Record $2 billion+ transferred from Russia to Georgia in 2022

Record money transfers from Russia

According to the National Bank, in 2022 a record number of money transfers were sent to Georgia and equaling $ 4.4 billion, almost twice as much compared to 2021. The leader among sending countries is the Russian Federation, remittances from which grew five times in annual terms and amounted to more than $2 billion, 47.29% of total remittances.

In 2022, Georgia received the most remittances from the following countries:

• Russian Federation – $2.068 billion;
• Italy – $431.6 million;
• USA – $327 million;
• Greece – $224 million;
• Israel – $199 million;
• Germany – $164.3 million;
• Kazakhstan – $150 million;
• Kyrgyzstan – $111.7 million,
• Turkey – $101 million;
• Spain – $57 million

In December 2022 alone the amount of remittances received in Georgia amounted to $535.3 million, which is 133.2% more than in December 2021. Ithis case Russia is also in the lead — in December, the amount transferred thence was about $317.3 million.

• Georgia’s economic dependence on Russia is growing
• “Lack of political will” – Why Georgia does not join anti- Russian sanctions?

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted that remittances to Georgia would decline due to the war and sanctions imposed on Russia, but a flood of Russian migrants has proved otherwise.

According to the PMC research center, a significant part of Russian citizens send rubles to Georgia, convert them to dollars, return foreign currency to Russia and sell it on the black market for profit.

This factor may be the reason for the sharp increase in remittances coming from Russia. The National Bank calls the increase in money transfers from Russia one reason for a strong lari.

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According to the World Bank, Georgia ranks 21st in countries dependent on remittances.