The region of present day Georgia contained the ancient kingdoms of Colchis and Kartli-Iberia. The area came under Roman influence in the first centuries A.D., and Christianity became the state religion in the 330s. Domination by Persians, Arabs, and Turks was followed by a Georgian golden age (11th-13th centuries) that was cut short by the Mongol invasion of 1236. Subsequently, the Ottoman and Persian empires competed for influence in the region. Georgia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Independent for three years (1918-1921) following the Russian revolution, it was forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1921 and regained its independence when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

Mounting public discontent over rampant corruption and ineffective government services, followed by an attempt by the incumbent Georgian Government to manipulate parliamentary elections in November 2003, touched off widespread protests that led to the resignation of Eduard SHEVARDNADZE, president since 1995. In the aftermath of that popular movement, which became known as the "Rose Revolution," new elections in early 2004 swept Mikheil SAAKASHVILI into power along with his United National Movement (UNM) party. Progress on market reforms and democratization has been made in the years since independence, but this progress has been complicated by Russian assistance and support to the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Periodic flare-ups in tension and violence culminated in a five-day conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia, including the invasion of large portions of undisputed Georgian territory. Russian troops pledged to pull back from most occupied Georgian territory, but in late August 2008 Russia unilaterally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russian military forces remain in those regions.

Billionaire philanthropist Bidzina IVANISHVILI's unexpected entry into politics in October 2011 brought the divided opposition together under his Georgian Dream coalition, which won a majority of seats in the October 2012 parliamentary elections and removed UNM from power. Conceding defeat, SAAKASHVILI named IVANISHVILI as prime minister and allowed Georgian Dream to create a new government. Giorgi MARGVELASHVILI was inaugurated as president on 17 November 2013, ending a tense year of power-sharing between SAAKASHVILI and IVANISHVILI. IVANISHVILI voluntarily resigned from office after the presidential succession, and Georgia's legislature on 20 November 2013 confirmed Irakli GARIBASHVILI as his replacement. GARIBASHVILI was replaced by Giorgi KVIRIKASHVILI in December 2015. KVIRIKASHVILI remained Prime Minister following Georgian Dream’s success in the October 2016 parliamentary elections, where the party won a constitutional majority. These changes in leadership represent unique examples of a former Soviet state that emerged to conduct democratic and peaceful government transitions of power. Popular and government support for integration with the West is high in Georgia. Joining the EU and NATO are among the country's top foreign policy goals.

Source: The CIA World Factbook - Georgia



Ihre Berater der Handelskammer

Regina Khvastunova

Kontaktieren Sie uns: europe@cc.lu


Kennzahlen

Fläche
69,700 km2
Bevölkerung
4,933,674 (July 2021 est.)
Regierungsform
semi-presidential republic
Sprachen
Georgian (official) 87.6%, Azeri 6.2%, Armenian 3.9%, Russian 1.2%, other 1%; note - Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia (2014 est.)
BIP
$15.892 billion (2020 est.)
Wachstumsrate
-6.2% (2020 est.)
HDI
61
Hauptstadt
Tbilisi

Makroökonomische Indikatoren

Georgia's main economic activities include cultivation of agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts; mining of manganese, copper, and gold; and producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals in small-scale industries. The country imports nearly all of its needed supplies of natural gas and oil products. It has sizeable hydropower capacity that now provides most of its electricity needs.

Georgia has overcome the chronic energy shortages and gas supply interruptions of the past by renovating hydropower plants and by increasingly relying on natural gas imports from Azerbaijan instead of from Russia. Construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the South Caucasus gas pipeline, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad are part of a strategy to capitalize on Georgia's strategic location between Europe and Asia and develop its role as a transit hub for gas, oil, and other goods.

Georgia's economy sustained GDP growth of more than 10% in 2006-07, based on strong inflows of foreign investment and robust government spending. However, GDP growth slowed following the August 2008 conflict with Russia, and sunk to negative 4% in 2009 as foreign direct investment and workers' remittances declined in the wake of the global financial crisis. The economy rebounded in the period 2010-17, but FDI inflows, the engine of Georgian economic growth prior to the 2008 conflict, have not recovered fully. Unemployment remains persistently high.

The country is pinning its hopes for faster growth on a continued effort to build up infrastructure, enhance support for entrepreneurship, simplify regulations, and improve professional education, in order to attract foreign investment and boost employment, with a focus on transportation projects, hydropower, agriculture, and tourism. Georgia has historically suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues; however, since 2004 the government has simplified the tax code, increased tax enforcement, and cracked down on petty corruption, leading to higher revenues. The government has received high marks from the World Bank for improvements in business transparency. Since 2012, the Georgian Dream-led government has continued the previous administration's low-regulation, low-tax, free market policies, while modestly increasing social spending, strengthening anti-trust policy, and amending the labor code to comply with International Labor Standards. In mid-2014, Georgia concluded an association agreement with the EU, paving the way to free trade and visa-free travel. In 2017, Georgia signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China as part of Tbilisi’s efforts to diversify its economic ties. Georgia is seeking to develop its Black Sea ports to further facilitate East-West trade.

Source: The CIA World Factbook -GEORGIA

IMF Statistics:

Subject descriptor 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Gross domestic product, constant prices

Percent change

4.717

4.641

4.801

5.000

5.200

Gross domestic product, current prices

Percent change

(Billions)

16.209

15.925

17.007

18.662

20.415

Gross domestic product per capita, current prices

Percent change

(Units)

4,346.147

4,289.322

4,626.405

5,034.789

5,462.651

Inflation, average consumer prices

Percent change

2.615

4.250

3.760

2.985

3.030

Volume of imports of goods and services

Percent change

4.522

2.542

4.055

6.049

7.149

Volume of exports of goods and services

Percent change

12.374

7.165

5.708

4.653

4.612

Unemployment rate

Percent change

12.700

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Current account balance

Percent change

(Billions)

-1.245

-0.938

-0.989

-1.060

-1.147

Current account balance

Percent change

-7.678

-5.892

-5.813

-5.678

-5.618

Estimates

Source: IMF Statistics - Georgia

 


Luxemburg und das Land

Existing conventions and agreements

Non double taxation agreement 

  • Convention from 15.10.2007 (Memorial 2009, A No.228, p.3949)
  • Effective as of 01.01.2010 (Memorial 2009, A No.228, p.3949)

Air Services agreement

 

Source: Administration des contributions directes


Weitere Informationen

Foreign Trade

The Statec Foreign Trade statistics provide information on the trade of goods - by product and by country. This information is collected respectively through the INTRASTAT declaration and on the basis of customs documents.

You can see the statistics on the website of the Statec.

Contact point in Georgia

Embassy of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Bulgaria

Ambassador with residence in Luxembourg: Mrs Florence ENSCH

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
6, rue de la Congrégation
L-1352 Luxembourg

Tel.: 247-82481
E-Mail: florence.ensch@mae.etat.lu

Country risk as defined by Office du Ducroire for Georgia

Ducroire is the only credit insurer covering open account deals in over 200 countries. A rating on a scale from 1 to 7 shows the intensity of the political risk. Category 1 comprises countries with the lowest political risk and category 7 countries with the highest. Macroeconomics experts also assess the repayment climate for all buyers in a country.

Link: Ducroire Office - Country Risk for Georgia

Other Useful Links:


Die Handelskammer und das Land