The advent of globalization in recent decades has had a profound impact on the development path of countries around the globe. The rapid development of ICT technologies coupled with global tendencies to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers since WWII made possible economic integration between countries on the scale never imagined before.

GeoStat has published its rapid estimate of real GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2019. Their estimated growth stands at 5.3%, which is 0.7 percentage points above ISET-PI’s most recent forecast. The annual real GDP growth for 2019 amounted to 5.2%. The real GDP growth rate reached 5.1% year-on-year for January 2020.

In January 2020, Georgian power plants generated 1,031 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 2% increase in total generation, compared to the previous year (in January 2019, the total generation was 1,011 mln. kWh). The increase in generation on a yearly basis comes from the increase of 37% in thermal and 36% in wind power generation, more than offsetting the decrease in hydro power generation (-22%).

ISET Policy InstituteI’s communication has been recognized as a critical element for its success and effectiveness and has been a major part of its activities. However, it has not been grounded in a specific communication strategy.

A nationally representative sample of around 350 Georgians, interviewed in early January 2020, reveals that the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) remained nearly the same, deteriorating by 0.4 index points (from -20 in December to -20.4 in January). Yet, as we observed in December 2019, Georgian Consumer Confidence improved by 1.8 index points.