Georgia’s 2016 Business Turnover Increased 15.4% in Q1

TBILISI – Business turnover in the first quarter of 2016 increased 15.4 per cent compared with to USD 6 billion (12.7 billion GEL), the National Statistics Office of Georgia’s (Geostat) latest data shows.

Production values also increased 15 per cent to USD 3 billion (6.5 billion GEL) in the same period.

Large businesses made up the majority – 83 per cent – of the total turnover. Small-sized businesses accounted for 10 per cent of the total and medium-sized businesses 7 per cent.

The figures are almost equal to those concerning the total production value of Georgia’s large businesses – 80.6 per cent, small businesses – 10.1 per cent and medium-sized businesses – 9.3 per cent.

Geostat’s study shows that about 577,600 people were employed in Georgian businesses in the first quarter of 2016, a 6 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Just over 41 per cent of those employed were women and 59 per cent men. In large businesses the average monthly salary amounted to USD 510 (1,092.2 GEL), medium-sized businesses had USD 338 (724.8 GEL) and small businesses – USD 240 (513.1 GEL). The median average salary for all businesses in Georgia amounted to USD 430 (922.4 GEL), up USD 32 (70.7 GEL) from the same period last year.

The data shows that the majority – 66.2 per cent – of the country’s labor force worked in Tbilisi and its environs, followed by Adjara with 8.8 per cent, Imereti – 6.8 per cent, Kvemo Kartli – 5.4 per cent and Samegrelo-Zemo-Svaneti at 3.7 per cent.

By Eka Karsaulidze

By Nicholas Waller