Page 12 - GEORptJun18

Somewhat surprisingly, given the position of most respondents on Russia, 43% considered the dissolution of the Soviet Union to have been good for Russia, and an extremely close 43% thought it was bad for the country.
Opinions were more divided over the direction the country is going in, with 39% saying the country is going in the wrong direction, compared to 29% each who said it was going in the right direction or not changing at all. Opinions were also split over the performance of the current government, with more respondents rating it as “average” than either good or bad.
Data over time shows that a majority consistently thought Georgia was going in the right direction between 2009 and 2013, but since then positions have fluctuated. The poll was based on 2,194 interviews carried out between March 20 and April 4. It was funded with UK aid.
3.0 Macro Economy
Georgia - Main Macro 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Indicators
GDP real growth (y/y, %)
7.2 6.4 3.4 4.6 2.9 2.7 5.0
GDP (per capita, $) 3,230.7 3,523.4 3,599.6 3,676.2 3,766.6 3,864.6 4,078.5
GDP: Final consumption expenditure, (GEL mn)
22,487.3 23,733.2 23,671.8 25,570.7 27,318.7 28,241.5 30,381.7
GDP: Gross capital formation, (GEL mn)
6,368.0 7,575.4 6,652.9 8,688.8 10,004.3 10,999.8 12,133.3
GDP: Exports, (GEL mn)
8,822.8 9,982.9 11,997.9 12,518.3 14,206.8 14,837.8 19,177.3
GDP: Imports, (GEL mn)
13,334.2 15,124.2 15,475.2 17,627.3 19,774.3 20,187.5 23,650.1
Source: bne IntelliNews, CEIC
3.1 Macroeconomic overview
Georgia’s GDP grew 6.5% y/y in April, flash estimate shows
Georgia’s GDP is estimated to have grown by a real 6.5% y/y in April, statistics office Geostat said on May 30. This is an acceleration compared to the first quarter of the year; the first four months of the year saw average growth estimated at 5.5% y/y, with the April estimate dragging the average up.
Growth during the month was driven by transport, financial intermediation, trade, manufacturing, real estate and “other community, social and personal service activities”.
The estimate is based on administrative data on VAT taxpayers’ turnover, fiscal and monetary statistics. Geostat also reported the consumer price index grew 2.5% y/y but fell slightly in monthly terms to 99.8% of the March value. The producer price index was up 7.8% y/y, but also registered a marginal decrease to 99.9% of its level the previous month.
Both imports and exports of goods advanced rapidly, rising by 22.2% and 22.1%, respectively. Imports continue to dwarf exports, at $2.8218bn in April
12 GEORGIA Country Report June 2018 www.intellinews.com