The growth forecast for the 4th quarter of 2013 has been revised downward from 5.2%to 4.9%. The forecast for the first quarter of 2014 has also been reduced from 6.5% to 5.7%. Given the Geostat data for the first three quarters and the ISET-PI forecast for the 4th quarter, the annual growth rate for 2013 is projected to be 2.6%.
2013 was a challenging period for Georgia. Elections, political and policy instability contributed to the significant slowdown in economic growth. Apart from the internal factors, external factors also contributed to the slowdown. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, world economic growth has decreased from 3.2% to 2.9% and IMF forecasts that the world will catch higher growth rates in the following years.