Average life expectancy for Georgians is 74.2, which lies just below the European average of about 75 years. Interestingly, the average life expectancy in former-Soviet Russia lies drastically below Georgia's at about 66 years.The life expectancy in Georgia is 69.3 for males, and 79.0 for females.
Georgia is situated in Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia. Located in the region known as the Caucasus or Caucasia, Georgia is a small country of approximately 69,875 square kilometers--about the size of West Virginia. To the north and northeast, Georgia borders the Russian republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia (all of which began to seek autonomy from Russia in 1992). Neighbors to the south are Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. The shoreline of the Black Sea constitutes Georgia's entire western border.
The culture of Georgia has evolved over the country's long history, providing it with a unique national culture and a strong literary tradition based on the Georgian language and alphabet. This has provided a strong sense of national identity that has helped to preserve Georgian distinctiveness despite repeated periods of foreign occupation and attempted assimilation.