Around 1.4 m Georgians left the country in 15 Years

A survey prepared by the non-governmental organization Society & Banks and the Financial Education Center of the University reads that around 1.4 million people left Georgia in 2002-2017.

The survey added that 20% of these people have a higher education diploma, and they are characterized by high human resource and are capable of contributing to the country's economic growth.

The research also showed a decline in the country’s workforce, adding it is the main reason that there are some acute problems in the country, like low birth rate, migration and population aging.

“Birth rate had been decreasing by 3% each year from 1995 to 2002, which resulted in the reduced number of people involved in economic activities,” the paper reads.

In addition, in 2010-2017, the share of 65 years and older people in the population was growing by 0.4% annually and reached 14.6% by 2017, while the average rate is 8.7% for the rest of the world.

"Increased migration, decreased birth rate and high rate of aging reduce the workforce in the country. This is a big challenge and if the trend continues, the country's productivity and economic growth will be slowed down, not to mention the grave demographic situation," the research reads.

NGO Society & Bank believes that it is necessary to create jobs that will be competitive in the international arena to solve the problems identified as a result of the survey. It also says that special attention should be paid to high productivity sectors.

The organization also sees the necessity to improve the existing education system and also to promote the return of the Georgian youth, who went abroad for higher education.