26
September
2015
On August 20, 2015, a strong hailstorm hit Georgia, devastating crops and infrastructure in eastern Kakheti. In Kvareli alone, the hailstorm destroyed about 1,300ha of Saperavi and 1,000ha of Rkatsiteli grapes, affecting more than 500 families. This was only one in a string of natural disasters striking Georgian farmers in recent years.
23
September
2015
The average residential rental price first fell to 7.46 USD per m2 (a historical minimum since the start of the study) in October 2015, and after a slight peak in the following month reached 7.66 USD per m2 by the end of the year.
21
September
2015
According to the population projections of the United Nations (constant fertility scenario), by the end of this century, the Georgian people will count only 2.8 million. In 2013, Georgia has been among only 19 countries in the world with a population that decreased year on year. An aggravating factor is the sex ratio of babies, which in Georgia is heavily skewed towards males. While globally about 107 boys are born per 100 girls, in Georgia 111 boys are born per 100 girls, the fourth-highest ratio in the world.
18
September
2015
Georgian consumer confidence suffered a major blow at the end of 2014, in the wake of the sharp Lari depreciation. Around February 2015, the Index found some support at the very low level of -35-30 points and has been slightly improving since then. In July 2015, this mildly positive trend was reversed, and in August, the Index dropped another 4.1 points to reach a new historical minimum of -38.4 points. Interestingly, this entire drop was driven by older respondents, those aged over 35. We will come back to this point later in the article.
11
September
2015
The lari depreciation caused a significant decrease in sale and rental prices in dollar terms. Rental prices slightly increased in August and September before the start of the new academic year. The commercial market turned out to be more resistent to the effects of currency depreciation.
