Georgia sees modest economic growth
By Vusala Abbasova
Economic indicators show a growth of 2.3 percent in the Georgian economy in August of 2015 compared to August of last year.
From January to August 2015, the economy grew by 2.8 percent, Trend reported.
The central government’s budget, however, dropped significantly in August from the previous month’s totals.
In August 2015, revenues to the state budget amounted to 591.4 million GEL ($246.4 million), which is 194.5 million GEL ($81 million) less than in July 2015.
State expenses amounted to 623 million GEL ($ 260 million) in August 2015, also a drop from July, when this figure amounted to 776.4 million GEL ($323.5 million).
The growth rate of Georgian economy amounted about 4.7 percent in 2014. The economy grew by 3.3 percent in 2013, according to the National Statistics Office of Georgia.
The volume of Georgia’s external public debt and the loans taken under the state guarantee nears $4.2 billion to date.
The country’s public debt has decreased by $17.3 million since early 2015, while government debt reached over $4.15 billion.
Alongside states, international institutions are also issuing loans to Georgia. The country’s debt to such institutions totals nearly $3 billon.
The Central Bank of Georgia accounts for over $27.5 million of the total volume of the country’s debt.
These figures do not include funds for debt service. The amount of the external debt was indicated based on the exchange rates for August 31, 2015.