Settlement for internally displaced persons in Saguramo, Georgia

    Social situation Poverty and high unemployment

    Due to the conflict over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, there are more than 280,000 internally displaced persons in Georgia. The refugee situation is exacerbating poverty in the country, which is already severe. About one fifth of the country's approximately 3.7 million people live below the national poverty line.

    In 2021, the official unemployment rate was 22 per cent, and as high as over 38 per cent for young adults aged 20 to 24. However, these figures do not take account of the fact that countless people work as day labourers or as smallholders engaged in subsistence farming. According to estimates, the actual unemployment rate was about 35 per cent prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, in surveys, a large proportion of the people describe themselves as underemployed. Simultaneously, there are many vacant jobs, which can, however, not be filled because there is a lack of workers with appropriate skills.

    In the latest Human Development Index (HDI), Georgia ranks 60th out of 193 countries.


    to the overview page on Georgia

    As at: 08/06/2022