Georgia’s IT Sector Foreign Income Drops by $133 Million in Nine Months

The foreign income of Georgia’s IT sector declined significantly in the first nine months of 2024, according to statistics published by the National Bank of Georgia. From January to September, the sector generated $475 million in foreign income, representing a 22% decrease—or $133 million—compared to the same period last year.
In 2023, the IT sector achieved a record-high foreign income of $784 million, marking a peak for the industry. However, the 2022-2023 boom was largely attributed to the migration effect, as thousands of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian IT specialists temporarily relocated to Georgia amid geopolitical unrest. Their activities, conducted from Georgia, contributed to the sector’s foreign income during that period.

At the end of 2021, the information and communication sector, which includes IT, employed 30,600 people. This number rose to 39,000 in 2022 and reached 48,000 by 2024. Despite the increase in the number of employees, the sector’s overall income has declined. This drop is linked to the return migration of Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian IT professionals who had temporarily boosted the industry’s earnings during their stay in Georgia.

The decline underscores the challenges of sustaining rapid growth in the IT sector, especially when influenced by temporary external factors such as migration. Moving forward, the focus may shift to enhancing the domestic IT workforce and fostering long-term growth strategies to stabilize and expand the sector.

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