Cost of living drops in Georgia, statistics show

The amount of money a person needs to support themselves in Georgia is slowly decreasing; a shock contrast to recent months.

Figures from Geostat, the National Statistics Office of Georgia, revealed the country’s minimum subsistence level had slightly decreased in the past 30 days, but had increased compared to the same time in 2014.

Figures showed the minimum subsistence level for an able-bodied male in July 2015 was 155.6 GEL. This was about six GEL less than in June 2015, where the minimum subsistence level was 161.4 GEL.

For the average consumer, the minimum subsistence level in June was 143 GEL but this dropped to 137.8 GEL in July. However in July 2014 the average consumer needed 128.2 GEL to survive.

As for households, the minimum amount of money needed to survive in July 2015 was:

• For a one-person household – 137.8 GEL;
• For a two-person household – 220.5 GEL;
• For a three-person household – 248.1GEL;
• For a four-person household – 275.7 GEL;
• For a five-person household – 310.1GEL and
• For a six or more person household – 366.7 GEL

Geostat calculated the average subsistence rate based on the 2015 consumer basket. The composition of the 2015 consumer basket was identical to the consumer basket of 2014, which contained 295 items. Each year the weight of the products and services were updated to reflect any price changes.