hitchhike back to South Ossetia. Bibilov later said that the deserters would face no punishment. Demographics Before the Georgian–Ossetian conflict roughly two-thirds of the population of South Ossetia was Ossetian and 25–30% was Georgian. The eastern quarter of South Ossetia, around the town and district of Akhalgori, was predominantly Georgian, while the center and west were predominantly Ossetian. Much of the mountainous north is sparsely inhabited (see map at Languages of the Caucasus). The Georgian 2002 census was incomplete with regard to South Ossetia, as it only took place in areas under effective Georgian control at the time. This concerned the Georgian populated areas of Akhalgori district and the Georgian communities around Tskhinvali, in the Patara Liachvi and Didi Liakhvi valleys. although according to some estimates there were 47,000 ethnic Ossetians and 17,500 ethnic Georgians in South Ossetia in 2007. 2009 population estimate: During the war, according to Georgian officials, 15,000 Georgians moved to Georgia proper; South Ossetian officials indicate that 30,000 Ossetians fled to North Ossetia, and a total of 500 citizens of South Ossetia were killed. According to the 2015 census conducted by the South Ossetian authorities, the region's total population was 53,532, including 48,146 Ossetians (89.9%), 3,966 Georgians (7.4%), and 610 Russians. The Georgian authorities have questioned the accuracy of these data. Estimates based on official birth rates and school attendance suggest it may have been around 39,000 inhabitants, and an independent estimate from 2009 put the population at 26,000. According to the South Ossetian Statistical agency the population estimate was 56,520 per 1 January 2022. Of these, 33,054 lived in Tskhinvali. Eastern Orthodoxy is the major religion practised in South Ossetia, by Ossetians, Georgians and Russians. Economy South Ossetia's economy is primarily agricultural, although less than 10% of South Ossetia's land area is cultivated. Cereals, fruit and vines are the major produce. Forestry and cattle industries are also maintained. A number of industrial facilities also exist, particularly around the capital, Tskhinvali. Following the war in the 1990s, South Ossetia struggled economically. South Ossetian GDP was estimated at US$15 million (US$250 per capita) in a work published in 2002. In 2017, the Administration of South Ossetia estimated its GDP to be nearly 100 million US dollars. South Ossetia's poverty threshold stood at 3,062 rubles a month in the fourth quarter of 2007, or 23.5 per cent below Russia's average, while South Ossetians have incomparably smaller incomes. The