Georgian PM: country among global top 10 in “democratisation progress”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday said Georgia was in the top 10 of the world’s 180 countries with its decade of “democratisation progress” in comments at the annual Ambassadors’ Conference in Tbilisi.

We had a very strong, very fast progress on the road to democratisation, and it is no coincidence that among 180 countries, Georgia is in the top 10 in the world. Georgia ranks first in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the Rule of Law Index”, Garibashvili said in reference to the World Justice Project's 2023 ranking.

I would like to mention an index that is very important for the image of our country and for the positioning of our country [...] in an index such as freedom from corruption, Georgia ranked 33rd in the world, ranked among the top 20 in Europe, and in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia took the first place”, he added.

The Prime Minister told the gathering of the country’s envoys other ratings published by international organisations had “objectively reflected” the country’s progress and improvement of its global positioning.

He named the following selections in the comments:

• Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, where he said Georgia was ahead of “many” EU and NATO member states. In the ranking of corruption control, Georgia ranked 20th in the world, 11th in Europe, and second among post-Soviet countries
• Corruption Perception Index 2022 by Transparency International, where the country Georgia ranked 41st among 180 countries and as the leader in the region
• The World Justice Project's 2023 Rule of Law Index, placing Georgia among the top 20 in Europe and ranking first in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions, and sixth among middle-income countries
• Fraser Institute’s report of Economic Freedom of the World 2023, where the country was among the top 25 states with the freest economies
• Improvement of Georgia’s position in the European Research Centre for Anti Corruption and State-Building’s latest Transparency in the Time of War index from 54th to 17th
• Freedom on the Net by Freedom House, in which Georgia was listed ninth among 70 countries with 76 out of 100 points
• Global Corruption Index 2023 by Global Risk Profile, where Georgia was promoted by two places and in 43rd spot among 200 countries

Garibashvili said the outcomes were the result of the Government’s work over the past 11 years, adding the country had become a “European state” and this process was “irreversible”.