Downplaying simmering concerns that the economic and political frustration are making a large number of people leave or wanting to leave the country, Georgia’s ruling party has pointed to visa-free travel with the European Union as the reason behind the increased emigration tendencies over recent years.
According to Georgian Dream’s chairman Irakli Kobakhidze, whose party has been in power for over a decade, it’s only natural to see an outflow of people when an economically strong country eases its visa regime with a relatively economically weak country.
Comparing Georgia’s case with the cases of Baltic countries where, according to him, the exodus rose after they joined the European Union, Kobakhidze went as far as to argue that net emigration in 2018-2021 totaled “only” 29,000 people.
Despite its efforts to address some of the country’s most pressing economic concerns by passing various reforms, Georgia’s government has additionally motivated young Georgians to leave by considering some controversial laws.
Also, economic problems in Georgia remain acute with continuously rising record yearly inflation despite surprising economic growth over the past year with housing and food particularly affected by inflated prices that have spurred waves of labor protests.
While employers have been complaining of labor shortages in various fields due since workers opt to emigrate rather than work for low salaries, recent polls have shown that a fifth of Georgians is considering emigration to find work abroad.
Many government critics expressed concerns over Kobakhidze’s comments, seeing them as a continuation of his party’s controversial anti-EU rhetoric since the majority consider visa-free travel as the key accomplishment on Georgia’s path toward EU integration.
After years of a downtrend, the 2017 introduction of visa-free travel to the EU indeed contributed to the uptick in net emigration of Georgians driven to emigrate by the economic problems of recent decades – as studies have shown – making the mass exodus of Georgians a hotly debated political issue.
Even some EU governments have sounded the alarm about the rapidly mounting asylum requests from Georgia.
