The foreign name Georgia, used in many languages of the world, is derived from Greek: George (Greek: ãåùñã), a Greek name meaning a farmer and therefore Georgia indicating a farmland.

The landscape within the nation's boundaries is quite varied. Western Georgia's landscape ranges from low-land marsh-forests, swamps, and temperate rain forests to eternal snows and glaciers, while the eastern part of the country even contains a small segment of semi-arid plains characteristic of Central Asia. Forests cover around 40% of Georgia's territory while the alpine/subalpine zone accounts for roughly around 10% of the land.

The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range separates Georgia from the North Caucasian Republics of the Russian federation. The southern portion of the country is bounded by the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. The main Caucasus Range is much higher in elevation with the highest peaks rising more than 5,000 meters (16,400ft.) above sea level. The highest mountain in Georgia is Mount Shkhara at 5,201 meters (17,059 feet), and the second highest is Mount Janga at 5,051 meters (16,572 feet) above sea level. Third highest peak is Kazbegi at 5,047 meters (16,554 feet).

The climate of Georgia is extremely diverse, considering the nation's small size. There are two main climatic zones, roughly separating Eastern and Western parts of the country. The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range plays an important role in moderating Georgia's climate and protects the nation from the penetration of colder air masses from the north. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains partially protect the region from the influence of dry and hot air masses from the south as well.

Georgia's current population is 4,661,000 (July 2006 ) , with ethnic Georgians forming a majority of about 83.8%. Azerbaijanis form 6.5% of the population, Armenians 5.7% and Russians 1.5% (most Russians have emigrated since Georgia declared its independence). The Abkhhazians in Abkhazia and the Ossetians in South Ossetia (and across the border in North Ossetia) have tried to secede from Georgia since independence. There are numerous smaller groups in the country, including Assyrians, Chechens, Greeks, Kabardins, Kurds, Jews, Tatars, Turks and Ukranians.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia has suffered a serious population collapse as the rebellion in Abkhazia, the strife in Ajaria and South Ossetia, a fragile economy, and bad job opportunities led hundreds of thousands of Georgians to emigrate in search of work, especially to Russia. That problem is exacerbated by a very low birthrate among the remaining population. The population is currently estimated to be a full million less than it was back in 1990, and some observers suggest the actual number is even lower. A side effect of this emigration is that the ethnic minority proportion of the population has roughly halved in the last fifteen years, as minority groups are more likely to leave the country.

Today most of the population practices Orthodox Christianity of the Georgian Othodox Church (83.9%). Georgia is the second oldest country after Armenia to declare Christianity as an official state religion of Kartli (Iberia) in 325. The religious minorities are: Muslim (9.9%); Armenian Apostolic (3.9%); Roman Catholic (0.8%).