On 7 March 2015, the Minister of Finance of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, stated that Georgia is the only country in the region with a growing economy.

FactCheck

took interest in this statement and verified its accuracy.

It should be pointed out that the Minister of Finance of Georgia made a statement about economic growth on 5 February 2015 as well. He said that Georgia would have higher economic growth than Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Belarus and Russia in 2015. FactCheck believes that the Minister of Finance of Georgia relied upon the data

of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) when making this statement.

It should be noted that the Government of Georgia re-assessed its economic forecasts soon after. On 25 February 2015, in about three weeks after this statement, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, stated that the economic growth of Georgia would be up to 2% in 2015.

As for the 7 March 2015 statement of the Minister of Finance of Georgia, FactCheck

looked into the economic forecasts of four different international organisations.

Chart 1:

 Economic Growth Forecasts for 2015

Countries	EBRD Forecast	World Bank Forecast	IMF Forecast	United Nations Forecast	National Banks’/Governments’ Forecast
Armenia	0.0%	3.3%	3.5%	4.0%	0.4%-2%
Moldova	0.0%	3.0%	3.5%	3.5%	-
Belarus	-1.5%	1.8%	1.5%	2.5%	-0.5%
Azerbaijan	1.5%	4.4%	6.5%	4.2%	1.5%
Russia	-4.8%	-2.9%	0.5%	0.2%	-4.0%
Georgia	4.2%	5.0%	5.0%	4.8%	2.0%
Turkey	3.0%	3.5%	3.0%	3.3%	3.8%

Source: EBRD, World Bank, IMF, United Nations

According to the chart, the statement of the Minister of Finance of Georgia is not compatible with any of the data. Georgia is not the only country in the region with positive economic dynamics. The Government of Armenia had planned a 4.2% economic growth for 2015 whilst the Central Bank of Armenia scaled down the growth to 0.4%-2%. As for Azerbaijan, it planned a 1.5% economic growth whilst the most recent economic forecasts

for Turkey show a 3.8% economic growth. As for Russia, according to the Russian Central Bank, a 4% economic recession should be expected in 2015.

Conclusion

On 5 February 2015, the Minister of Finance of Georgia, Nodar Khaduri, stated that Georgia would have the highest economic growth in the region which was in accordance with the economic forecasts of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); however, this forecast was soon altered by the government itself and a 2% economic growth was determined as a forecast for 2015. On 7 March 2015, the Minister of Finance of Georgia stated that Georgia would be the only country in the region with a growing GDP.

FactCheck looked into the forecasts of four international organisations such as the EBRD, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. None of these forecasts confirms the statement of Mr Khaduri. FactCheck

also managed to obtain the forecasts of the national banks and governments of the countries throughout the region. Of Georgia’s neighbours, only Russia is expecting a recession in 2015 whilst the economic forecasts of the others are positive.

Hence, FactCheck concludes that Nodar Khaduri’s statement is FALSE.