A number of reports released during late spring described and explained global achievements related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). First released was the World Bank’s “Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2018”, which shed light on trends on a regional level (Georgia is categorized as a lower-middle-income country).

Geostat has released its GDP growth estimate for the first quarter of 2018. The Q1 growth stands at 5.2%, which is 1.1 percentage points above the recent forecast. ISET-PI’s forecast of real GDP growth for the second quarter of 2018 remains unchanged at 5.9%. The first estimate for the third-quarter growth forecast is at 7.2%.

There was 2.1% decrease in agricultural production in 2017 compared to the previous year. Production in the plant-growing sector declined by 0.4%, while animal production experienced a decrease of 3.8%. Lower production resulted in lower self-sufficiency ratios for most agricultural products.

In May 2018, the average price of cooking one Imeretian khachapuri stood at 3.17 GEL. Compared to the previous month (April 2018) the Khachapuri Index lost 3.6%. In annual terms (compared to May 2017), however, the Index added 0.9%.

Georgian and Armenian ruling parties have been until recently basking in the glory of high GDP growth rates. Armenia’s stellar growth performance of 7.5% in 2017 and Georgia’s respectable 5% are, indeed, worthy of praise. However, do these figures really matter for the objective well-being of the majority of Georgians and Armenians? Second, how does economic growth, as measured by GDP, affect people’s subjective perception of happiness?