Georgia has risen in the rankings of numerous prominent international indices over the past seven years (2012–2019). Surveys conducted by prestigious international institutions showcase Georgia’s progress in economy, governance, corruption, rule of law, and the freedom of speech/media. The rankings below represent published data by the following organizations: World Bank, Fraser Institute, Moody’s Investors Club, International Budget Partnership, World Economic Forum, The Heritage Foundation, Transparency International, Reporters Without Borders, the World Justice Project, the International Telecommunications Union, and World Governance Indicators.
ECONOMY
World Bank: Georgia is one of the top performing countries in implementing business-friendly reforms. According to the recently published World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2019 (DB) report, Georgia is a category leader in Europe and Central Asia region (ECA). The country improved its position from 9th place in 2018 to 6th place in 2019 among 190 countries, highlighting a business-friendly climate in Georgia. Georgia’s overall progress in DB ranking (+0.48) resulted from Georgia’s enhanced scores in multiple criteria including, Starting a Business (+1.50) Dealing with Construction Permit (+0.04), Paying Taxes (+1.89), Enforcing Contracts (+0.93), Resolving Insolvency (+0.44). By taking sixth position in the ranking, Georgia jumped over the U.K. and the U.S. Along with New Zealand, Georgia requires just one procedure to start a business. They are the only two such countries.
World Economic Forum: Georgia made significant progress in the category of protecting property rights. The country’s position moved up from 120th place in 2012 to 66th place in the 2018 World Economic Forum and Fraser Institute’s joint rankings.
Market efficiency is another area where Georgia made remarkable progress. In the Extent of Market Dominance ranking, Georgia advanced from 122nd place to 67th. In recognition of government reforms on taxation that encouraged investments, Georgia was named among the top 14 countries in the Effect of Taxation on Incentives to Invest rankings and among the top 25 countries in the Prevalence of Non-Tariff Barriers rankings. The country also moved from 52nd place to 29th as the Import Share in GDP Decreased.
Georgia was also recognized for fostering a desirable environment for new and existing businesses. In the Business Impact of Rules on FDI, Georgia moved from 53rd to 29th place.
Georgia moved up to 48th position in the 2017–2018 Macroeconomic Environment rankings, a remarkable leap from 137th in 2012.
Georgia saw the biggest leap in the Inflation Rankings. The country ascended 114 places from 2012, rebounding from 115th place to 1st place in 2017.
Heritage Foundation: The Business Freedom rankings 2019 ranks[LB3] Georgia as the 16th most economically free in the world and the 8th freest Europe, recognizing Georgia’s sound fiscal health and macroeconomic resilience.
Fraser Institute: In Fraser Institute’s Index of Economic Freedom, Georgia advanced from 14th position in 2012 to 7th in 2018, ranking Georgia ahead of most EU member states.
Fitch Ratings: Fitch has upgraded Georgia’s rating to ‘BB’ with a stable outlook from ‘BB-’. Fitch explained that the Georgian economy had proved resilient to negative developments in 2018 “Economic growth remained robust, the currency was relatively stable and the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) built reserves despite a severe economic shock in Turkey and heightened sanctions risk in Russia,” Fitch said in a release on February 22. Further highlighting Georgia’s exceptional accomplishment, Georgia was the only country in the region to move up in Fitch’s rating.
Moody’s Investors Club: Georgia’s economic reforms were also acknowledged by the Moody’s Investors Club, which provides credit ratings, research, tools, and analysis that contribute to transparent and integrated financial markets. In the Sovereign Credit Rating by Moody’s, Georgia advanced from Ba3 to Ba2, affirming the stability of Georgian economy.
GOVERNANCE, CORRUPTION, MEDIA FREEDOM, CYBER SECURITY
International Budget Partnership: In the Open Budget Index 2017, Georgia placed 5th in public access to government-held information.
Transparency International: The 2018 Freedom from Corruption index also demonstrates improvement for Georgia. Georgia reached 41st place among 190 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) (this is a jump of 24 positions since 2011).
International Telecommunication Union: Georgia is ranked 9th in Europe and 18th in the world in the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2018, which is a composite index produced, analysed and published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to measure the commitment of its 194 member states to cybersecurity in order to raise cybersecurity awareness.
