Poll results released by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and CRRC Georgia show that Georgians remain concerned about economic challenges (72%) and, for the first time, covid-19 (16%). Georgians credit the government for managing the pandemic effectively and are also concerned about the future.

As in previous years, data shows dissatisfaction about the state of the country’s economy. 24% of Georgians report that they are unemployed, consistent with NDI’s August 2020 poll and likely an indicator of the continued economic impact of the covid-19. Only a quarter feel they are better off economically since 2016; 32% said they are worse off, while 45% believe their situation remains unchanged.

Public health is also a significant priority, with cost of medicine (56%) and covid-19 related concerns (41%) at the top. Georgians are confident that if they or their family member had a covid-19 related emergency, they would know how to get medical assistance (86%), how to provide treatment at home (77%), and where to get a free or affordable test (65%). A majority (60%) credits the government with handling the pandemic well, likely contributing to high evaluations of the government’s and prime minister’s performance.

Georgians will look to their newly elected leaders to address the challenges ahead. Georgians’ views of the parliament have improved. Approximately 51% of Georgians rated the legislature’s performance as good (15%) or average (36%), up from 36% in November 2019. However, citizens remain skeptical of parliament’s willingness to address citizen concerns (41% do not believe parliament will work on issues that matter to them); deploy consultative processes (a quarter and a third of Georgians do not think the new parliament will engage citizens or CSOs more actively, respectively); and behave ethically (only 36% agreed). The majority believes that for the new parliament to represent citizen interests, it is important for political parties to collaborate (82%) and for all elected parties to participate in parliament (76%). This is consistent across party supporters.

NDI survey was conducted on December 17-24, 2020, based on a representative sample of 2,053 telephone interviews conducted across Georgia with the adult population of the country (excluding the occupied territories).