of Zugdidi. Mestia and the adjoining 132 villages form Mestia District (raioni). Its area is 3044 km2 0 abbr=out; and its population is 9,316 (1,973 in the town itself), according to the 2014 Georgia census. It was granted the status of a townlet (Georgian: daba) in 1968.

Historically and ethnographically, Mestia has always been regarded a chief community of Zemo, or Upper Svaneti province. It was formerly known as Seti (????). The population