Oil refining emerges as key driver of Georgia's economic growth

Oil refining emerged as the main driver of Georgia's economic growth in June, as the country's economy expanded by 8.6% year-on-year, according to preliminary data released by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

The agency said Georgia's average economic growth for the first six months of 2026 reached 7.9%, Caliber.Az reports.

Business activity also continued to strengthen. The turnover of private-sector companies registered as VAT payers totalled 16.7 billion lari ($6.2 billion) in June, up 14% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, 7,049 new companies were registered during the month, an increase of 13.7% year-on-year.

The main contributors to growth were manufacturing, transport and logistics, construction, the information and communications sector, and financial and insurance services. Declines were recorded in only two sectors — energy and mining.

Geostat Executive Director Gogita Todradze said oil refining became one of the key drivers of industrial growth for the first time this year.

According to Todradze, production of petroleum products, including naphtha, gasoil and fuel oil, increased significantly, while exports of those products surged about 12-fold compared with June last year. The main export destinations were China, Türkiye and African countries.

The transport sector also remained a major engine of growth, supported by rising passenger and cargo air traffic, as well as stronger foreign trade, which boosted cargo handling and storage volumes.

Construction maintained positive momentum, with increased activity in both residential and non-residential building projects, alongside growth in the engineering and design services market.

The information and communications sector also continued to expand. Geostat attributed the growth not only to higher demand for telecommunications services but also to increased software development and the expansion of other digital services.

In the financial sector, higher interest income generated by commercial banks was the main source of growth.

By contrast, mining and energy were the only sectors to contract. Metal ore extraction declined, while electricity generation at hydroelectric power plants fell by around 16% compared with June last year.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov