International donors pledged a higher-than-expected $4.55 billion (€3.5 bn) at a one-day conference in Brussels to help Georgia recover from its war with Russia .
The European Commission said the sum pledged included $3.7 billion in public loans and grants and $850 million from the private sector.
"Four and a half billion dollars far exceeds the expectations we had ... At a time like this to show such support is something that no Georgian will ever forget," Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told a news briefing.
The head of the US government aid agency said it was a great show of support.
"The message economically and politically is very strong for Georgia. At a time of financial turmoil, this is extraordinarily strong," USAID administrator Henrietta Fore told Reuters.
The United Nations and the World Bank had estimated that Georgia, a key energy transit route, would need $3.25 billion over the next three years to help tens of thousands of people forced from their homes and repair and develop infrastructure.
Russia sent in troops in August after Georgia tried to retake a breakaway pro-Russian region. Moscow has since withdrawn soldiers from Georgia proper, but the West accused Moscow of a disproportionate use of force.
Russian bombing raids hit mainly military targets, but Tbilisi also reported damage to civilian infrastructure and risks to its economic growth and investment.
The US has offered at least $1 billion for rebuilding.
The European Commission, the European Union's executive, promised up to €500 million ($642.8 million) to 2010. It said pledges from the EU's 27 member states and the European Investment Bank brought the EU total to some €863 million.
The European Investment Bank said it was allocating more than €200 million for loans to infrastructure projects for 2009 and 2010, including energy projects, rehabilitation of railways and reconstruction of the runway at Tbilisi airport.
Japan's Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasutoshi Nishimura said Japan would provide $200 million.
Tbilisi said last month international institutions had pledged a loan package of about $1 billion to help soften the impact of the conflict on the banking sector.
Georgia had to scale down foreign investment forecasts and last month the IMF approved a $750 million programme aimed at rebuilding currency reserves and restoring investor confidence.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said there was a moral imperative to help a neighbour in need, but it was also in the European Union's interest.
"Any conflict on Europe's borders clearly has implications for European security and stability," he said. "This particular conflict also has potential costs for Europe in terms of our energy security and our diversification strategy."
Barroso noted that all of Georgia's main energy transit routes had been disrupted during the conflict.
Prime Minister Gurgenidze said about $2 billion of the pledges were in grants and 2.5 billion in loans. He said the long-term, low-interest loans were easily supportable given Georgia's relatively low public debt.
REUTERS