Georgia’s economy grows 2.3% in Q3 2016

Georgia’s economy is growing; the country experienced 2.3 percent economic growth in the third quarter (Q3) of 2016, says the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

In the reporting period the largest shares of GDP by activity were held by:

• Trade services (17.5 percent)
• Industry (17.4 percent)
• Transport and communication services (10.6 percent)
• Agriculture, hunting and forestry, fishing (9.4 percent)
• Construction (8.9 percent)
• Public administration (7.3 percent)
• Real estate, renting and business activities (6.9 percent)
• Health and social work (5.9 percent)

Meanwhile the real growth was registered in the:

• Hotels and restaurants (13.4 percent)
• Financial Intermediation (9.8 percent)
• Real estate, renting and business activities (7.5 percent)
• Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (5.0 percent)
• Mining and quarrying (4.7 percent)
• Other community, Social and Personal Service Activities (3.9 percent)
• Trade (3.6 percent)
• Construction (2.4 percent)

The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) and various international financial institutions such as global rating agency Moody’s, Bloomberg and World Bank Group projected Georgia’s economic growth will reach three percent in 2016.

Furthermore the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Georgia’s economy will experience 2.7 percent growth in 2016 and four percent in 2017.

Global rating agency Fitch Ratings forecast growth of 3.2 percent in 2016 for Georgia.

As for Government authorities, Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said the goal was to achieve 3.5 percent economic growth in 2016 and hit six percent in 2017.