IMF predicts Georgian economy to increase 3.5% in 2021

By Nika Gamtsemlidze

Monday, April 12

One of the reasons for the slow economic recovery might be the slow vaccine rollout in Georgia

According to IMF prediction, Armenia will have a 1% economic increase in 2021, Azerbaijan – 2.3%, Russia 3.8%, and Turkey – 6%

The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has updated its prediction regarding the economic growth in Georgia. According to IMF's prognosis, the economy of the country is expected to grow 3.5% in 2021.

For comparison, the International Monetary Fund has previously predicted for the country's economy to grow 4.3% in 2021. The decrease in the prediction might be connected to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in the country and the restrictions currently in place to prevent the further spread of the virus in the country.

In addition to these, the vaccine rollout in the country is slow, which is slowing down the economic recovery process. According to the prediction of the International Monetary Fund, Georgia won't be able to go back to the pre-pandemic picture until 2022.

The prediction could be changed once again depending on the steps Georgia will take to overcome the challenges. As for the neighboring countries, the International Monetary Fund predicts that in 2021, the lowest increase in the region will be reported in Armenia with only 1%. For Russia, the company is predicting a 3.8% increase, for Azerbaijan - 2.3%, and for Turkey- 6%.

At first, Georgia was able to contain the spread of the coronavirus in early 2020 by imposing harsh restrictive measures, including curfews, banning public transport, lockdown, and border closures among many others.

However, after easing the restrictions in the summer, the number of daily confirmed cases increased rapidly. Near the end of November, to slow down the spread of the virus in the country, Georgia has once again adopted strict measures. According to the experts, this is one of the reasons why the economy is restoring slower than previously expected.

According to the information from the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, in total, 17.261 people have received the Covid-19 vaccine.

The National Statistics Office of Georgia has recently published a report about the estimates of economic growth of February 2021. The data published by the statistics office shows that the real Gross Domestic Product in Georgia declined by 5.1 percent in 2021 compared to the same period of 2020.