
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia faced significant economic challenges, including political instability and conflicts. This resulted in a severe economic recession in the 1990s, with GDP contracting sharply.

Similar to the year 2022, Georgia stayed on the path of economic recovery from COVID-19 in 2023 as well. According to GeoStat’s preliminary estimates, the real GDP continues to show a relatively high growth rate, measuring at 7.5% y/y in 2023 – which is remarkably higher than the NBG’s real GDP growth expectation of 6% from October 2023.

Political polarization erodes trust in public institutions, it damages political process, negatively affects economic development, distracts social development and relationships in society, and it may eventually lead to the backsliding of democracy.

Geostat has released its rapid estimate of real GDP growth for January 2024. The estimated growth stands at 5.8%, while the estimated growth of 2023 reached 7.5%.

While there is a consensus on high polarization in Georgia as confirmed by the public perception of increasing polarization on one hand and the call of the country's development partners towards depolarization, there has not been any tool available to measure and monitor the polarization dynamics. On this basis, the ISET Policy Institute developed a media polarization index to explore and measure the dynamics of media polarization in Georgia.