Georgia is leading the South Caucasus region with a projected rebound of 8% this year, says the latest edition of the World Bank’s Economic Update for the region.
“Georgia’s recovery is expected to edge down to 5.5% in 2022 and 5% in 2023, as macroeconomic support continues to be removed”, reads the report.
The World Bank says that among the subregions of Europe and Central Asia, the South Caucasus suffered the sharpest collapse in output in 2020, contracting by more than 5%. Output in the South Caucasus, boosted by the recovery in consumption and a strong pick-up in exports, is projected to rebound sharply in 2021, expanding by 5.8%, with Georgia leading the region this year.
“The South Caucasus countries, and Georgia in particular, are seeing a robust recovery from the shocks of 2020, supported by pick-up in domestic demand and recovery among external partners. However, amid rising inflation and slowly recovering labour market outcomes, increasing the pace of vaccination remains a critical priority”, said World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Sebastian Molineus.
He added that reforming state-owned enterprises, fostering human capital and promoting innovation and digital transformation could improve productivity, while rebuilding economic buffers and preparing for the impact of climate change would make growth resilient.
The Georgian economy grew by 10.3% in August and by 12% in the first eight months of 2021, preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) showed. (Agenda/Business World Magazine)
