IT Sector Boom in Georgia: Employment and Salaries Reach Record Levels

In recent years, the information technology (IT) sector in Georgia has been developing so rapidly that it is now seriously considered the “future engine of the economy.” According to a new study published by PMCG, from 2017 to 2023, the number of employees in the IT sector increased 5.4 times, reflecting an unprecedented dynamic in the country’s labor market.

The growth rate over the past two years has been especially striking – in 2022, the number of employees grew by 61%, while in 2023, the growth reached 30%. This means that in 2022, 17.3 thousand people were employed in the IT sector, and by 2023, this figure had risen to 24.8 thousand. A sector growing at such a pace can be considered in many ways as an indicator of structural transformation in the economy.

Alongside the growth in employment, another critically important factor is the sharp increase in salaries. In 2023, the average monthly salary in this sector was 5,381 GEL, which is significantly higher than the average across the entire labor market. This is explained not only by the high demand for IT specialists but also by the active involvement of international companies in the Georgian market, who express their competition for local talent through increasing wages.

The growth of the IT sector in Georgia is driven by several factors: on the one hand, globally increasing remote work opportunities; on the other hand, partial liberalization of local policies and growing interest in tech startups. Notably, as the IT sector has become part of the so-called “white economy,” it has become more visible in official statistics, revealing previously unregistered employment to a certain extent.

Although 24.8 thousand employees may be a small number for a global market, for Georgia this is a significant step forward, indicating that the country is gradually building a strong technological ecosystem. If this trend continues, the IT sector will not only become one of the main drivers of the local economy but will also place Georgia in a more prominent position on the global technology map.

At the same time, it is important that, alongside the rise in salaries, both the government and the private sector strengthen investment in education – especially in digital and technological fields. The growing demand for highly paid professions will only be sustainable if accompanied by an increasing number of qualified professionals. PMCG data confirms that now is exactly the time for the country to fully leverage the rapid growth potential of the IT sector – both as a tool for economic transformation and for entering into global competition.