No Way Out: An Assessment of the Romani Community in Georgia ECMI Working Paper #39

The Romani community is the most marginalized and disadvantaged ethnic community in Georgia. Although accurate estimates are hard to establish, the population is thought to number up to 1,500 persons, living in multiple small settlements across Georgia. Extreme poverty, unemployment, lack of education and health care, and isolation from larger society comprise several of the major problems the community as a whole is facing. The overall situation for the Roms in Georgia has significantly deteriorated since the Soviet period, leaving the population practically devoid of any means to lift themselves out of their often devastating circumstances.

This assessment aims at providing the first systematic overview of the Romani community in Georgia and includes an assessment of the Roms in Abkhazia as well.