Georgia Poll Reflects Widespread Concern over Economic Issues

“Georgians are worried about the economy, and many see their own economic situation deteriorating,” said IRI Regional Director for Eurasia Stephen Nix. “Left unaddressed, feelings of economic stagnation can lead to a very fragile political environment, especially when accounting for ongoing pressures coming from Moscow. It is of paramount importance that all parties come together to address these basic and long-standing voter concerns.”  

Seventy-three percent of Georgians identified unemployment as one of the biggest problems facing the country, followed by the cost of living (34 percent) and poverty (28 percent). Consistent with last year’s findings, 40 percent of Georgians noted that their financial situation has remained unchanged over the last 12 months, and 49 percent of said that their financial situation has worsened over the same period.   

This sense of pessimism was echoed in Georgians’ assessment of the government’s performance. Twenty-six percent of respondents struggled to name a government accomplishment, and 35 percent said that the government had no accomplishments. The most frequently named accomplishment was healthcare reform, named by 15 percent of respondents. No other accomplishment rated more than 4 percent of all spontaneous mentions, and jobs and employment were not mentioned. 

The findings of the survey indicate that the Georgian public is concerned about the ongoing poor state of relations with Russia. Some 71 percent of Georgians said that Russia’s aggression toward Georgia is ongoing — a level last reached in February 2014 — and the majority of Georgians regard Russia as Georgia’s greatest political and economic threat. Moreover, 52 percent of respondents do not believe that the current government has handled the relationship well.