GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told the Parliament that, for the first time, the number of people receiving social allowance exceeds the number officially living below the poverty line. He said this imbalance stems from a Covid-era moratorium on revising social scores, which caused beneficiary numbers to rise and remain high even after the economy recovered.
Kobakhidze argued that the increased number of recipients does not mean poverty has worsened. According to him, Georgia’s poverty rate has fallen sharply in recent years, from 21.3% to 9.4%, driven by strong economic growth. GDP per capita, he added, has more than doubled since 2020 and is expected to pass USD 10,000 in 2025.
Despite this progress, Kobakhidze noted that Georgia still lags behind all EU countries, including the least developed member states, by 30–40% in GDP per capita. He said maintaining a high economic growth rate remains essential for reducing poverty and dependency on social programs.
Official data shows that 708,245 people received subsistence allowance in October, costing the state over GEL 71 million. At the end of last year, 671,337 people - or 18.1% of the population, were receiving allowance, far above the 9.4% absolute poverty rate.
