The Svans (Svan: შვანარ, Shvanar; Georgian: სვანი, Svani) are an ethnic subgroup of the Georgians (Kartvelians)[3][4][5][6][7] living mostly in Svaneti, a region in northwest Georgia.

In the pre-1930 Soviet census, the Svans were categorized as a separate ethnic group (natsionalnost).

[8] The self-designation of the Svan is Mushüan, which is probably reflected in the ethnonym Misimian of the Classical authors.

[citation needed] In the Russian Empire and early Soviet Union Mingrelians and Svans had their own census grouping, but were classified under the broader category of Georgian in the 1930s.

Typically bilingual, they use both Georgian and their own, unwritten Svan language.