Based on the latest data, we expect annual growth in 2016 to be 3.3%. This is just 0.1% below the recently released annual economic growth projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and 0.2% lower than the annual forecast of the National Bank of Georgia.
The IMF’s projection for real GDP growth in Georgia in 2017 was revised upward to 5.2% from the predicted 4.5% in April. This is the highest projected regional growth rate and is certainly very encouraging. Despite this, Georgia remains a small economy, where GDP growth has always been highly correlated to the economic performance of its large trading partners.
On October 20th, representatives of APRC presented the final results of its study on Livestock Farm-Enterprise Models in the Kakheti Region. The presentation was the final part of a study that started in June 2016, the goal of which was to show successful models with the potential to be replicated and to contribute to market-oriented production of cattle and pigs in the region.
The CCI, which is computed by ISET-PI on a monthly basis, monitors how Georgians feel about their personal financial situations and the economic well-being of the whole country. Roughly speaking, the index is computed as the difference between the frequencies of positive and negative answers to 12 questions covering the present and expected economic situations of the households surveyed, as well as general economic parameters of the country, such as inflation and unemployment.
Like almost everyone else across the European continent, ISET has the utmost respect for Scandinavian economic power, and in recent weeks has been deepening ties with economic institutions in the region. As well as hosting guests from the Stockholm School of Economics, ISET also dispatched two members of its resident faculty to Norway.