“It is an honor for me to be standing here, at ISET, in the best school of economics in the region” – with these words, Nodar Khaduri, the Minister of Finance of Georgia, started his presentation on March 10, 2014.

The 2012 elections can be regarded as one of the most important events in the political life of Georgia. More so than at any time during the country’s 20-year history of independence, these elections were distinguished by a high level of uncertainty regarding the final results, and fierce competition between the ruling party and its major opponents.

The purpose of this report is to present the Financial Soundness Indicators (FSI) data in a way that is accessible and easy to interpret by a wide array of stakeholders, and help them analyze the economic implications underlying the FSI concepts.

The purpose of this report is to take stock of the existing regionally disaggregated data and to identify disparities between the regions of Georgia. Few similar studies exist, with the major exceptions being the Diagnostic Report by the Task Force for Regional Development in Georgia (2009) and the Georgia Urbanization Review by the World Bank (2013).

In the globalized world of today, increasing national competitiveness has become an important policy target for any country. While engaging in mutually beneficial trade, technological and cultural exchanges, countries find themselves in a race for scarce mobile resources such as financial capital and talent.