Georgia tried to create negative economic background - Prime Minister

Some so-called experts purposefully made negative forecasts of Georgia's economic growth, trying to create a heavy background around economic trends, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on air of Imedi TV channel.

According to the National Statistics Service, real economic growth in Georgia in March 2025 was 9% compared to the same period in 2024, while the average GDP growth rate in January-March 2025 was 9.3%.

“The so-called experts were forced to make coordinated negative statements about the economy, trying to create nihilism with their help, as it is known that sentiments are reflected in economic data... They tried to create a heavy background and establish a mood of nihilism regarding economic trends,” Kobakhidze said.

According to him, one has to be an agent to act in such a way and harm one's country in such a way. Prime Minister explained that when there is a heavy atmosphere in the society, the motivation to buy products decreases, which reduces economic activity. And such statements were designed to get experts to make coordinated negative statements about the economy.

“There was a quote from one of such so-called experts, he directly said, it was in January, that in three months the GEL exchange rate will be at least 3.1, and inflation will be at least 6%, if not 8%, we will have an economic recession, etc.,” he said.

Kobakhidze noted that despite all the negative forecasts, the country has very good indicators in all directions, and according to the IMF forecast, by 2029, Georgia will reach the second place in the world in terms of economic growth.

“As far as economic growth is concerned, their so-called forecast was negative. This was the normal order. And according to the data of the first quarter, we have economic growth above 9%. We also have inflation within 3%, which is optimal. We have very good indicators in all directions,” the Prime Minister said.

According to him, Georgia has always exceeded IMF forecasts and it is expected that the country will exceed these forecasts in the coming years as well.

IMF forecast

According to the IMF forecast, Georgia will be among the top three countries in the world in terms of ten-year growth rates of real GDP per capita in 2029 and will become an undisputed leader in Europe.

According to the IMF, the top three will include the Cooperative Republic of Guyana with a 10-year growth of 967% in 2029 compared to 2019, followed by Bangladesh and Georgia. Meanwhile, Georgia's economy is projected to grow by 68% over 10 years. The average annual growth of Georgia's economy will be 5.3%.

In terms of per capita purchasing power parity, Georgia is also among the top three countries in the world according to the ten-year forecast of nominal economic growth rate in 2029.

According to the IMF, in 2023, the per capita purchasing power of Georgia's economy grew by 10% to over $23,236. In 2024, the per capita purchasing power of the economy will become more than 25,248 dollars, and by 2029 it will exceed 35,642 international dollars.

Georgia's gross domestic product in per capita dollars will exceed $12,900 in 2029, triple that of 2020 and two and a half times that of 2021.

Immediately in 2029, the foundation predicts Georgia's nominal per capita economy will grow 8.6 percent in U.S. dollars.

Reprinted from https://sputnik-georgia.ru/