Georgian PM vows to “eliminate” unemployment, poverty by 2030 amid “rapid” economic growth

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze emphasised the importance of poverty alleviation as a “national priority” in a press briefing on Friday, pledging to address poverty and unemployment by 2030 amid the country's “rapid” economic growth.

When asked about a new World Bank report highlighting a projected decrease in international poverty to a "historic minimum" this year, Kobakhidze emphasised poverty alleviation was “one of the most important national tasks”, along with the restoration of territorial integrity.

It is important to maintain this momentum so that we can eliminate both unemployment and poverty by 2030. This is absolutely achievable. By 2028, our goal is to significantly reduce these figures, and this will be one of our most important election promises”, he said.

The Prime Minister also noted the poverty rate had decreased since the ruling Georgian Dream party came to power, with the current figure at 11.8 percent. Kobakhidze said back in 2012 the poverty rate had stood at 30 percent, meaning about 1.12 million lived below the poverty line.

Since 2012, 680,000 people have overcome poverty. However, for us, of course, even this indicator will not be satisfactory. When 440,000 of our citizens live below the poverty line, it means that there is more to be done. However, already this year, we expect a serious decrease in the poverty rate. We hope that [it] will drop to single digits by the end of the year, and we should continue at this pace”, he said.

According to the World Bank, the level of international poverty in Georgia will decrease to 3.07 percent this year, which is three and a half times less than the level in 2012.

The report indicates that compared to 2012, five countries in the world - Georgia, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Guyana - have managed to make the most significant reductions in the level of international poverty by 2024.

The report shows about 400,000 people lived below the international poverty line in the country in 2012, but this number decreased to 131,000 last year.

The forecast for 2024 suggests the number of people below the international poverty line in the country will decrease by 17,000, bringing the total to 114,000. The prediction is that poverty reduction in the country will continue in the following years, and by 2026, the international poverty level will hit a new historic minimum of 2.23 percent.

It is expected that 83,000 people will be living below the international poverty line in the country in 2026, which marks a 37 percent decrease from 2023 and a five-fold decrease from 2012.

The unemployment rate in Georgia decreased by 3.1 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024 and equalled 13.7 percent across the country, based on an update of data from the National Statistics Office, published in August.