Georgian PM: poverty rate will drop to four percent by 2028

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party election staff and the Prime Minister of Georgia, on Monday said the poverty rate in the country was projected to decrease to four percent by 2028, while presenting the party’s election programme ahead of the October 26 Parliamentary vote.

In his comments, the official outlined the GD Government's progress in reducing poverty and unemployment since 2012, when the current administration defeated the nine-year rule of the United National Government, and expressed confidence that ongoing efforts would “further reduce” the number of people living below the poverty line.

Poverty is one of our main national challenges”, Kobakhidze said, adding, “in 2012, unemployment in our country stood at 30 percent, and 1,120,000 of our fellow citizens lived below the poverty line. Since then, we have made remarkable progress. The poverty rate had dropped to 11.8 percent by 2023, meaning that 440,000 people currently live below the poverty line. This is a significant improvement, but it is not enough when 440,000 people are still affected by poverty. Complacency is not an option”, the PM said. 

He reiterated the Government's commitment to tackling poverty, saying, “we are confident that based on the existing plans and economic forecasts, we will reduce the poverty rate to a maximum of four percent by 2028. This means no more than 150,000 people will be below the poverty line by that time. We are moving steadily and purposefully towards the goal of overcoming poverty”.