In January-February 2017, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year: •    The number of international visitors increased by 71 000 people and reached 775 000 persons; •    The number of visitors increased from Russia (31 400 people), Armenia (24 300 people) and Iran (12 400 people) while the number of visitors decreased from Turkey (-19 700 people); •    The number of visitors arriving at Tbilisi International Airport increased by 38 500 people, at Kutaisi International Airport by 5 000 people and at Batumi Airport by 187 people.  

  In 2016, compared to 2015: • The volume of remittances increased by 6.6% and amounted to 1.1 bln USD;• Remittances from Russia, the leading source country, makes up 34.3% of total remittances, a decrease of 8.8%. • The United States moved from fourth to second place, reaching 11.1% of total remittances;• The United States is in the first position in terms of remittances per migrant and is 1.2 times higher than remittances per migrant from Russia.

  In 2016, compared to 2015: • The volume of imports decreased by 0.5%;• The volume of exports decreased by 4.1% while the volume of re-exports decreased by 19.6%. The share of re-exports in total exports reached 21.6%;• For the first time since 2005, Russia is again Georgia’s number one trading partner in terms of exports;• Turkey is still the number one trading partner in terms of imports.

Starting from 1st January of 2017 the new rule of excise tax calculation launched. There is a significant increase of excise tax on the automobiles issued before 2005. The excise tax on the automobiles with right-hand side wheel also increased significantly and amounted to 3 times more than the same car with left-hand side wheel. Based on the structure of Georgian autopark, the above graph shows the excise tax on automobiles with 1.6, 1.8 and 3.2 engine. According to the new rule the lowest fee of excise tax is for the cars issued in 2010.

  Analysis of January - November 2016, compared to the corresponding period in 2015: • Net profit of commercial banks increased by 25.1% (114 mln GEL) and amounted to 567 mln GEL. • The volume of deposits increased (9.4%), as did the volume of loans (7.9%) (adjusted for exchange rate). • The proportion for which construction (by 2.8 percentage points), financial intermediation (2.5 percentage points) and hotels and restaurants (3.0 percentage points) were responsible for total loans increased. • The volume of non-performing loans increased by 9.5% which is mostly due to depreciation of GEL exchange rate.  

  According to the first three-quarters of 2016, compared to the corresponding period of 2015: The volume of production in the construction sector increased by 41.2% and reached 4.2 bln GEL;Foreign direct investment (FDI) in construction increased by 21.8% and reached US$106 bln;The number of people employed in the construction sector increased by 3.1% and amounted to 60.1 thousands of people;The average monthly remuneration of employees in the sector is 1,415 GEL.

  In the first three quarters of 2016, compared to the corresponding period of 2015, in the State Budget: • Total expenditure on social security increased by 10.7% (238.6 mln GEL) and  amounts into 2,270 mln GEL, which is 37% of total budget expenditure; • Expenditure on public pension increased by 11.7% (121.2 mln GEL);  • Expenditure on general social healthcare program increased by 16.1% (68 mln GEL); In the State Budget of 2017 expenditures on social security will increase by 8.4%. Municipalities spent a significant part of their budget for social security, for example, 27.8% (177 mln GEL) of Tbilisi budget costs is spent on social security

  In the third quarter of 2016, compared to the same period of 2015: • The GEL appreciated against the USD by 0.12% on average;• The negative trade balance increased (5.7%, USD 73.2 mln.);• The volume of remittances increased (16.1%, USD 42.4 mln.);• The volume of deposits denominated in USD also increased (35.8%, USD 1.5 mln USD).

In the first half of 2016, compared to the corresponding period of 2015: • Average monthly remuneration of employees increased by 5.4%.• The highest growth in average monthly remuneration of employees was recorded in construction (12.9%) and fishing (22.7%).• The highest paid sector is still financial services but the wages in public administration remain high compared to the average monthly remuneration across the board.• Average monthly remuneration for male is 37% more than the same indicator for female.  

During the first half of 2016 compared to the corresponding period of 2015: • Production value in the business sector increased by 10.8% as well as increased turnover (13.0%); • There was an increase in the number of people employed in the business sector (5.8%, 32 400 people) and the average monthly remuneration (5.9%, 53.3 GEL).