republic. The 2011 census recorded a population of 241,000.
This means there are 342 cars per 1,000 people in Abkhazia, compared with 315 cars per 1,000 people in Russia.
On the other hand, 82,000 cars is almost twice the number recorded before the 1992–93 Georgian-Abkhaz war, even though the population at that time was much higher — around 530,000.
In addition to locally registered vehicles, many cars with foreign, mostly Russian, license plates also travel on Abkhazian roads.
Over the first ten months of 2025, more than 2 million cars entered Abkhazia from Russia. During the summer tourist season, up to 12,700 vehicles sometimes crossed into the republic in a single day.
The sharp increase in the number of cars has made traffic jams a part of everyday life in Abkhazia — not just during the tourist season, but year-round.
The problem is worsened by the fact that, since the collapse of the USSR more than 30 years ago, the republic’s road infrastructure has not been upgraded or expanded — not a single new road has been built in all that time.
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How many cars are there in Abkhazia?
