NBG: Q1 current account deficit shrinks to historic low

In the first quarter of 2026, Georgia’s current account deficit stood at USD 348.1 million. The deficit-to-GDP ratio improved by 4.1 percentage points (pp) year-on-year to 3.8 per cent, marking a historic low for any first quarter in recent years, the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has announced.

According to the NBG, against the backdrop of a sustained trend towards less import-intensive economic growth, the trade balance in goods made a substantial contribution to the improvement in the current account-to-GDP ratio.

“Goods exports rose by 23.8 per cent year-on-year, driven primarily by an increase in domestic exports. Meanwhile, goods imports grew by 11.4 per cent. Consequently, on the back of an improved balance of trade in goods, the trade deficit-to-GDP ratio narrowed by 3.4 pp year-on-year to 18.5 per cent,” the National Bank noted.

At the same time, as NBG reported, the current account balance was significantly bolstered by exports of computer and information services (ICT), which surged by 65.7 per cent year-on-year to reach a historic high of 4.8 per cent of GDP. A stronger primary and secondary income account also played a prominent role in improving the current account-to-GDP ratio.

“On the other hand, amidst the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the annual growth rate of tourism revenues slowed down, posting a modest 0.5 per cent increase in the first quarter. However, this deceleration in tourism growth was heavily offset by robust expansion in both ICT service exports and goods exports.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) remains one of the primary sources of current account financing, with the volume of inflows standing at 3 per cent of GDP as of the first quarter of 2026,” the National Bank of Georgia said in a statement.