Georgia: The Land of Economic Miracles and Humble Bragging
Well, well, well! If it isn’t Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, taking a break from counting his heaps of cash to share some nuggets of wisdom with Imedi television. “It is impossible to name a country with the same rapid economic growth. We are in first place in the world, miracles happen in Georgia,” he says. Right, and unicorns probably roam freely over there too!
Now, hold your horses before we hoist Georgia onto our shoulders and celebrate with a parade. We had a little peek at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data to see if Bidzina was speaking the truth or if he simply dipped too deep into the Georgian chacha—a very strong grape brandy, in case you’re wondering.
Ah, 2020—the year of economic declines and people discovering the joys of wearing sweatpants all day. Georgia, like pretty much every other country, had a rough go, seeing an economic decline of 6.3%. And who was the real hero of rapid growth? Why, it was Guyana with an explosive 43.5%! That’s right, Georgia wasn’t even in the same ballpark. At this rate, the only “miracle” at this point was that everyone found ways to make banana bread.
Fast forward to 2021, and Georgia finds itself at a shabby 28th place in the global economic race, growing by a respectable—but far less dramatic—10.6%. Meanwhile, the Maldives, Libya, and Aruba all soundly trounced Georgian dreams of grandeur. Moldova and Türkiye had even less humility than Georgia, outranking it. You’d think Georgia was running a marathon only to trip over its own shoelaces!
Look at Georgia go! In 2022, the country sprinted up to 11th place, boasting an 11% growth rate. While they were busy patting themselves on the back, Guyana was off in the distance towering like a skyscraper with a jaw-dropping 62.3% growth. Georgia, dear friend, is like a solid B-student at school, while its brilliant cousin Guyana is out winning competitions and studying rocket science.
2023 rolled around, and Georgia jumped to 9th place with a growth rate of 7.5%. A round of applause, please! However, the real showstoppers were Macau—which seems to be stealing Georgia’s thunder with an astonishing 80.5%—and Armenia, which, bless its heart, couldn’t quite keep up. Georgia as the slightly above-average student may not be the best headline.
Looking ahead, the IMF is cautiously optimistic, predicting a 5.7% growth in 2024, which would land Georgia at 22nd place. Fingers crossed, but let’s face it, even Georgia’s growth trajectory looks more like a roller coaster designed by someone who’s never seen one before.
And what’s this? Over the five-year span from 2020 to 2024, Georgia proudly ranks 10th in the world in average GDP growth at +5.7%. Congratulations to Georgia for being ahead of all those other countries like Guyana and Macau, but let’s not forget that being 10th is sort of like being the last one picked in dodgeball—you’re still on the team, but you’re not exactly the star player.
In summary, Georgia might want to tone down the hype just a tad. Yes, it’s growing, but let’s not declare it the economic miracle of the century just yet. After all, sometimes it’s the friends you make along the way who count, not just the growth percentages. And in this case, a very merry cheer for Georgia—a country that’s still figuring out how to keep its sneakers laced while running the race!
The founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, stated in an interview with Imedi television:
“It is impossible to name a country with the same rapid economic growth. We are in first place in the world, miracles happen in Georgia.”
We double-checked the billionaire’s statement using data International Monetary Fund (IMF).
2020
In 2020, Georgia, like most countries in the world, experienced an economic decline (-6.3%) due to the coronavirus pandemic. Explosive economic growth due to income from oil exports was recorded only in Guyana (+43.5%).
2021
In terms of GDP growth, Georgia was in 28th place in 2021. The country’s economy grew by 10.6%.
The leaders in this indicator were the Maldives (+37.7%), Libya (+28.3%), Aruba (+27.6%). Among the post-Soviet countries, Moldova (+13.9%) was ahead of Georgia, and Türkiye (+11.4%) was ahead of its neighbors.
2022
Georgia ranked 11th in terms of economic growth (+11%). The leader is Guyana (+62.3%), Georgia is ahead of Armenia (9th place, +12.6%).
2023
Georgia took 9th place in the world (+7.5%). The leader is the Macau Special Administrative Region (+80.5%). Georgia was again ahead of Armenia (4th place, +8.7%).
2024
The IMF website indicates that Georgia’s GDP growth this year could be 5.7% (22nd place in the world). This figure may improve, as economic growth in the country reached 10% in January-August.
The leaders in economic growth, according to the IMF, will be Guyana, Macau and Palau.
Average GDP growth rate
Po data Global Finance publication, in 2020-2024 Georgia ranks 10th in the world in terms of average GDP growth (+5.7%). Georgia is ahead of Guyana, Macau, Niger, Rwanda, Tajikistan, Ethiopia, Benin, Bangladesh and Ireland.
