About Georgia and Key Financial Statistics

About Georgia and Key Financial Statistics

Overview of Economy:

Georgia's main economic activities include cultivation of agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts; mining of manganese, copper, and gold; and producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals in small-scale industries. The country imports nearly all of its needed supplies of natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable hydropower capacity that now provides most of its energy needs. Georgia has overcome the chronic energy shortages and gas supply interruptions of the past by renovating hydropower plants and by increasingly relying on natural gas imports from Azerbaijan instead of from Russia. Construction of the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the South Caucasus gas pipeline, and the Kars-Akhalkalaki Railroad are part of a strategy to capitalize on Georgia's strategic location between Europe and Asia and develop its role as a transit point for gas, oil, and other goods. The expansion of the South Caucasus pipeline, as part of the Shah Deniz II Southern Gas Corridor project, will result in a $2 billion foreign investment in Georgia, the largest ever in the country. Gas from Shah Deniz II is expected to begin flowing in 2019. Georgia's economy sustained GDP growth of more than 10% in 2006-07, based on strong inflows of foreign investment and robust government spending. However, GDP growth slowed following the August 2008 conflict with Russia, and sunk to negative 4% in 2009 as foreign direct investment and workers' remittances declined in the wake of the global financial crisis. The economy rebounded in 2010-13, but FDI inflows, the engine of Georgian economic growth prior to the 2008 conflict, have not recovered fully. Unemployment has also remained high. Georgia has historically suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues; however, since 2004 the government has simplified the tax code, improved tax administration, increased tax enforcement, and cracked down on petty corruption, leading to higher revenues. The country is pinning its hopes for renewed growth on a determined effort to continue to liberalize the economy by reducing regulation, taxes, and corruption in order to attract foreign investment, with a focus on hydropower, agriculture, tourism, and textiles production. The government has received high marks from the World Bank for its anti-corruption efforts. Since 2012, the Georgian Dream-led government has continued the previous administration's low-regulation, low-tax, free market policies, while modestly increasing social spending, strengthening anti-trust policy, and amending the labor code to comply with International Labor Standards. The government published its 2020 Economic Development Strategy in early 2014 and former Prime Minister Bidzina IVANISHVILI launched the Georgian Co-Investment Fund, a $6 billion private equity fund that will invest in tourism, agriculture, logistics, energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing. In mid-2014, Georgia signed an association agreement with the European Union, paving the way to free trade and visa-free travel.

Gross Domestic Product (In USD):

$34.35 billion (2014 est.)

$32.78 billion (2013 est.)

$31.73 billion (2012 est.)

Composition of Gross Domestic Product:

% Agricuture: 9.1

% Industry: 21.8

% Services: 69.1

Composition of Labor Force by Occupation:

% Agriculture: 55.6

% Industry: 8.9

% Services: 35.5

Per Capita Income:

$9,200 (2014 est.)

$8,800 (2013 est.)

$8,500 (2012 est.)

Exports:

$3.995 billion (2014 est.)

$4.191 billion (2013 est.)

Key Export Commodities:

vehicles, ferro-alloys, fertilizers, nuts, scrap metal, gold, copper ores

Export Partners:

Azerbaijan 19%, Armenia 10.1%, Russia 9.6%, Turkey 8.4%, US 7.3%, Bulgaria 5.7%, Ukraine 4.9% (2014)

Imports:

$8.235 billion (2014 est.)

$7.697 billion (2013 est.)

Key Import Commodities:

fuels, vehicles, machinery and parts, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals

Import Partners:

Turkey 20.1%, China 8.5%, Azerbaijan 7.4%, Russia 6.7%, Ukraine 6.4%, Germany 5.4%, Japan 4.3% (2014)

Inflation Rate (Consumer Price Index):

3.1% (2014 est.)

-0.5% (2013 est.)

Exchange Rate to USD:

laris (GEL) per US dollar -

1.7657 (2014 est.)

1.7657 (2013 est.)

1.65 (2012 est.)

1.6865 (2011 est.)

1.7823 (2010 est.)

Unemployment Rate:

12.4% (2014 est.)

14.6% (2013 est.)

S&P Rating:

Standard & Poor's Ratings:

• • AAA: The best quality borrowers, reliable and stable

  • AA: Quality borrowers, a bit higher risk than AAA

  • A: Economic situation can affect finance

  • BBB: Medium class borrowers, which are satisfactory at the moment

  • BB: More prone to changes in the economy

  • B: Financial situation varies noticeably

  • CCC: An obligor rated currently vulnerable, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet its financial commitments.

Ref 2012-2014: CIA World Factbook, Wikipedia, PWC, EY, Standard & Poors ratings