| Merkheuli | |
| Native Name: | Abkhazian: Мархьаул, Georgian: მერხეული |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Gulripshi#Abkhazia#Georgia |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Partially recognized independent country |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Gulripshi |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Total: | 839 |
| Timezone: | MSK |
| Utc Offset: | +3 |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +4 |
| Coordinates: | 42.9918°N 41.1643°W |
Merkheuli (Abkhazian: Мархьаул; Georgian: მერხეული in Georgian pronounced as /meɾχeuli/; Armenian: Մերխեուլ) is a village in Abkhazia, Georgia. A 2011 census recorded a population of 839 people.
Fragments of Greek pottery, date back to the 6th century BC, have been found in the village.[1]
Merkheuli was established in 1879.[2]
Following the Armenian genocide, many Armenians resettled in Merkheuli, eventually becoming the majority ethnicity in the town.
Lavrentiy Beria, chief of the NKVD from 1938 to 1945, was born in Merkheuli in 1899.
| Year of census !Population | Ethnic composition | - | 1886 | 466 | Russians (61.4%), Georgians (32.2%), Abkhazians (4.3%) | - | 1926 | 3,827 | Georgians (47.3%), Armenians (15.8%), Russians and Ukrainians (9.2%), Abkhazians (4.3%) | - | 1959 | 3,076 | Georgians, Armenians, Russians, Abkhazians (no specified percentages) | - | 1989 | 3,939 | Georgians, Armenians, Abkhazians (no specified percentages) | - | 2011[3] | 839 | Armenians (76.3%), Georgians (9.4%), Abkhazians (8.6%), Russians (4.4%) |
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Merkheuli has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa.)