Georgia’s GDP grows 2.1% y/y in May 2015

Georgia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced a growth of 2.1 percent year-on-year (y/y) in May 2015, says the country’s National Statistics Office (Geostat).

Today Geostat published information about the economic growth of May 2015.

The data showed the estimated real GDP growth reached 2.5 percent for the first five months of 2015 compared to 2014 figures.

Geostat explained it produced monthly rapid estimations of real GDP growth using administrative data on VAT taxpayers’ turnover, fiscal and monetary statistics.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Georgia’s economic outlook as two percent in 2015 and three percent in 2016.

Almost the same forecast was made by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), who said Georgia’s economy was expected to decelerate to 2.3 percent in 2015 and 2.6 percent in 2016, reflecting mainly a deteriorating external environment with recession in Russia and sharp slowdown of regional trading partners.

Global ratings agency Fitch Ratings earlier revised its outlook for Georgia and now predicted the country will experience two percent economic growth in 2015.

This revised prediction was a downgrade on its 2014 economic forecast of 4.8 percent. 

Meanwhile global ratings agency Moody's noted Georgia’s economy will grow 3.5 percent in 2015.

Geostat figures stated Georgia's economic growth rate amounted to 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2015, while it reached 4.1 percent in March.