The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expects the economic growth in Georgia to moderate to 5% in 2023 and 5.3% in 2024.
The Bank’s Regional Economic Prospects forecast, published on May 16, said growth prospects remained “clouded by high geopolitical risks”, but a “potential start of the EU accession process in the coming years could invigorate growth-enhancing reforms” for the country.
“Robust double-digit economic growth began to moderate at the beginning of 2023. Construction, trade and financial services were expanding in the first months of 2023, but the manufacturing and real estate sectors contracted”, the EBRD said.
The bank also named reasons leading to the recent reduction of the inflation rate in Georgia.
“Foreign capital inflows covered the trade deficit, while domestic currency appreciation with timely monetary policy tightening from the central bank contributed to a steady reduction of inflation to 5.3% in March”, it said.
The EBRD’s projections came as the International Monetary Fund shared its forecast for the growth of the Georgian economy, saying it could grow by 5% this year.
The latest report by the Asian Development Bank, published in April, said the Georgian economy was expected to grow by 4.5% in 2023 before reaching a 5% growth rate in 2024. (Agenda/Business World Magazine)