Georgia’s GDP grew by 3.2% in Q1, 2015

Georgia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced an average real growth of 3.2 percent in the first three months of the year, says the country’s National Statistics Office (Geostat).

Preliminary data revealed the GDP growth in Q1, 2015 compared to the same time in 2014, while in March 2015 the country’s real GDP growth rate reached 4.3 percent.

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

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili positively reviewed the country's economic growth rate.

In his words, the economic growth rate in Georgia amounted to 3.1 percent in the first quarter of 2015, while it reached 4.1 percent in March.

"Economic growth was achieved thanks to the effective ministers’ effort,” Garibashvili said.

"The Georgian economy experienced 4.1 percent growth in March, which is a very serious number especially if we take into account the circumstances in which Georgia, the whole of Europe and the region are facing,” Garibashvili said.

"A very impressive result is 3.1 percent economic growth only in Q1. Look at the situation in the region and you will see that Georgia is an exception [in terms of economic growth rate],” he added.

Geostat produces monthly rapid estimations of real GDP growth using administrative data on VAT taxpayers’ turnover, fiscal and monetary statistics. The compilation of rapid estimates is an internationally adopted practice to obtain preliminary monthly growth of real GDP. For those sectors, where preliminary monthly data do not exist, the estimations are based on the data for previous periods.

Therefore, the actual quarterly real GDP growth may significantly differ from monthly rapid estimates. Furthermore, the data on VAT taxpayers’ turnover for the previous months might be updated on a monthly basis, implying corresponding adjustments of real GDP growth estimates.