Despite the challenges, Georgia has one of the highest economic growth rates in the wider region, Europe and among candidate countries for EU membership, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, First Vice Prime Minister Levan Davitashvili, said in his speech at the Ambassadors’ Conference.

According to him, double-digit economic growth was recorded in 2021-2022, and in 2023, real economic growth amounted to 7.8%.

“High economic activity continues this year - according to January-October data, economic growth was 10%. According to our estimates, economic growth in 2024 will be within 9%, and in 2025 it will be 6%,” Davitashvili said.

According to him, high economic growth will create an opportunity to gradually reduce the gap between the living standards of Georgia and developed countries.

In his speech, the First Vice Prime Minister emphasized the trends of poverty reduction, unemployment rate reduction and employment growth in recent years.

According to him, the unemployment rate decreased to 16.4% in 2023, and in the three quarters of 2024 it averaged 13.8%, while the number of employed people increased by an average of 77 thousand during the same period.

According to the Minister, in 2023, the share of the population below the absolute poverty line decreased to a historical minimum, to 11.8%, and in just three years, more than 350 thousand people have escaped poverty.

According to Levan Davitashvili, it is important that, in parallel with high economic growth over the past two years, Georgia has had a low inflation rate - in 2023 inflation amounted to 2.5%, and in November of this year it was 1.3%.

According to the Minister, in 2024, inflation will again be below the target of 3% and will approach the target rate in the medium term.

The Minister highlighted major projects that will contribute to the qualitative improvement of the country’s competitiveness - including the Anaklia deep-sea port, new Tbilisi airport, Black Sea submarine cable, and investments in renewable energy.