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entertainment and recreation.
A decline was registered in December by the sector of construction.
A total of 4,553 new businesses were registered in December 2021, which is a 21% increase compared to December 2020. VAT payers’ turnover amounted to GEL11.5bn ($3.7bn), a 31.2% increase y/y. Exports of goods in December totalled $4.2mn, increasing by 26.9%.
Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili said ‘by the end of 2022, the volume of our economy will approach GEL65bn, and GDP per capita will be more than $5,600" on 15 December 2021.
3.2 Macro outlook
World Bank forecasts Georgian economy to grow by 5.5% in 2022, 5% in 2023
TBC Capital ups GDP and inflation forecasts for Georgia
The Georgian economy is projected to grow 5.5% in 2022 and 5% in 2023, the January edition of the World Bank’s report Global Economic Prospects 2022 says.
The latest data on real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) show that the Georgian economy increased by 12% in November 2021 year-on-year and by 10.7% in January-November 2021, the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) states.
Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili says that “by the end of 2022, the volume of our economy will approach GEL65bn, and GDP per capita will be more than $5,600.”
The World Bank report goes on to say that the Georgian economy is estimated to be the second-fastest growing economy in the region of Europe and Central Asia (ECA) in 2021, with an estimated growth of 10.5%, “reflecting a strong rebound in domestic demand.”
Georgia’s GDP growth for 2021 was predicted by the EBRD in November to total 7.5%, fully reversing the 6.2% contraction seen in 2020.
TBC Capital has revised upward its forecast for this year’s GDP growth in Georgia, from 10.5% projected under its summer forecast to 11-11.5%. GDP would expand by 6% in 2022, TBC Capital chief economist Otar Nadaraia added, speaking to Business Media Georgia.
"There will definitely be double-digit economic growth in Georgia this year. We had a summer forecast of 10.5%, but today everything goes beyond our
13 GEORGIA Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com