Economy - overview:
Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of agricultural products such as citrus fruits, tea, hazelnuts, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic gains since 1995, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing inflation. However, the Georgian Government suffers from limited resources due to a chronic failure to collect tax revenues. Georgia also suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the T'bilisi distribution network in 1998, but collection rates are low, making the venture unprofitable. The country is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a transit state for pipelines and trade. The start of construction on the Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline will bring much-needed investment and job opportunities.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $15 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
4% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 20%
industry: 25%
services: 55% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line:
54% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 27.9% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
37.1 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.2% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
2.1 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
industry 20%, agriculture 40%, services 40% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
17% (2001 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $499 million
expenditures: $554 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries:
steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine
Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2000)
Electricity - production:
7.27 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 19.7%
hydro: 80.3%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
6.18 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
850 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
31,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
citrus, grapes, tea, hazlenuts, vegetables; livestock
Exports:
$515 million (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel reexports; citrus fruits, tea, wine
Exports - partners:
Russia 23.0%, Turkey 21.5%, Azerbaijan 3.3%, US 3.0%, Germany 2.5% (2001)
Imports:
$750 million (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners:
Turkey 15.3%, Russia 13.3%, Azerbaijan 10.7%, Germany 10.1%, US 4.1% (2001)
Debt - external:
$1.7 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient:
ODA $150 million (2000 est.)
Currency:
lari (GEL)
Currency code:
GEL
Exchange rates:
lari per US dollar - 2.2 (2002), 2.07 (2001), 1.98 (2000), 2.02 (1999), 1.39 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
NOTE: The information regarding Georgia on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Georgia Economy 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.
