PM reports record growth to Parliament: Georgia’s economy to exceed GEL 100 billion milestone

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze delivered his annual parliamentary report, announcing that the country’s economy would surpass GEL 100 billion for the first time by year-end, marking what he called a historic achievement.

The PM highlighted record-breaking economic indicators, including GDP per capita growth from $4,300 to $9,140 over four years, unemployment falling to historic lows of 13.9%, and tourism revenues reaching $4.4 billion. Kobakhidze emphasised that Georgia currently leads Europe and the broader region in economic growth rates. He also outlined ambitious goals, including achieving energy self-sufficiency by 2030 and reducing poverty to 4% by 2028.

“By the end of the year, for the first time, our economy will exceed GEL 100 billion,” Kobakhidze declared. “I want to remind you that in 2012, when the Georgian Dream team came to power, our economy did not even amount to GEL 28 billion, meaning we have approximately quintupled the economy during this period.”

The Prime Minister highlighted growth in GDP per capita, noting that “by the end of 2020, our gross domestic product per capita was $4,300, and by the end of 2024, this indicator reached $9,140. We doubled and, even more significantly, increased our country’s nominal economy in dollars during these four years, which means the economy is developing at a very fast pace.”

According to Kobakhidze’s assessment, Georgia ranks first not only in the broader region but also among European countries based on these four-year economic growth figures.

“We are in first place in Europe and the broader region in terms of economic growth over the past four years,” he stated.

IMF Projections

The Prime Minister cited encouraging forecasts from the International Monetary Fund, which projects that Georgia will maintain the highest growth rates among regional and European countries through 2030.

“According to the IMF forecast, we will maintain a similar pace in the coming years, through 2030, and will be in first place among regional and European countries. The average forecast is 5.2%, which the IMF presented, although we believe our indicator will be even higher,” Kobakhidze noted.

For 2024, economic growth reached 9.4%, continuing a positive trend that has persisted since 2021.

“In 2025 as well, economic growth in January-April was 8.8%, meaning we are maintaining a high pace this year too,” the PM reported.

Fiscal Stability Maintained

The Prime Minister emphasized the government’s success in maintaining fiscal discipline despite high growth rates.

“High economic growth rates and good economic indicators allowed us to maintain a high degree of fiscal consolidation,” he noted.

Key fiscal indicators for 2024 project an average annual inflation of 1.1%, a budget deficit of 1.9%, a current account deficit of 4.4%, and government debt at 36.1%, all remaining within established thresholds. Notably, government debt has declined markedly from over 60% in 2020 to its current level of 36.1%.

Major Investment Projects Drive Growth

The Prime Minister highlighted several key investment initiatives supporting economic development.

“One of the most impressive achievements in this regard was the Arab Emaar investment, which will be invested in our country over the next five years. This is a $6 billion project, an investment that will be implemented in Georgia. This investment will additionally contribute to the development of our economy,” Kobakhidze announced.

Various government programs are supporting business development, including the “Produce in Georgia” program, which has “funded 1,500 business entities during the reporting period and created more than 10,000 jobs through this program.”

Infrastructure Development and Future Goals

Several major infrastructure projects are advancing, including railway modernization that will increase capacity “from 27,000,000 to 48,000,000 tons,” and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project, which is “98.5% complete.”

The Anaklia Deep Sea Port construction represents another significant milestone, with “the first phase to be completed no later than 2029.” The project’s first phase involves a $600 million investment and will enable the port to serve “more than 600,000 containers annually.”

Energy Independence by 2030

In the energy sector, the government has set an ambitious target for complete self-sufficiency.

“We have an ambitious goal in the energy direction – by 2030, we want Georgia to become a completely self-sufficient country from an energy perspective,” Kobakhidze stated.

Recent progress includes the construction of four new hydroelectric power stations and continued gasification efforts, with “5,000 families connected to the gasification network during the reporting period.”

Tourism Sector Achieves Record Results

The tourism industry has demonstrated exceptional performance, with 2024 marking record-breaking achievements in revenue generation.

“It is significant that the tourism sector is developing at a rapid pace. In 2024, a record indicator was recorded in terms of revenue – our country received $4.4 billion in revenue from tourism,” the Prime Minister reported.

The country hosted 7.4 million international travellers in the reporting period, with substantial infrastructure development including “70 hotels opened with more than 3,300 rooms and approximately 6,700 beds.”

Airport services also reached unprecedented levels, with “7,425,000 passengers served by our three airports last year, which is the highest indicator since independence restoration, and we never had such an indicator before independence restoration either.”

Poverty Reduction Shows Significant Progress

Addressing one of the country’s most pressing challenges, PM Kobakhidze reported substantial progress in poverty reduction efforts.

“In 2024, 90,000 people escaped poverty,” he announced. “I want to remind you what the data was in 2012: more than 1,100,000 people lived below the poverty line in Georgia… This indicator decreased from more than 1,100,000 to 350,000.”

The poverty rate fell to 9.4% in 2024, marking “the first time a single-digit indicator was recorded, which is very significant. In 2023, the poverty rate was 11.8%, and this indicator decreased by 2.4 percentage points.”

The government has set ambitious targets for continued poverty reduction: “We have an ambitious goal for 2028 – we want poverty to decrease to a maximum of 4% in our country.”

Employment Reaches Historic Peaks

Unemployment in Georgia has fallen to historic lows, with the rate dropping to 13.9% by the end of 2024 – the lowest level since the restoration of independence.

“This is a historic minimum since the restoration of independence,” Kobakhidze emphasized. “I want to remind you what we found in 2012 – unemployment then was 26.7%, meaning we managed to halve unemployment in our country during this period.”

The employment sector has seen significant expansion, with “more than 185,000 new jobs created in 2022-2024 alone.” In 2024 specifically, “the number of employed people increased by 68,000, and for the first time since independence restoration, the number of employed people exceeded 1,400,000, which is a historic maximum.”

Employment and Wage Growth Targets

Looking ahead, the government has established concrete targets for employment and wage growth.

“Our goal for 2028 is to reduce the unemployment rate to a maximum of 4% in our country. For this, we want to create 200,000 jobs,” the Prime Minister outlined.

Average wages have already shown substantial improvement, with the first quarter of 2025 showing an average salary of GEL 2,170, compared to GEL 712.5 in 2012 – representing a threefold increase.

The government aims to reach an average salary of GEL 3,500 by 2028.