Georgia - Education

Adult literacy was estimated at 99.0% in 1998, with men estimated at 99.5% and women at 98.5%. Georgia's educational system was based on the Soviet model until the late 1980s, when there was a de-emphasis of Soviet educational themes in favor of Georgian history and language. Georgian students are taught in a number of languages, including Georgian, Russian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Abkhazian, and Ossetian. Education is compulsory for 11 years, grades 1 to 11, beginning at age seven. In 1997 there were 757 primary schools, with 298,485 pupils and 16,487 teachers. The pupil-teacher ratio at the primary level was 17 to 1 in 1999. In the same year, 54% of those eligible attended secondary school. Public expenditure on education was estimated at 7.7% of GDP in 1995.

Several colleges and universities are located in Georgia. These include the Iran Dzhavakhiladze University of T'bilisi, Georgian Technical University, Abkhazian State University, and State University of Batumi.