Georgia's economy grew in the first nine months of this year as the nation removed most of the restrictions it had set to combat the coronavirus outbreak, companies reopened, and visitors began to return cautiously.

According to the National Statistics Office, GDP increased by 11.3 percent year on year in January-September after falling by 5.0 percent in the same period last year. The economy grew by 6.9% in September alone, compared to a 0.7 percent drop a year before. With the exception of construction, all sectors of the economy grew.

Georgia’s highly tourism-reliant economy has been hit especially hard by the COVID crisis and lacks the resource-extraction or manufacturing base that has helped cushion the blow in some other ex-Soviet countries.

In April, the country's economy began to revive, with a year-on-year increase of 44.8 percent. The country's economic recovery accelerated as the bulk of the limitations placed to combat the coronavirus epidemic were lifted, companies reopened, and visitors began to return cautiously.

In August, the nation imposed various limits in response to an increase in the number of illnesses and deaths.

Georgia increased its economic growth prediction for 2021 from 4.3 percent to 7.7 percent in July, in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) current projection and amid signs of economic improvement.

Last week, the central bank projected economic growth at 10 percent this year as the country continued to demonstrate economic recovery and a rise in demand after months of contraction due to the restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

The IMF said in July that Georgia’s GDP was now projected to grow 7.7 percent in 2021 and 5.8 percent in 2022. In October, the IMF said that significant risks, including slow vaccination, remained to Georgia’s economic recovery.

The World Bank said in June that Georgia’s economy was projected to recover in 2021, growing by 6 percent, with the key baseline assumption that there would be no further severe waves of COVID-19 infections that necessitate additional lockdowns and ongoing political impasse is resolved. The recovery will be supported by fiscal stimulus in the form of accelerated capital spending, tax deferrals, accelerated VAT refunds, and targeted support for the most affected businesses, as well as higher social spending.

Economic growth might return to 5.0 percent in 2022 and 2023 under a baseline scenario in which no third wave of illnesses occurs and a major portion of the population gets vaccinated by 2022.

Fitch Ratings updated Georgia's long-term foreign-currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from Negative to Stable in August and confirmed the IDR at 'BB'.