Wages, Poverty & Social Protection

Overview

Average earnings in Georgia have more than doubled since 2015 in nominal terms, and absolute poverty has fallen. But earnings are unevenly distributed: half of employees earn no more than about two-thirds of the average. The statutory private-sector minimum wage — GEL 20 a month — has not changed since 1999 and plays no practical role in pay setting. Social protection rests on a universal state pension, a funded pension scheme introduced in 2019, and means-tested social assistance that reaches a large share of the population.

Key figures

Earnings

In 2024 the median monthly wage (GEL 1,332) was about two-thirds of the average (GEL 1,970.8), a sign that a minority of high earners pulls the average up (GILS calculation from Geostat). In the fourth quarter of 2025, average earnings ranged from GEL 4,373.2 in information and communication to much lower levels in accommodation, food services and agriculture (Geostat).

Georgia, the region and the EU

Source: Minimum wage: Georgia in the region.

Sources: Geostat; Eurostat. The two Gini measures use different income concepts and are only broadly comparable.

In 2022 the Georgia Fair Labour Platform calculated a living wage of GEL 1,770 per month (ETF–Eurofound, 2024).

The minimum wage and living wage estimates

Living wage estimates as compiled in Social Justice Center et al. (2023). Methods differ between estimates.

See Minimum wage: Georgia in the region for comparisons with Armenia, Azerbaijan and the EU.

Poverty and inequality

Sources: Geostat (via Social Justice Center et al., 2023, for 2022; GBC, 1TV and Civil.ge for 2023–2025).

Social protection

By November 2023, 1,206,980 people — 32.4% of the population — were registered in the database of socially vulnerable families, and by June 2023, 47% of subsistence allowance recipients had received it for more than five years (Social Justice Center et al., 2023).

Legal and policy framework

• Presidential Order No. 351 (1999) — sets the private-sector minimum wage at GEL 20.
• Law of Georgia on Social Assistance (2006) — targeted social assistance based on proxy means-testing.
• Law of Georgia on Funded Pensions (2018) — the funded pension scheme in operation since 2019.
• Pension indexation rule — introduced in 2021 (Civil.ge, 2021).
• EU Directive 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages — a reference point for Georgia's EU approximation; see the GILS analysis.

Research map

• Geostat — earnings, poverty and social protection statistics. Earnings data
• Social Justice Center, GYLA, PHR and Georgia Fair Labour Platform (2023) — submission to the UN CESCR, including minimum wage, living wage estimates and social assistance. Archived copy
• Public Defender of Georgia (2016) — the relevance of minimum wage policy. ombudsman.ge
• Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2017) — project summary on the minimum wage. fes.de
• FactCheck Georgia (2025) — pensions in real terms since 2012. factcheck.ge
• Georgia Today (2025) — why more people receive welfare than are counted as poor. georgiatoday.ge

Health at work: the WHO perspective

Wages and social protection are social determinants of health. WHO's Global Plan of Action on Workers' Health places employment conditions — income, security, social protection — within workers' health alongside workplace hazards (WHA60.26), and the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2008) identified fair employment and decent work as a determinant of health across the life course. Working poverty, a GEL 20 statutory minimum wage and limited sickness benefit coverage therefore have health consequences that neither the accident record nor the health system in Georgia currently measures. Workers' health: the public health perspective.

Data gaps

• Geostat publishes median earnings by sector, but not a full earnings distribution by decile.
• There is no official living wage or minimum income standard; living wage estimates come from non-governmental sources using different methods.
• Data on earnings in informal employment are limited (see Informal Economy).

GILS analyses on this topic

GILS Analysis · 2 Oct 2026Where Work Pays Least in Georgia: The Sector, Gender and Public-Sector Roots of Low PayAverage earnings in Georgia have risen fast — to GEL 2,466 per month by the end of 2025. But the gains are distributed very unevenly. Employees in information…Georgia Wire · 2 Oct 20262027 Budget: Pensions Rise by GEL 20–60 While Top Officials’ Salaries Rise 8% — What the Indexation Rule DeliversGeorgia's draft 2027 state budget raises the basic pension for people under 70 by GEL 20, to GEL 390 a month, and for those aged 70 and over…GILS Analysis · 29 Sep 2026Georgia’s Social Assistance: One in Five Residents Covered, Benefits Below Subsistence — and a Work PenaltyGeorgia's Targeted Social Assistance programme reaches more than 700,000 people — around one in five residents, including nearly a third of all children — even though official absolute…GILS Analysis · 21 Sep 2026Working Poverty in Georgia: Why Having a Job Is No Longer a Guarantee Against PovertyGeorgia has made striking progress against poverty: the share of the population below the absolute poverty line fell from 11.8% in 2023 to 7.1% in 2025. Yet the…GILS Analysis · 10 Sep 2026Georgia’s Minimum Wage Has Been GEL 20 Since 1999: The Numbers, the Reform Proposals, and What a Credible Law Would NeedGeorgia's minimum wage for the private sector is GEL 20 a month, set by presidential order in 1999 and never revised. It is equal to less than 1%…Global Wire · 5 Sep 2026The EU Minimum Wage Directive After the 2025 Court Ruling: What Alignment Would Mean for GeorgiaThe EU's Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages, adopted in October 2022, was largely upheld by the Court of Justice in November 2025. As an EU candidate, Georgia will…GILS Analysis · 4 Sep 2026The 2022 GTUC–GEA Memorandum: Social Partners’ Cooperation on the Minimum Wage — and the Steps Still NeededOn 21 October 2022, the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC) and the Georgian Employers' Association (GEA) signed a memorandum of cooperation committing them to develop joint positions on…GILS Analysis · 5 Aug 2026Georgia’s Pension System Seven Years After the 2019 Reform: GEL 8.2 Billion Saved, but Coverage and Adequacy Gaps RemainSeven years after Georgia introduced a funded pension scheme, its assets have passed GEL 8.2 billion and it has more than 1.7 million participants. But the scheme is…Global Wire · 4 Aug 2026Do Minimum Wages Cost Jobs? What the German and US Evidence Shows — and What It Means for GeorgiaOpponents of a meaningful minimum wage in Georgia often argue that it would destroy jobs. A large body of recent research from Europe and the United States finds…

Related data and standards

• Minimum wage: Georgia in the region
• Labour Market Observatory

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Sources for this page

• ETF–Eurofound (2024). Working life in Georgia. etf.europa.eu
• Geostat (2026). Average monthly nominal earnings; median earnings; earnings by sex. www.geostat.ge
• Geostat (2026). Indicators of Social Protection (2025). geostat.ge
• GBC (2026). The absolute poverty level in Georgia decreased to 7.1%. gbc.ge
• Social Justice Center et al. (2023). Submission to the UN CESCR (archived copy). web.archive.org
• Netgazeti (2023). Minimum wage of GEL 636 — trade unions appeal to Parliament. netgazeti.ge
• Netgazeti (2026). Pensions to rise by GEL 20–60 in the 2027 draft budget. netgazeti.ge
• FactCheck Georgia (2025). Pensions since 2012. www.factcheck.ge
• 1TV (2026). Pension Fund reports 26,820 beneficiaries. 1tv.ge
• Georgia Today (2025). Subsistence allowance recipients. georgiatoday.ge
• Civil.ge (2021). Pensions rise, indexation introduced in 2021. civil.ge

Figures are from the GILS Evidence Register and the official sources shown. GILS is independent of government, trade unions, employers' organisations and the ILO.