to collect tax revenues.
Georgia's new government is making progress in reforming the tax
code, enforcing taxes, and cracking down on corruption. Georgia also
suffers from energy shortages; it privatized the T'bilisi
electricity distribution network in 1998, but payment collection
rates remain low, both in T'bilisi and throughout the regions. The
country is pinning its hopes for long-term growth on its role as a
transit state for pipelines and trade. The construction on the
Baku-T'bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T'bilisi-Erzerum gas
pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$14.45 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
9.5% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 20.5%
industry: 22.6%
services: 56.9% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
2.1 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
17% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
54% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 27.9% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
37.1 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.5% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
18.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $671.7 million
expenditures: $804.7 million, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables; livestock

Industries:
steel, aircraft, machine tools, electrical appliances, mining
(manganese and copper), chemicals, wood products, wine

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2000)

Electricity - production:
6.732 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 19.7%
hydro: 80.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:
6.811 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
300 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
850 million kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
2,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
31,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Natural gas - production:
60 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.16 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas