Demography
The earliest reliable records for Abkhazia are the Family Lists compiled in 1886 (published 1893 in Tbilisi), according to which the Sukhum District's population was 69,000 of which 28,000 were Abkhaz. The Armenians in that list totalled 1,090.
According to the 1897 census there were 58,697 people in Abkhazia who listed Abkhaz as their mother tongue. There were about 1,500 Armenians in the Sukhumi district (Abkhazia) at that time; its total population was nearly 100,000.
- Armenians in Abkhazia by districts in 2003
| District (or city) | Armenians | % | Total population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gagra | 16,322 | 46.8 | 34,869 |
| Gulripsh District | 9,375 | 47.0 | 19,918 |
| Sukhumi District | 7,209 | 61.4 | 11,747 |
| City of Sukhumi | 5,565 | 12.7 | 43,716 |
| Gudauta | 4,141 | 12.7 | 34,869 |
| Ochamchira | 2,177 | 8.8 | 24,629 |
| Tkvarcheli | 67 | 0.5 | 14,777 |
| Gali | 14 | 0.1 | 29,287 |
| Abkhazia | 44,870 | 23.75 | 213,812 |
The Russian, Armenian and Georgian population grew faster than Abkhaz, due to the large-scale migration enforced especially during the rule of Joseph Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria.
The following table summarises the results of the other censuses carried out in Abkhazia.
| Year | Armenians | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 13.8% (25,677) | 186,004 |
| 1939 | 15.9% (49,705) | 311,885 |
| 1959 | 15.9% (64,425) | 404,738 |
| 1970 | 15.4% (74,850) | 486,959 |
| 1979 | 15.1% (73,350) | 486,082 |
| 1989 | 14.6% (76,541) | 525,061 |
| 2003 *** | 20.8% (44,870) | 215,972 |
^*** The Georgian authorities did not acknowledge the results of this census and consider it illegitimate. At the same time, the Abkhaz regime have been accused by local Armenian NGOs of intentionally decreasing the number of Abkhazian-Armenians.
Read more about this topic: Armenians In Abkhazia