Overview: Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and coal. Its only sizable domestic energy resource is hydropower. Since 1990, widespread conflicts, e.g., in Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Mengrelia, severely aggravated the economic crisis resulting from the disintegration of the Soviet command economy in December 1991. Throughout 1993, much of industry was functioning at only 20% of capacity; heavy disruptions in agricultural cultivation were reported; and tourism was shut down. The country is precariously dependent on US and EU humanitarian grain shipments, as most other foods are priced beyond reach of the average citizen. Georgia is also suffering from an acute energy crisis, as it is having problems paying for even minimal imports. Georgia is pinning its hopes for recovery on reestablishing trade ties with Russia and on developing international transportation through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $7.8 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Georgian statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)

National product real growth rate: -35% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $1,390 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40.5% per month (2nd half 1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: officially less than 5% but real unemployment may be up near 20%, with even larger numbers of underemployed workers; real unemployment may be up near 20% with even larger numbers of underemployed workers

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $NA
commodities: citrus fruits, tea, wine, other agricultural products; diverse types of machinery; ferrous and nonferrous metals; textiles; chemicals; fuel re-exports
partners: Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan (1992)

Imports: $NA
commodities: fuel, grain and other foods, machinery and parts, transport equipment
partners: Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey (1993)

External debt: $100 million to $200 million (1993 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate -27% (1993); accounts for 36% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 4,875,000 kW
production: 15.8 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 2,835 kWh (1992)

Industries: heavy industrial products include raw steel, rolled steel, airplanes; machine tools, foundry equipment, electric locomotives, tower cranes, electric welding equipment, machinery for food preparation and meat packing, electric motors, process control equipment, instruments; trucks, tractors, and other farm machinery; light industrial products, including cloth, hosiery, and shoes; chemicals; wood-working industries; the most important food industry is wine

Agriculture: accounts for 41% of GDP; accounted for 97% of former USSR citrus fruits and 93% of former USSR tea; important producer of grapes; also cultivates vegetables and potatoes; dependent on imports for grain, dairy products, sugar; small livestock sector

Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for domestic consumption; used as transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Economic aid:
recipient: heavily dependent on US for humanitarian grain shipments; EC granted around $70 million in trade credits in 1992 and another $40 million in 1993; Turkey granted $50 million in 1993; smaller scale credits granted by Russia and China

Currency: coupons introduced in April 1993 to be followed by introduction of the lari at undetermined future date; in July 1993 use of the Russian ruble was banned
Exchange rates: NA

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Georgia on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Georgia Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Georgia Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.