Inflation in Georgia Stays at 5.6% in September: Car Costs Up 25.8%, Rents Up 10.9%

Annual inflation in Georgia was 5.6% in September 2026, unchanged from August, according to the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat). Consumer prices rose 0.4% over the month. Core inflation, which excludes food, energy and regulated tariffs, stood at 3.7%.

What became more expensive over the year

Transport remains the main driver. Prices in the group rose 18.7% year on year and added 2.2 percentage points to the overall figure. Running a personal car cost 25.8% more than a year earlier, and transport services rose 14.9%. In September alone transport prices climbed 2.9%, after SOCAR and Lukoil raised fuel prices several times during the month.

Geostat lists the following annual changes by group:

• Transport: +18.7%
• Miscellaneous goods and services: +9.4%
• Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels: +9.2%
• Health: +8.0%
• Restaurants and hotels: +7.3%
• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco: +6.2%
• Food and non-alcoholic beverages: +3.4%
• Clothing and footwear: -1.8%
• Communication: -2.8%
• Education: -12.5%

Rent, utilities and doctors

Within the housing group, actual rentals rose 10.9% over the year, and electricity, gas and other fuels rose 10.5%. For tenants this means the rent for an apartment in Georgia is growing faster than overall inflation.

Healthcare prices rose 8.0% year on year. Outpatient services, that is a visit to a doctor, cost 11.5% more, and medical products and equipment 8.8% more. In September alone outpatient services went up 9.1%, so current visit prices at clinics in Georgia differ noticeably from last year's.

Food

Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 3.4% over the year. Fish went up 18.1%, meat 9.0%, bread and cereals 6.9%, oils and fats 4.8%, coffee, tea and cocoa 4.6%. Fruit and grapes became 4.3% cheaper. Over September food prices fell 0.2%.

The Competition and Consumer Protection Agency reports a similar picture from its price portal ekalata.gov.ge. The cheapest basket of 13 basic food products cost 37.45 lari at the start of September and 35.82 lari at the end, a fall of 4.4%. The non-food basket of 10 essentials fell 5.3% to 26.17 lari. The portal compares prices in major retail chains daily.

What it means for your budget

The 12-month average inflation reached 5.2%. If you planned your monthly expenses in Georgia on last year's prices, transport, rent and medical costs will exceed the plan the most. Education prices fell only because tertiary education became 32.9% cheaper, while school and preschool fees rose by 6.6% to 7.0%.

The figures are Geostat's final data for September 2026. The agency publishes inflation once a month.