Georgians in Turkey (Georgian: ქართველები თურქეთში, romanized: kartvelebi turketshi) refers to citizens and denizens of Turkey who are, or descend from, ethnic Georgians.
Georgians in Turkey (Georgian: ქართველები თურქეთში, romanized: kartvelebi turketshi) refers to citizens and denizens of Turkey who are, or descend from, ethnic Georgians.
Georgians, or Kartvelians (/kɑːrtˈvɛliənz/; Georgian: ქართველები, romanized: kartvelebi, pronounced [kʰaɾtʰʷelebi]), are a nation and Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Georgian kingdoms. Significant Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, Greece, Iran, Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union.
Georgians arose from Colchian and Iberian civilizations of classical antiquity; Colchis was interconnected with the Hellenic world, whereas Iberia was influenced by the Achaemenid Empire until Alexander the Great conquered it. In the early 4th century, the Georgians became one of the first to embrace Christianity. Currently, the majority of Georgians are Orthodox Christians, with most following their national Georgian Orthodox Church; there are also small Georgian Catholic and Muslim communities as well as a significant number of irreligious Georgians. Located in the Caucasus, on the continental crossroads of Europe and Asia, the High Middle Ages saw Georgian people form a unified Kingdom of Georgia in 1008 AD, later inaugurating the Georgian Golden Age. This lasted until the kingdom was weakened and later disintegrated as the result of the 13th–15th-century invasions of the Mongols and Timur, the Black Death, the Fall of Constantinople, as well as internal divisions following the death of George V the Brilliant in 1346, the last of the great kings of Georgia.
Demographic features of the population of Turkey include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. As of 1 July 2025, the population of Turkey was over 85.8 million with an annual growth rate of 0.36%. This official population number excludes the registered Syrian refugees under temporary protection status which have a population of about 2.6 million as of the date.
Turks are the largest ethnic group, comprising 70–75% of the population while Kurds are the second largest with 19%. The others, including Armenians, Arabs, Assyrians, Albanians, Bulgarians, Bosniaks, Circassians, Chechens, Georgians, Greeks, Pomaks, Rum, Russians, Romani, Jews, Laz people and others make 6–11% of the population according to a 2016 estimate by the CIA.