
The share of the rural population in the total population decreased slightly, from 42.6% in 2015 to 41.3% in the beginning of 2019. The share of agriculture in total GDP has also declined, from 9.1% in 2015 to 7.7% in 2018. While production figures have gone up, there was a 6.4% increase in agricultural production in 2018 compared to the previous year. Production in the plant-growing sector increased by 10.9%, and animal production experienced an increase of 2.1% compared to 2017.

That Georgia is making strident progress on a variety of international indices is widely reported in the domestic press, but many Georgians may still view claims of their country ranking highly on global lists of safety and economic freedom with a degree of skepticism; after all, the average wage remains low, and there are few opportunities outside of the capital.

The cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri in May 2019 averaged 3.24 GEL, which is approximately 2.4% higher compared to May 2018 (year-on-year), and 6.4% lower compared to the previous month (April 2019).

A nationally representative sample of 358 Georgians, interviewed in early May 2019, revealed that the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) improved by 4.3 index points, from -20.8 in April to -16.5 in May. A similar pattern was observed in both sub-indices from May: the Present Situation Index rose by 3.8 points (from -23.3 to -19.5) and the Expectations Index by 4.8 points (from -18.4 to -13.6).

In comparison with Q4 2018, the GEO real property market dropped by 15.2% in Q1 2019. While the annual increase was more pronounced at 3.7% (YoY), compared to Q1 2018. Tbilisi dominated the real property market with a 41.8% share in total sales in Q1 2019. The Tbilisi market was followed by Kakheti and Adjara, with a respective 12.6% and 10.9% proportion of GEO sales.