Tbilisi, in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million people. Tbilisi was founded in the 5th century AD by Vakhtang I of Iberia, and since then has served as the capital of various Georgian kingdoms and republics. Between 1801 and 1917, then part of the Russian Empire, Tiflis was the seat of the Imperial Viceroy, governing both Southern and Northern Caucasus.
Historically, Tbilisi has been home to people of multiple cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, though it is overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox Christian. Its notable tourist destinations include cathedrals Sameba and Sioni, Freedom Square, Rustaveli Avenue and Agmashenebeli Avenue, medieval Narikala Fortress, the pseudo-Moorish Opera Theater, and the Georgian National Museum. The climate in Tbilisi mostly ranges from 20 to 32 °C (68 to 90 °F) in the summer and 7 to −1 °C (45 to 30 °F) in the winter.
Tbilisi is located in the South Caucasus at 41° 43' North Latitude and 44° 47' East Longitude. The city lies in Eastern Georgia on both banks of the Kura River (locally known as Mtkvari). The elevation of the city ranges from 380–770 metres above sea level (1,250–2,530 ft) and has the shape of an amphitheatre surrounded by mountains on three sides. To the north, Tbilisi is bounded by the Saguramo Range, to the east and south-east by the Iori Plain, to the south and west by various endings of the Trialeti Range.
The relief of Tbilisi is complex. The part of the city which lies on the left bank of the Mt'k'vari River extends for more than 30 km (19 mi) from the Avchala District to River Lochini. The part of the city which lies on the right side of the Mt'k'vari River, on the other hand, is built along the foothills of the Trialeti Range, the slopes of which in many cases descend all the way to the edges of the river Mt'k'vari. The mountains, therefore, are a significant barrier to urban development on the right bank of the Mt'k'vari River. This type of a geographic environment creates pockets of very densely developed areas while other parts of the city are left undeveloped due to the complex topographic relief.
To the north of the city, there is a large reservoir (commonly known as the Tbilisi Sea) fed by irrigation canals.
Tbilisi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) with considerable continental and semi-arid influences. The city experiences hot, humid summers and moderately cold winters. Like other regions of Georgia, Tbilisi receives significant rainfall throughout the year with no distinct dry period. The city's climate is influenced both by dry (Central Asian/Siberian) air masses from the east and oceanic (Atlantic/Black Sea) air masses from the west. Because the city is bounded on most sides by mountain ranges, the close proximity to large bodies of water (Black and Caspian Seas) and the fact that the Greater Caucasus Mountains Range (further to the north) blocks the intrusion of cold air masses from Russia, Tbilisi has a relatively mild microclimate compared to other cities that possess a similar climate along the same latitudes.
The average annual temperature in Tbilisi is 13.3 °C (55.9 °F). January is the coldest month with an average temperature of 2.3 °C (36.1 °F). July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 24.9 °C (76.8 °F). Daytime high temperatures reach or exceed 32 °C (90 °F) on an average of 22 days during a typical year. The absolute minimum recorded temperature is −24.4 °C (−11.9 °F) in January 1883 and the absolute maximum is 42.0 °C (107.6 °F) on 17 July 1882. Average annual precipitation is 495.5 mm (19.5 in). May is the wettest month (averaging 77.6 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation) while January is the driest (averaging 18.9 mm (0.7 in) of precipitation). Snow falls on average 15–25 days per year. The surrounding mountains often trap the clouds within and around the city, mainly during the Spring and Autumn months, resulting in prolonged rainy and/or cloudy weather. Northwesterly winds dominate in most parts of Tbilisi throughout the year. Southeasterly winds are common as well.
As a multicultural city, Tbilisi is home to more than 100 ethnic groups. Around 89% of the population consists of ethnic Georgians, with significant populations of other ethnic groups such as Armenians, Russians, and Azerbaijanis. Along with the above-mentioned groups, Tbilisi is home to other ethnic groups including Ossetians, Abkhazians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Germans, Jews, Estonians, Kurds, Assyrians & Yazidis, and others.
More than 95% of the residents of Tbilisi practise some form of Christianity (the most predominant of which is the Georgian Orthodox Church). The Russian Orthodox Church, which is in Full communion with the Georgian Orthodox Church, and the Armenian Apostolic Church have significant followings as well. A minority of the population (around 1.5%) practises Islam (mainly Shia Islam), while about 0.1% of Tbilisi's population practises Judaism. There is also a Roman Catholic church and the Yazidi Sultan Ezid Temple.
Up until the beginning of the 19th century, sports such as horse-riding (polo in particular), wrestling, boxing, and marksmanship were the most popular city sports. Influence from the Russian Empire brought more Western sports and activities (billiards, fencing) to Tbilisi.
The Soviet period brought an increased popularization of sports that were common in Europe and to a certain extent, the United States. At the same time, Tbilisi developed the necessary sports infrastructure for professional sports. By 1978, the city had around 250 large and small sports facilities, including among others, four indoor and six outdoor Olympic sized pools, 185 basketball courts and halls, 192 volleyball facilities, 82 handball arenas, 19 tennis courts, 31 football fields, and five stadiums. The largest stadium in Tbilisi is the Dinamo Arena (55,000 seats) and the second largest is the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium (24,680 seats). The Sports Palace which usually hosts basketball games with high attendance and tennis tournaments can seat approximately 11,000 people.
Vere Basketball Hall is a smaller indoor sports arena with a 2,500 seating capacity.
