In July, the Polarization Index saw another rise, marked by significant events such as the United States indefinitely postponing the "Worthy Partner 2024" military exercise, President Salome Zurabishvili returning a package of amendments related to the Pension Law to Parliament, and the President's appointment of a non-judge member to the Supreme Council of Justice, who the court later suspended. Conversely, the index experienced a decrease during periods of opposition party unification and notable performances by Georgian athletes in the Olympics.
In July 2024, the average cost of cooking one standard portion of Imeretian khachapuri was 5.78 GEL, reflecting a 2.9% decrease compared to June 2024. On an annual basis, the price remained nearly unchanged, with a slight decline of 0.04% compared to July 2023.
Tbilisi recently hosted an International Conference commemorating the 105th Anniversary of the National Statistical Office of Georgia (Geostat) and the 25th Anniversary of Collecting Gender Statistics. The two-day event, themed "Accelerating Progress Towards Inclusive Development Through Gender Statistics," was organized by Geostat and UN Women.
Geostat has published its preliminary estimate of real GDP growth for May 2024, which stands at 9.2%. In addition, the estimated growth for the first quarter of 2024 reached 8.4%, which is 0.6 ppt higher than the previous estimate. As a result, the average real GDP growth for January - May 2024 reached 9.3%.
For the third quarter of 2024, business confidence in Georgia decreased (by 2.8 index points) and reached 13.6. The highest decrease in business confidence is observed in the construction (-12.5) sector. The negative change in BCI for Q3 2024 was driven by less optimistic expectations.