industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages,metals, machinery, and chemicals. The country imports the bulk of
its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only
sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Despite the severe
damage the economy has suffered due to civil strife, Georgia, with
the help of the IMF and World Bank, has made substantial economic
gains since 1995, achieving positive GDP growth and curtailing
inflation. However, the Georgian Government has suffered from
limited resources due to a chronic failure to collect tax revenues.
Georgia's new government is making progress in reforming the tax
code, enforcing taxes, and cracking down on corruption. Georgia also
suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the T'bilisi
electricity distribution network in 1998, but payment collection
rates remain low, both in T'bilisi and throughout the regions. The
country is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a
transit state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the
Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas
pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$14.45 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
9.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 20.5% industry: 22.6% services: 56.9% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
2.1 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
17% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
54% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 27.9% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
37.1 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.5% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
18.5% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $671.7 million
expenditures: $804.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock
Industries:
steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining
(manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine
Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2000)
Electricity - production:
6.732 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 19.7% hydro: 80.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
6.811 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports:
300 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
850 million kWh (2002)
Oil - production:
2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
31,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Natural gas - production:
60 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
1.16 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
1.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Current account balance:
$-632.9 million (2004 est.)
Exports:
$909.4 million (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities:
scrap metal, machinery, chemicals; fuel reexports; citrus fruits,
tea, wine
Exports - partners:
Turkey 18.3%, Turkmenistan 17.8%, Russia 16.2%, Armenia 8.4%, UK
4.9% (2004)
Imports:
$1.806 billion (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:
fuels, machinery and parts, transport equipment, grain and other
foods, pharmaceuticals
Imports - partners:
Russia 14%, Turkey 11%, UK 9.3%, Azerbaijan 8.5%, Germany 8.2%,
Ukraine 7.7%, US 6% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
