Page 14 - GEORptMay21

Georgia’s GDP shrinks 6.2% in 2020 after second lockdown in Q4
Georgia’s GDP contracted by 6.8% y/y in Q4, a quarter in which the country's economy was hit by the second lockdown that continued into the first quarter of 2021. The blow suffered at the end of the year resulted in a full-year economic decline of 6.2%, slightly steeper than the 6.1% previously estimated, according to preliminary quarterly data issued by the statistics office Geostat.
The economy has not experienced such a sharp decline since 1994. Even the August 2008 war with Russia had a milder impact compared to the economic shock of COVID-19 and the two subsequent lockdowns.
In absolute terms, the country’s GDP reached Georgian lari (GEL) 49.4bn, or $15.89bn, down from $17.5bn in 2019.
For the whole year, the largest drop in turnover was recorded in the hotels and restaurants sector. The size of the sector decreased by 37.9%. Transportation and storage plunged by 22.3%. The decreases were 5.6% in trade and 4.7% in construction.
Some sectors still produced positive real growth rates: health and social work activities (+7.9%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (+3.6%), education (+3.1%), public administration and defence; and compulsory social security (+1.8+).
3.2 Macro outlook
ADB expects Georgia’s GDP to expand 3.5% in 2021 and 6% in 2022
The Georgian economy is expected to expand by 3.5% in 2021, rebounding in line with the gradual lifting of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions and the revival of domestic demand, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021, the bank’s main annual economic publication, ADB also projected that Georgia’s GDP growth would accelerate to 6% in 2022 as the full reopening of the economy and the expected recovery in tourism boost travel and commerce.
14 GEORGIA Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com