Svans
The Svans (Georgian: სვანი, Svani) are an ethnic subgroup of the Georgians (Kartvelians) living mostly in Svaneti, a region in northwest Georgia. They speak the Svan language and are mostly bilingual also in Georgian. Both these languages belong to the Kartvelian (South Caucasian) language family. In the pre-1930 Soviet census, the Svans were afforded their own "ethnic group" (natsional'nost) category. The self-designation of the Svan is Mushüan, which is probably reflected in the ethnonym Misimian of the Classical authors.
Distribution of the Svan language in relation to other Kartvelian (South Caucasian) languages. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 14,000–80,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Georgia | 14,000–30,000 |
| Russia | 45 (2010) |
| Languages | |
| Svan, Georgian | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly † Eastern Orthodox Christianity (Georgian Orthodox Church) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Georgians, the Laz and Mingrelians | |
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