Page 35 - GEORptSep22

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 reduces its foreign debt
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
In July, Georgia repaid principal of $37mn of its foreign debt, and $6.3mn has been paid as an interest rate. The country’s liabilities currently stand at $7.8bn, which is about $123mn less than June of 2022.
The Georgian government said that it had changed the foreign debt strategy. The country will only take foreign debt to finance large-scale projects and mostly focus on reducing liabilities.
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”.
35 GEORGIA Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com