The World Bank now puts Georgian growth at 7% for 2026 — two points above its own June call

In its latest Europe and Central Asia economic update, published in the first week of October, the World Bank put Georgian growth for 2026 at 7%, raising its June figure by two percentage points. Three weeks earlier the Asian Development Bank had lifted its own 2026 number from 5.5% to 6.3%, and its inflation projection from 4.9% to 5.2%. Two institutions revising upward within a month, from different models, is a stronger signal than either number on its own.

The ADB attributes the upgrade to first-half activity that came in at 7.9%. Within that, services led: up 13.9% in the first quarter, with information and communication technology up 36.0% and transport and storage up 18.0%. Private consumption grew 8.0% and exports of goods and services 6.8%, while a narrower current account deficit was helped by exports and remittances. For anyone weighing a commercial letting or a service business here, that composition matters more than the headline — office and logistics demand is being driven by sectors that need premises, not by construction activity feeding on itself.

The ADB's risk list is specific rather than boilerplate: heightened geopolitical tension and a weaker regional outlook, rising global energy and fuel prices feeding domestic inflation, and disruption to regional air travel, which it links to a 2.0% fall in tourism revenue in the first half of 2026. That last one is the point of contact for anyone in hospitality or short-stay letting. A strong headline growth number and softer tourism receipts can coexist, and this year they are doing so. Treat forecasts as forecasts: both institutions have already moved twice this year.