TBILISI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Georgia's real GDPgrowth rate stood at 0.5 percent year-on-year in January, according to the data released by Georgian state statistics office on Friday.
Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said that the country's economic growth in 2015 is expected to slow down to 2 percent instead of initially forecasted 5 percent.
Economists attributed the slowdown to the depreciation of the Georgian currency and the weak growth of exports at the beginning of the year.
Since early November, the Georgian currency lari (GEL) has lost 22.4 percent of value against the U.S. dollar and 10.9 percent against the euro.
Georgia's exports continued to decline in January, down 30 percent year on year, according to the Georgian central bank.
Georgia's economy grew 4.7 percent last year, less than government's 5 percent forecast.
