The economic partnership between Georgia and Israel is deepening from year to year. What are the data of investments, trade, tourism, and shipments between the countries and what trends are observed in terms of economic relations - BMG will try to present this relationship in numbers:
Investments
The inflow of FDI from Israel in Georgia started in 2001 in small volumes, and the largest investment in the country was made in 2015 in the amount of USD 37 million 661 thousand. Last year, a total of USD 35 million 093 thousand were invested in Georgia from Israel, in the first half of the current year USD 5 million 231 thousand came in Georgia, which was significantly lower than last year's numbers (Q1-Q2 of 2022 - USD 23 million 917 thousand).
Trade Turnover
The dynamics of trade in goods between Georgia and Israel have been changing over the years, but after the pandemic, it is characterized by a positive trend. In January-August of this year, it amounted to USD 23 million 942 thousand, which was 6.3% more compared to the same period last year.
In terms of goods trade with Israel, the main place is occupied by exports. In the first eight months of the year, Georgia received USD 13 million 530 thousand from the goods sold in Israel. This is almost the same indicator as in the same period last year.
The TOP-5 goods exported from Georgia are as follows:
1. Equipment for transmitting radiotelephony, radio broadcasting and television - $2 million;
2. Waters, including mineral, containing sugar additives - $2 million;
3. Aircraft parts - $1.3 million;
4. Plywood glued, panels made of wood veneer and similar materials from mixed wood - $1.1 million;
5. Optical elements - $1 million;
As for imports, during the first eight months of the year, Georgia bought goods of different denominations worth USD 10 million 412 thousand from Georgia to Israel. Imports increased by 10% annually.
The TOP-5 imported goods are as follows:
1. Cosmetics or makeup and skin care products - $1.2 million;
2. Surface-active organic substances; Washing and cleaning products - $1.1 million;
3. Vegetables, prepared or canned, not frozen - $876 thousand;
4. Tiles, sheets from other polymer materials - $739 thousand;
5. Parts intended for TV-radio equipment - $485 thousand;
As for tourism, Georgia is one of the interesting tourist destinations for the population of Israel, as the statistics show. During the last year, a total of 210,178 visits were made by Israel visitors to our country, which was 108.7% more than the 2021 figure, and 2.5% more than the 2019 figure.
2019 - 205,051 visitors
2020 - 25,731 visitors
2021 - 100,686 visitors
2022 - 210,178 visitors
In the first half of 2023, the number of visits from Israel already reached 106,530. This number exceeds the January-June 2022 figure by 26%, and 2019 by 38.1%.
6 months of 2019 - 77 125 visitors;
6 months of 2022 - 84,577 visitors;
6 months of 2023 - 106,530 visitors.
The contribution of Israeli tourists to international travel revenues is significant, which, except for the pandemic 2020, is mostly increasing. Visitors from Israel spent USD 148 million in Georgia in 6 months this year. In total, the share of this country in recent tourism revenues is up to USD 5.5 billion per year.
2018 - $184.7 million
2019 - $233.6 million
2020 - $26.6 million
2021 - $118.6 million
2022 - $270.5 million
6M2023 - USD 148.2 million
Money Transfers
Israel is included in the TOP-10 of the countries by remittances received in Georgia and occupies the seventh place. This year, USD 16 million 770 thousand came from Israel in the form of remittances. Israel took a 5.84% share in the total volume of transfers. This indicator has decreased by 6.7% compared to the statistics of 8 months of last year.
