Imports—commodities: fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and
parts, transport equipment
Imports—partners: Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan (1996); note?EU and
US send humanitarian food shipments
Debt—external: $1.3 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $212.7 million (1995)
Currency: lari introduced September 1995 replacing the coupon
Exchange rates: lari per US$1 (end of period)—1.82 (December 1998), 1.32 (December 1997), 1.28 (December 1996), 1.24 (December 1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 760,000 (1996 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: local—T'bilisi and K'ut'aisi have cellular telephone
networks with about 10,000 customers total; urban areas 20
telephones/100 people; rural areas 4 phones/100 people; intercity—a
fiber-optic line connects T'bilisi to K'ut'aisi (Georgia's second
largest city); nationwide pager service
international: Georgia and Russia are working on a fiber-optic line
between P'ot'i and Sochi (Russia); present international service is
available by microwave, land line, and satellite through the Moscow
switch; international electronic mail and telex service available