The most popular sports in Tbilisi today are football, rugby union, basketball, and wrestling. Also, popular sports include tennis, swimming and water polo. There are several professional football and rugby teams as well as wrestling clubs. U.S. National Basketball Association players Zaza Pachulia and Nikoloz Tskitishvili are Tbilisi natives. Outside of professional sports, the city has a number of intercollegiate and amateur sports teams and clubs.
Tbilisi's signature football team, Dinamo Tbilisi, has not won a major European championship since the 1980–1981 season, when it won the European UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and became the easternmost team in Europe to achieve the feat. The basketball club Dinamo Tbilisi won the Euroleague in 1962 but also never repeated any such feat.
Tbilisi will host several Group Phase matches for the EuroBasket 2021 in the country, Czech Republic (Prague), Germany (Berlin, Cologne) and Italy (Milan).
The large majority of Georgia's media companies (including television, newspaper, and radio) are headquartered in Tbilisi. The city is home to the popular Rustavi 2 television channel which gained considerable fame after its coverage of the Rose Revolution. In addition to Rustavi 2, the remaining three out of the four major public television channels of Georgia (including Imedi TV Maestro and the Public Broadcasting Channel) are based in the city. Tbilisi's television market has experienced notable changes since the second half of 2005 when Rustavi 2 successfully bought out the Mze TV company and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation became a shareholder of Imedi Media Holding at the beginning of 2006.
Tbilisi has a number of newspaper publishing houses. Some of the most noteworthy newspapers include the daily 24 Saati ("24 Hours"), Rezonansi ("Resonance"), Alia, the English-language daily The Messenger, weekly FINANCIAL, Georgia Today, and the English-language weekly The Georgian Times. Out of the city's radio stations Imedi Radio (105.9 FM), Fortuna, and Radio 105 are some of the most influential competitors with large national audiences.
Radio stations in Tbilisi include 5 Lines Radio (93.8 FM), Europe +Tbilisi (99.6 FM), and Georgian Patriarchy Radio (105.4 FM).
With a GDP at basic prices of 12,147 million Georgian lari (€4.3 billion) in 2014, Tbilisi is the economic center of the country, generating almost 50 percent of Georgia's GDP. The service sector, including government services, is dominating and contributes 88 percent to GDP. Its GDP per capita of 10,336 Georgian lari (€3,600) is exceeding the national average by more than 50 percent. The service sector itself is dominated by the wholesale and retail trade sector, reflecting the role of Tbilisi as transit and logistics hub for the country and the South Caucasus. The manufacturing sector contributes only 12 percent to Tbilisi's GDP, but is much larger, by employment and total value added, than the manufacturing sectors in any other region of Georgia. The unemployment rate in Tbilisi is – with 22.5 percent – significantly higher in Tbilisi than in the regions.
Tbilisi is home to several major institutions of higher education including the Tbilisi State Medical University and the Petre Shotadze Tbilisi Medical Academy, famous for their internationally recognised medical education system. The biggest Georgian university is Tbilisi State University which was established on 8 February 1918. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region. Over 35,000 students are enrolled and the number of faculty and staff (collaborators) is approximately 5,000. Tbilisi is also home to the largest medical university in Caucasus region – Tbilisi State Medical University, which was founded as Tbilisi Medical Institute in 1918 and became the Faculty of Medicine within the Tbilisi State University (TSU) in 1930. Tbilisi State Medical Institute was renamed to Medical University in 1992. Since that university operates as an independent educational institution, TSMU became one of the high-ranking state-supported institutions of higher education in the Caucasus region. There are almost 5000 undergraduate and 203 postgraduate students at the university of whom 10% come from foreign countries.
Georgia's main and largest technical university, Georgian Technical University, is in Tbilisi. Georgian Technical University was founded in 1922 as a polytechnic faculty of the Tbilisi State University. The first lecture was read by the world-famous Georgian mathematician Professor Andria Razmadze. It achieved University status by 1990. The three most popular private higher educational institution in Georgia —The University of Georgia (Tbilisi), Caucasus University, and the Free University of Tbilisi – are in Tbilisi.
The University of Georgia (Tbilisi) is the largest private University in Georgia, with more than 3500 international and local students. It was established in 2005 and soon became a market leader within Georgian educational sector. In 2010, the UG received financing from OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation) for a development of the University's infrastructure and technical equipment. The University of Georgia has various undergraduate and graduate programs and it's the first company in Georgia which offers international certificate programs of the Oracle Corporation, Microsoft, Zend technologies and Cisco Academy.
Caucasus University was established in 2004 as an expansion of the Caucasus School of Business (CSB) (established in 1998) by a consortium consisting of Tbilisi State University and Georgian Technical University in partnership with Georgia State University (Atlanta, USA). The Free University of Tbilisi was established in 2007 through the merger of two higher education schools: European School of Management (ESM-Tbilisi) and Tbilisi Institute of Asia and Africa (TIAA). Today Free University comprises three schools — Business School (ESM), Institute of Asia and Africa and Law School — delivering academic programs at the undergraduate, graduate and doctorate levels. In addition, Free University conducts a wide array of short-term courses and runs several research centers and summer school programs.
Higher educational institutions in Tbilisi:
- Tbilisi State University
- Ilia State University
- Georgian Technical University
- Tbilisi State Conservatory
- Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film University
- Tbilisi State Academy of Arts
- The University of Georgia (Tbilisi)
- Tbilisi State Medical University
- Caucasus University
- Caucasus International University
- Tbilisi Medical Academy
- Free University of Tbilisi
- Grigol Robakidze University – Alma Mater
- Georgian American University
- International Black Sea University
- Georgian Institute of Public Affairs
- Agricultural University of Georgia
- International School of Economics (ISET)
- The University of Geomedi
- New Vision University
