Economic overview: Georgia's economy has traditionally revolved around Black Sea tourism; cultivation of citrus fruits, tea, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and a small industrial sector producing wine, metals, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The country imports the bulk of its energy needs, including natural gas and oil products. Its only sizable internal energy resource is hydropower. Since 1991 the economy has sustained severe damage from civil strife. Georgia has been suffering from acute energy shortages, as it is having problems paying for even minimal imports. Georgia is pinning its hopes for long-term recovery largely on reestablishing trade ties with Russia and on developing international transportation through the key Black Sea ports of P'ot'i and Bat'umi. Statistical estimates on Georgia are subject to a particularly wide margin of error, even compared with other FSU countries. The GDP estimate below probably does not reflect much of its grass roots economic activity. GDP is supplemented by considerable EU and US humanitarian aid.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $6.2 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP real growth rate: -11% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $1,080 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 70.4% industry: 10.2% services: 19.4% (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% monthly average (first half 1995 est.)
Labor force: 2.763 million
by occupation: industry and construction 31%, agriculture and
forestry 25%, other 44% (1990)
Unemployment rate: officially less than 5% but real unemployment
may be more than 20%, with even larger numbers of underemployed
workers
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: steel, aircraft, machine tools, foundry equipment, electric locomotives, tower cranes, electric welding equipment, machinery for food preparation and meat packing, electric motors, process control equipment, trucks, tractors, textiles, shoes, chemicals, wood products, wine