PM Kobakhidze: poverty rate halved over past four years amid ‘economic growth’

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced in Parliament that Georgia’s poverty rate had decreased from 21.3% to 9.4% over the past four years, attributing the decline to “strong economic growth.”

Kobakhidze highlighted that the country’s economy has more than doubled in dollar terms and experienced rapid growth in lari terms, contributing directly to the reduction in poverty.

“The poverty rate has been halved over the last four years - from 21.3% to 9.4% last year. This is a result of economic growth. At the end of 2020, per capita GDP was approximately $4,300, and today it has grown to about $9,200 per capita. For the first time in history, it is expected to exceed $10,000 per capita this year,” Kobakhidze said.

He further noted that social assistance now reached more people than those living below the poverty line, marking a historic first in Georgia since the 1990s.

Kobakhidze acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily increased the number of socially vulnerable people “due to external economic shocks.” 

“Despite temporary increases in the number of socially vulnerable individuals during the pandemic, this does not reflect a deterioration in the population’s social situation. Poverty has still decreased from 21.3% to 9.4%,” the Prime Minister added.