January 2016: Georgia’s GDP grows 0.8%

Georgia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.8 percent year-on year (y/y) in January 2016, says the National Statistics Office of Georgia, Geostat.

The statistics agency noted the estimated annual growth of the country’s GDP equalled 2.8 percent in 2015.

Meanwhile, world leading financial institutions projected Georgia’s economy would grow about two or three percent in 2015 and this trend would continue in 2016 as well.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) forecast Georgia’s economy would decelerate to 2.3 percent growth in 2015 and 2.6 percent growth in 2016, reflecting mainly a deteriorating external environment, with recession in Russia and sharp slowdown of regional trading partners.

The World Economic Outlook (WEO) by the International Monetary Fund projected Georgia’s real GDP growth would be two percent in 2015, three percent in 2016 and reach five percent in 2020.

Earlier Fitch Ratings predicted Georgia would experience two percent economic growth in 2015, while another global ratings agency Moody's reported Georgia’s economy would grow 3.5 percent in 2015.