Georgia Economy - 2004

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 - $12.18 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 18.3%
industry: 19%
services: 62.7% (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% (2003 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:
7.611 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

Oil - imports:
NA

Natural gas - production:
60 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.16 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
1.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Agriculture - products:
citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock

Exports:
$615 million (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel reexports; citrus fruits, tea, wine

Exports - partners:
Turkey 21.7%, Italy 11.4%, Russia 10.7%, Greece 8.1%, Netherlands 7.1%, Spain 5.5%, Turkmenistan 4.5% (2002)

Imports:
$1.25 billion (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other foods, pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners:
Azerbaijan 11.7%, Turkey 10.6%, US 10.4%, Russia 9.5%, Germany 7.4%, Ukraine 6%, Italy 5.3%, Bulgaria 5.1%, France 4.4% (2002)

Debt - external:
$1.8 billion (2002)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA $150 million (2000 est.)

Currency:
lari (GEL)

Currency code:
GEL

Exchange rates:
lari per US dollar - 2.15 (2003), 2.2 (2002), 2.07 (2001), 1.98 (2000), 2.02 (1999)