Resource information
Georgia: Seizing the Opportunity to
Prosper suggests a path towards sustainable and shared
growth. Georgia s story is associated with three stylized
facts: high growth with persistent unemployment currently at
nearly 15 percent after 10 years of annual growth that
averaged above 5.5 percent; a doing business rank of 8 out
of 189 countries achieved without recovery to 1990 levels of
per capita income suggesting a relatively difficult
transition experience in spite of noteworthy success with
several governance and business environment reforms; and
obstinate socio-economic vulnerabilities reflected in
Georgia s status as one of the poorest countries in the
Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region of the World Bank with
a relatively weak performance on reducing poverty and
inequality. Georgia is well positioned to achieve its
development objectives. The main challenge is persistent
joblessness, which must be addressed to establish a
sustainable basis for the pro-poor development model
outlined in the Government s Socio-Economic Strategy 2020.
This report, which is anchored in the Government s
Socio-economic Development Strategy 2020, explores the
potential for improved export competitiveness to strengthen
employment growth in Georgia and is intended to inform a
policy agenda mainly focused on the demand side of the labor market.
