This analysis was first published by the Georgian Institute of Labour Studies (GILS), an initiative of the Public Health Institute of Georgia. Read the original on labour.edu.ge →
Workplace deaths are a public health indicator as much as a labour one. Georgia's Labour Inspection Service recorded 32 deaths at work in 2025, 21 of them in construction. This brief sets out what the official figures show — and what they leave out.
The Labour Inspection Service recorded 32 workplace deaths and 179 injuries in 2025, and reported a 46% fall in fatal accidents compared with the previous year. Construction accounted for 21 of the 32 deaths. This brief sets out the figures, what they can and cannot tell us, and why the dominance of construction demands a targeted response. (An earlier version of this page cited a figure for total accidents that GILS could not verify; it has been corrected.)
Key Points
- The Labour Inspection Service’s 2025 report recorded 32 workplace fatalities and 179 injuries — 72 serious and 107 of medium severity (Georgia Today, 2026).
- Construction sites accounted for 21 of the 32 deaths — about two-thirds (GILS calculation).
- One mass accident in 2025 killed four employees of a single organisation and seriously injured another.
- The head of the Service told Parliament that fatal accidents fell by 46% in 2025, while 7,111 inspections were carried out and the use of fines fell by 38% (Parliament of Georgia, 22 June 2026).
- For comparison, 35 deaths and 330 injuries were recorded in 2022 (Georgia Today, 2023).
1. The 2025 Figures
Employers are required to report medium, serious, fatal and mass workplace accidents to the Labour Inspection Service under the Organic Law on Occupational Safety, and Geostat now publishes these statistics (Geostat, 2025). Serious accidents are those causing permanent disability, severe health damage or incapacity lasting more than 40 days (Georgia Today, 2026).
| Year | Deaths | Of which construction | Serious injuries | Medium injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 35 | — | 87 | 243 |
| 2025 | 32 | 21 | 72 | 107 |
Sources: Georgia Today (2023, 2026). — = not reported in the sources used.
2. Analysis
Construction remains the deadliest sector
Two-thirds of 2025 deaths (21 of 32) occurred on construction sites. Construction earnings grew by 17.2% in the year to Q4 2025 (Geostat, 2026), reflecting a building boom. Rapid expansion, subcontracting and informal employment in construction raise safety risks.
Fewer fines, fewer deaths?
The Service reported a 46% fall in fatal accidents alongside a 38% fall in the use of fines, and Parliament’s committee credited the Service’s work for the improvement. A reduction in deaths is welcome. But the reported figures cannot by themselves show why deaths fell, and a single year’s change can reflect chance, especially when numbers are small. Recorded injuries are also lower than in 2022 (179 against 330), which may reflect safer workplaces, changes in reporting, or under-reporting — particularly in informal work, which accounts for a large share of construction employment.
Rates, not just counts
Georgia does not routinely publish accident rates per 100,000 workers by sector. Without rates, it is impossible to know whether construction has become safer or simply employs more people, or how Georgia compares with EU countries.
3. Conclusion
Thirty-two workers died at work in Georgia in 2025, most of them on construction sites. The reported fall in deaths is encouraging, but sustained improvement requires a construction-specific strategy, published accident rates and attention to under-reporting — and, as GILS has argued, ratification of the ILO’s fundamental occupational safety conventions.
GILS Recommendations
- Adopt a construction safety programme with targeted inspections, contractor liability and training requirements.
- Publish accident rates per 100,000 workers by sector, region and sex.
- Investigate under-reporting, including through hospital and insurance data.
- Publish the full annual report of the Labour Inspection Service, including sanctions and re-inspections.
GILS Position
Every workplace death is preventable. The 2025 figures show progress, but construction remains dangerous and data remain thin. GILS will track these figures annually.
References
- Georgia Today (2026). Labor Inspection Service 2025 report: 32 workplace fatalities and 179 injuries. georgiatoday.ge
- Parliament of Georgia (2026). Economic Policy Committee heard report of the Head of the Labour Inspection Service. 22 June 2026. parliament.ge
- Georgia Today (2023). Statistics: 35 workers died and 330 were injured in the workplace in 2022. georgiatoday.ge
- Geostat (2025). Occupational accidents — metadata.
- Geostat (2026). Average Monthly Nominal Earnings of Employees (IV Quarter, 2025). geostat.ge
Suggested citation: GILS Research Team (2026). Workplace Accidents in Georgia, 2025. GILS Brief. Editor: G. Pkhakadze. Georgian Institute of Labour Studies, Tbilisi. labour.edu.ge
GILS analyses are prepared with AI-assisted drafting. All figures and claims are verified against the cited primary sources and reviewed under the responsibility of the Editor.
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