Demographics of Georgia (U.S. state)
The demographics of Georgia are inclusive of the ninth most populous state in the United States, with over 9.68 million people (2010 census), just over 3% of America's population.
Humanitarian impact of the Russo-Georgian War
Before the war started, one estimate of the population of ethnic Georgians living in South Ossetia was 18,000 people, up to one quarter of the population. On 10 August 2008, Georgia charged that ethnic cleansing of Georgians was occurring behind Russian lines. On 15 August, UNHCR said that according to Georgian officials, up to 15,000 ethnic Georgians had fled into the other parts of Georgia from South Ossetia. As of 15 August 2008, some 73,000 people were displaced in Georgia proper. On 17 August 2008, "The Independent" reported that many refugees from South Ossetia in Tbilisi were crammed into makeshift centres without basic amenities and had no possessions with them, except the clothes they were wearing when they fled. By 19 August, the UNHCR figure of the displaced persons rose to 158,600. On 20 August, "The Guardian" reported that "The scale of ethnic cleansing in the district nine miles north of Gori was strikingly apparent".