Economy - overview:
Georgia's main economic activities include the cultivation of agricultural products such as citrus fruits, tea, hazelnuts, and grapes; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small 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.

Agriculture
citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock

Airlines
Airlines in Asia
Airlines Worldwide

Airports
Airports in Asia
Airports Worldwide

Country Budget
revenues: $671.7 million
expenditures: $804.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Currency (code)
lari (GEL)

Currency Exchange Rate
lari per US dollar - 1.9167 (2004), 2.1457 (2003), 2.1957 (2002), 2.073 (2001), 1.9762 (2000)

Fiscal Year
calendar year

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
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.)

Imports / Exports
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)

Industries
steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining (manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine

Investing
Forex, Foreign Exchange Market: Currency Trading

Labor Force & Unemployment Rate
Labor force: 2.1 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 17% (2001 est.)