The Education, Science and Youth Affairs Committee discussed the initial version of Georgia`s 2027 State Budget, presented by Giorgi Kakauridze, First Deputy Finance Minister.

"In 2027, funding for the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth will increase by GEL 225 million and amount to GEL 2.928 billion. Within the Ministry`s budget, GEL 2.083 billion is allocated to preschool and general education. Funding for vocational education amounts to GEL 248 million, higher education – GEL 248 million, support for science and scientific research – GEL 95 million, inclusive education – GEL 127 million. GEL 22.5 million is allocated to support youth", - Giorgi Kakauridze said.

According to him, expenditure on education in the 2027 budget will increase by GEL 400 million. This will include salary increases for public school teachers and administrative staff, as well as for employees of kindergartens.

As part of the higher education reform, funding is envisaged to provide free tuition at state universities. GEL 800 million is allocated from the consolidated budget to finance capital expenditures in the education sector.

The First Deputy Minister also reviewed the key macroeconomic and fiscal parameters for 2027.

As Giorgi Kakauridze noted, the forecast for real economic growth in 2027 stands at 5%. This forecast is fully in line with the projections of international financial institutions. The GDP deflator is projected at 3.7%. Nominal GDP is expected to increase by 8.9% and exceed GEL 126 billion. The inflation rate is expected to decline in 2027 and return to the target rate of 3% by the end of the year.

According to Giorgi Kakauridze, the budget deficit is planned at 2.5% of GDP in 2027, with a slightly declining trend in subsequent years. The government debt ratio is set at 31.6% of GDP for 2027 and is expected to continue declining in the following years.

The reporter stated that total receipts of the consolidated budget would amount to GEL 37.531 billion, approximately GEL 1.5 billion more than the 2026 forecast. The main source of revenue is tax revenue, which is projected at GEL 29.520 billion in 2027.

According to him, in terms of an increase in liabilities, the consolidated budget will receive GEL 4.670 billion next year. Of this amount, GEL 2.6 billion is planned to be raised through the issuance of domestic securities.

The expenditure side of the 2027 budget is planned at GEL 37.562 billion. More than GEL 8.431 billion will be allocated from the 2027 consolidated budget to finance capital expenditures, which is almost GEL 1 billion more than the current year’s forecast. As Giorgi Kakauridze noted, discussions of the initial version of the budget will continue in other parliamentary committees, where the final version will be developed by incorporating the proposals and opinions expressed during the discussions.

According to Giorgi Chakvetadze, First Deputy Chair of the Education, Science and Youth Affairs Committee, the initial version of Georgia`s 2027 State Budget is unprecedented in scale. He noted that, as this is the initial version of the budget, further increases in funding for individual programmes are expected.