According to experts, there is a demographic decline in Abkhazia. Compared to the last census conducted in 2011, the population of the republic has increased by only 3,500 people, and in the last five years there has been a decrease in the birth rate and an increase in mortality.
According to the Center for Socio-Economic Research (CSER), from 2011 to 2021, the population of Abkhazia increased by 3,531 people and currently stands at 244,200 people.
The share of ethnic Abkhaz among them is slightly more than half – 51 percent (125.5 thousand).
In second place are ethnic Georgians (46.9 thousand).
Next come Armenians (41.5 thousand) and Russians (22.3 thousand).
The population growth of 3.5 thousand people occurred in the first half of the 2010s, but then the figures went down, and the death rate began to exceed the birth rate.
CSER researcher Amra Tsushba believes that there are significant demographic problems.
She considers the low birth rate and high mortality rates, unfavorable age dynamics of the population, an increase in the number of people of retirement age and, as a result, an increase in the burden on those employed in the economy, to be the main demographic difficulties of the country.
In addition, according to Tsushba, the low life expectancy of the male population, the deterioration of the reproductive health of women, as well as an increase in the number of migrants and unregulated shadow migration processes have a negative impact on demography.
But the government does not agree with the given birth rates.
The real birth rate is much higher than the official one, according to the head of the legal department of the Ministry of Social Security, Romeo Cherkezia. In his opinion, the recorded birth rate of 1,262 people in 2021 can be multiplied by two to get a real picture. Because many residents of Abkhazia with Russian citizenship prefer to give birth in Russia in order to receive a Russian social package that is significantly superior to the Abkhaz one.
However, despite the discrepancies, both scientists and officials consider it necessary to conduct a new census in the republic.
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