Page 10 - GEORptMay18

In 2017, the country held relatively uneventful parliamentary elections, which saw the emergence of two opposition parties - Prosperous Armenia, led by business tycoon and former politician Gagik Tsarukyan and the Yelk alliance, which formed shortly before the election in late 2016.
Armenia is considered a "semi-consolidated authoritarian regime" by Freedom House, reflecting the fact that freedom of speech in the country is curtailed and that journalists face harassment. This year will be dominated by former president Serzh Sargsyan, who is currently pursuing the office of prime minister with extended powers. His appointment in this position will have implications for institutions at the national level and will serve as an indication of the ruling elites' true intentions regarding the constitutional changes, according to the watchdog.
Freedom House rates countries from 1 to 7, with 7 being the worst score, based on seven different metrics - corruption, independent media, local democratic governance, judicial independence, electoral process, civil society and national democratic governance.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Georgia also experienced a deterioration in its Freedom House score, from 4.61 in 2016 to 4.68 in 2017, which corresponds to a marginal degradation in its democratic governance. The country is classified as a "transitional government or hybrid regime". The main changes the country unerwent in 2017 were a decline in its independent media rating, from 4 to 4.25, due to the politicised editorial policies at Georgian Public Broadcasting, the state-owned broadcaster; and in the judicial framework, a fall from 4.75 to 5, due to the illegal deportation of Azerbaijani dissident and journalist Afghan Mukhtarli to more dictatorial neighbour Azerbaijan.
In response to the rating, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said that the report is "extremely biased" and that "Freedom House should think twice before spreading such biased assessments of Georgia's democratic development". According to Kvirikashvili, the government has "significantly upgraded the level of democracy in Georgia. The situation in terms of human rights is absolutely different. We have one of the most active civil sectors and the media is totally free from governmental influences”.
2.6 Polls & Sociology
Georgia’s population reached 3,729,600 as of January 1, 2018, a 0.1% y/y increase, state statistics office Geostat said. The natural increase — the difference between the number of births and the number of deaths — in 2017 equalled 5,471 people. Meanwhile, Georgia saw net emigration of 2,212 people.
Women continue to live considerably longer than men, and make up a larger share of the population — 52% compared to 48%. Despite males outnumbering females at younger ages, by 65 this reverses, and in the 85+ age group the ratio is close to 70:30.
In 2017, life expectancy at birth was 73.5 years, but this rose to 77.8 years for women and was just 69.2 years for men.
10 GEORGIA Country Report May 2018 www.intellinews.com