Updated: June 9, 2011 

POPULATION

• Georgia is the 9th largest state in the U.S. with 9.69 million people in 2010

Largest City

With a population of 519,145 (2007) in the city limits and over 5.2 million people living in the metro area, Atlanta is Georgia’s largest city.

Education

78 percent of Georgians 25 years and older are high school graduates and over 24 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

ECONOMY

• With a GDP of $393.4 billion in 2009, if the state of Georgia were a country, it would have the 23rd largest economy in the world

 

• 14 Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Georgia, with combined revenues in 2010 of $283.77 billion

 

• Georgia’s civilian labor force totals over 4.68 million people (March 2011)

 

• Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 9.9 percent in April, down one-tenth of a percentage point, from a revised 10.0 percent in March. The state’s jobless rate was 10.1 percent in April a year ago.

 

• Georgia nonprofit arts organizations have produced  a return of more than $6.1 million to counties and cities in the form of sales tax revenue. The arts industry contributes more than $350 million in economic impact to the state.

 

Other Georgia Facts  

• Centrally located in the Southeastern United States, the fastest growing region of the country, Georgia attracts more than 60 million visitors annually.

 

• As of 2010 there are 14 Fortune 500 companies and 29 Fortune 1000 companies with headquarters in Georgia, including such names as CNN/Turner Broadcasting, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Equifax, NCR, The Home Depot, AFLAC, Newell Rubbermaid, Internet Security Systems, Ciba Vision, Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts, EarthLink and UPS.
  

 

• Georgia has over 2,500 internationally owned facilities representing 61 countries, employing more than 148,000 Georgians with an estimated capital investment of $24.3 billion.

 

• The state is the world leader in the production of carpet, kaolin, chicken and watermelon. Top industries include automotive, agriculture, food processing, tourism, life sciences, high technology, metal fabrication and plastics. Exports from Georgia industries totaled $27.5 billion in 2008, ranking Georgia as the 13th largest exporting state in the nation. 

 

• 76 governments from throughout the world have consular offices and/or trade representation in Atlanta and 39 bi-national chambers of commerce call the city home.

 

• Georgia is home to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest passenger airport, serving over 87 million passengers in 2009. Hartsfield-Jackson offers more than 500 direct flights to cities throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin American, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

 

• 80 percent of U.S. consumers can be reached in two hours air travel or less from Georgia. Similarly, more than 80 percent of the U.S. industrial market is within two days journey by truck from Georgia.
   

• The Port of Savannah is the second largest container port in the U.S. Southeast and is the fastest growing port in the United States.

 

• Georgia has three general-purpose Foreign Trade Zones in Atlanta, Brunswick and Savannah, where firms can delay, reduce and, in certain cases, eliminate U.S. customs duties on imported items.

 

• Georgia boasts almost 70 public colleges, universities, and technical colleges around the state in addition to over 45 private institutes of higher learning.

 

• Georgia’s geography is very diverse, offering many tourism opportunities. Its regions include the Mountains, Coast, Historic South, Southern Rivers and Metro Atlanta.

 

• The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum is one of 12 national presidential libraries across the country and the only one in the Southeastern United States. It includes archived materials from the period when Jimmy Carter served as President of the United States (1977–81). 

 

• In addition to President Jimmy Carter, some additional famous Georgians include Martin Luther King Jr., Ted Turner, Ambassador Andrew Young, Margaret Mitchell, Bobby Jones, James Brown, Juliette Gordon Low, Ty Cobb, Ray Charles, Bill Elliot, Alice Walker, Julia Roberts and Travis Tritt. To see more famous Georgians, click here.
  

  

Related Sites:
Georgia Government
The New Georgia Encyclopedia

Famous Georgians
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport
Georgia Ports Authority
The Carter Center