Georgia lagging behind region

The White Movement, led by Temur Shashiashvili, a former senior official from the Shevardnadze period, believes that despite the serious institutional changes in the country since 2003 and increased budgetary revenues economic growth has not been as impressive as the current administration maintains. Shashiashvili says that Georgia’s economic growth lags very significantly behind the other countries of the region.

In 2008 Georgia’s GDP had increased 45% compared with 2003. In Azerbaijan it had increased by 160% and in Armenia by 72% since 2003. Georgia was leading economic development in the South Caucasus in 2003 but it has fallen behind the rest of the region since 2006.

The percentage of unemployed has also increased between 2003 and 2008, from 11.5 to 16.5%, more than 300,000 people. From 2003 to 2009 Georgia’s population increased by only 1.6%, whereas the Azeri population increased by 5.7% and Armenia’s by 13%.