600 thousand people out of 10 million left Hungary

According to portfolio.hu, more than 600,000 Hungarians live abroad in the European Union, which is a way bigger number compared to previous estimations. Officially, most people live in Germany, but there’s also more than five thousand Hungarians in Denmark. The conclusions are mainly based on data given by the member states.

We love the EU, because we can go about loose

The government has been battling with Brussels for quite a while, the most sensitive question being the refugee policy. However, the majority of Hungarians still support the EU and Hungary being part of it. Based on the newest Eurobarometer survey, 46% of Hungarians trust the EU, while this is only 39% in the case of the government.

When asked about the best part of being a member state, most people mention the free flow of goods, services and people, and the Erasmus scholarship programme. When asked separately about the free flow of work force, 75-80% of Hungarians support working in other countries of the European Union. This seems to be the EU’s biggest achievement for Hungarians.

The problem with former estimations

Despite the fact that Hungary’s been an EU member since 2004, nobody can tell exactly how many Hungarians live abroad in the union. The estimations vary between 300 thousand and 1 million people. But there are several problems with these.

Firstly, the methodology differs by country. Secondly, statistics don’t include illegal workers. Also, the surveys don’t touch upon commuters, which would be especially important in the case of Austria. The number of people who return is even more questionable. Lastly, the definition of emigrants is not consensual. Are commuters and seasonal workers emigrants? Or only those who start a new life abroad?

How can we decide?

After realising the difficulties, Portfolio decided to make a fresh database about Hungarians living in the European Union. Naturally they could only turn to the already existing statistics, still they tried to give an up-to-date summary. They left out neighbouring countries, except for Austria and Croatia, due to transborder minorities. They contacted all member states via email, and only failed to receive answers from Bulgaria, Estonia, Malta, the Netherlands and Portugal.