You can live on $66 in Georgia, statistics show

The minimum cost of living is slightly increasing in Georgia month-on-month, meaning a person needs more money to support themselves.

In January 2016 the minimum subsistence level in Georgia was about 1.8 GEL higher than in the previous month, said the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

Figures showed the minimum subsistence level for an able-bodied male in January 2016 was 164.2 GEL (about $66/€59*), while it was 162.4 GEL (about $65/€58) in December 2015.

For the average consumer, the minimum subsistence level was 145.5 GEL in January, while it was 143.9 GEL in December.

For an average family the minimum subsistence level reached 275.5 GEL. In December 2015 it was 272.5 GEL.

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

• For a one-person household – 145.5 GEL
• For a two-person household – 232.8 GEL
• For a three-person household – 261.9 GEL
• For a four-person household – 291 GEL
• For a five-person household – 327.3 GEL
• For a six or more person household – 387 GEL

Geostat calculated subsistence minimum indicators based on the minimum consumer food basket, defined since 2004. The indicator did not include monthly mortgage or rent costs, or utility bills.

Geostat calculated the minimum subsistence level in accordance with the law "as defined and determined by the food substances and the energy required for the body’s physiological needs and to identify the minimum required standards and normative approval of the composition of the subsistence level”.

* Currencies are equivalent to today’s National Bank of Georgia exchange rate.