According to NBG, the volume of total remittances to Georgia amounted to 1,379 million USD in 2017, a 19.8% YoY increase. The recovery of remittances is a clear sign that the economies of Georgia’s partner countries continue to improve. All top source countries of money inflows to Georgia showed a notable increase: Russia (+15.4% YoY), Italy (+17.9% YoY), the United States (+11.2% YoY), and Greece (+13.4% YoY).

Georgia’s real GDP growth rate in Q3 reached 4.4% year-on-year, putting the country on the path to achieving 4.7% annual growth in 2017. Export, tourism and money transfer trends were behind the strong showing in Quarter 3. Supply side pressures will keep inflation above the 4% target in 2017.

Food prices continue to follow the latest trends. Retail FPI shows a 2.6% increase m/m (that is, compared to January 2017) and a 4.9% decline y/y (that is, compared to February 2016). During the last two weeks, matsoni, tea, and carrots lost value (by 10.4%, 6.2%, and 6.2% respectively), whereas the prices of cabbage, greens, and eggplant increased (by 25.0%, 16.1%, and 14.9% respectively).

Back in 2005, the Georgian government introduced the Unified Entry Examinations (UEE) for admittance into universities. Before the UEE, each university had its own set of entry examinations and examiners, which opened the system to abuse and corruption. With the introduction of the UEE, the government of Georgia managed to make the system fairer and more transparent.

Casinos, totalizators, and other gambling institutions are very popular in Georgia. According to the study “Gambling in Georgia – Second Report,” conducted by Transparency International Georgia in 2015, 6% of 1867 randomly interviewed people answered “yes” to the question of whether they or their family members were engaged in gambling for money, including online. This figure, in my opinion, is too low, underestimating the potential engagement in gambling among Georgians.