Following the tentative recovery observed in 2021, global economic conditions worsened significantly in 2022 (IMF, July 2022). Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 caused global economic growth estimates to drop for the first time since 2020.

Recently, Geostat has released the preliminary estimate of real GDP growth for the second quarter of 2022, which now stands at 7.1%.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has profoundly affected nearly every aspect of the global economy, from food and energy security to supply chains and financial markets. The World Bank (June 2022) estimates that the 2021 5.5% rebound global growth is therefore expected to drop to 2.9% y/y in 2022.

Geostat has released its rapid estimate of real GDP growth for February 2022. The estimated growth stands at 14.6%, while the average real GDP growth for January-February 2022 reached 16.3%.

For the Georgian economy, 2021 was a year of gradual recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Geostat rapid estimates, the real GDP expanded by 10.7%, coming within 0.1 percentage points of the ISET-PI forecast from November 2021 and surpassing the NBG and IMF mid-year projections, which ranged between 8% - 8.5% y/y.