Authorities in breakaway Abkhazia said 146,121 residents of breakaway Abkhazia, which they say is 90% of the region’s population, were holders of the Abkhaz passports, Abkhaz news agency, Apsnipress, reported on December 7.

Valery Malia, head of the breakaway region’s interior ministry’s passport and visa service, said the Abkhaz passports had been issued to 73,622 ethnic Abkhazians; 32,363 - Armenians; 17,795 - Russians and 12,156 Georgians living in the region.

According to UN refugee agency, UNHCR, approximately 45,000 ethnic Georgians reside in the Gali district of Abkhazia.

The breakaway region’s law on citizenship allows for dual citizenship, but only with the Russian Federation.