The Government of Georgia increases its economic growth forecast to 6.5% for 2021, - Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili said today. According to him, the results of economic growth observed in April has become the main factor for economic growth update. As of the preliminary data from Geostat, Georgian economy grew by 44.8% in April. Moreover, economic growth has made up 8.1% in January-April.
“The forecast for 2021 is 6.5%, which is much higher than the previous forecast - 4.5%. Economic growth forecast will also be high for 2022 - 6.9%. On the background of the high growth, we will reduce the budget deficit to 7.1%, compared to the previous forecast of 7.6%. Deficit reduction is important for macroeconomic stability.
Our forecast also includes an optimistic scenario, according to which growth in 2021 will be double-digit. In the case of positive scenario, the increase is estimated at 10.2%. This scenario provides tourism recovery of 40-45% to the pre-pandemic levels. In April, we have already seen these signs in all directions. Due to this factor, the current account deficit will be reduced and the government debt will be even smaller. Amendments will be made to the budget due to these factors”, the finance minister said.
