Page 32 - GEORptAug22

6.3 Debt
Georgia - Gross 4Q19 1Q20 2Q20 3Q20 4Q20 1Q21 2Q21 3Q21 4Q21 external debt
Gross external debt ($ mn)
18,645 18,348 18,927 19,949 20,607 20,861 20,912 21,044 21,832
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Gross external debt (% GDP)
78.2 79.4 102.7 105.1 106.4 101.4 107.0 130.3 116.3
source: CEIC, World Bank
Georgia’s gross external debt reached $21.8bn in Q4
Georgian government plans to reduce public debt to 51% of GDP by end of 2022
The gross external debt (GED) of Georgia amounted to $21.8bn as of the end of December 2021, accounting for 120% of the four-quarter GDP calculated at the same moment. In absolute terms, Georgia’s GED has increased marginally during 2021 - after a sharp advance in 2021. In relative terms (% of GDP), the country’s indebtedness actually declined from 134.6% at the end of March 2021.
Compared to September 2019, Georgia’s GED increased by 17.5% ($3.1bn) and the debt-to-GDP ratio advanced by 16.6pp.
The Georgian government plans to decrease the country’s external debt to 51.1% of GDP next year, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili stated on December 6.
Georgia’s external debt amounted to 58.66% of GDP in 2020, roughly GEL29.3bn, before increasing to 60% of GDP in 2021.
Gharibashvili said that Georgia has had “major economic growth this year, which is expected to continue”.
He stated that economic growth in Georgia in October amounted to about 7%, while growth in the past 10 months totaled 10.5%, calling it “unique, unprecedented high growth across Europe, [which] allowed us to increase the budget by more than GEL1.3bn”.
Gharibashvili stated that the total volume of the country's economy next year will be GEL65bn, with a per capita GDP of $5,500.
32 GEORGIA Country Report August 2022 www.intellinews.com