Depressing data surfaces about Hungarian wages and GDP
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In a recent update of the 2023 consumption data from Eurostat, Hungary has been surpassed by Bulgaria in the per capita consumption ranking. This marks a notable shift in regional economic performance and consumer behaviour, but it is saddening for Hungary. If this was not enough, shocking data also surfaced about Hungarian wages.
Surpassed by Bulgaria
As Portfolio reports, in 2023, Hungarian household consumption was 70% of the EU average, placing Hungary at the bottom of the ranking. Initially, Hungary had a slim 0.1 percentage point lead compared to Bulgaria. However, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, recently revised Bulgaria‘s figure upward to 73%. The substantial revision suggests Bulgaria will likely maintain its advantage in future updates. In addition, Bulgaria’s overtaking of Hungary is not surprising, as the two countries were already close in 2022. Last year, Bulgarian household consumption grew rapidly, while Hungarian consumption declined.
The region’s performance
In the two decades of EU membership, the region has notably caught up, with household consumption drawing significantly closer to the EU average. However, there are some exceptions. Sadly, Hungary has made the least progress, alongside the two most developed countries in the region, Czechia and Slovenia. In addition to consumption data, Eurostat also published GDP per capita revision data, which reveals that Hungary stands at 76% of the EU average. This highlights the same tendency as in consumption numerals; Eastern countries are catching up, while Hungary is lagging.
The low domestic indicator has been extensively evaluated in the past year or two, trying to find factors behind these saddening numbers. Reasons include below-average catching-up rates in the region, low household indebtedness and high savings at the macroeconomic level, and a significant proportion of income allocated to investment rather than consumption.
There are no excuses for Fidesz. They have held continuous power for 14 years and have ruled by decree for the last four. They control everything in the country. The other members of the EU are subject to the same external factors that Hungary is. Viktor Orban and Fidesz bear full responsibility for bringing Hungary to this point and unfortunately individual Hungarians themselves also bear responsibility for continuing to reelect this group of bandits. It’s time for Hungarians to look at themselves in the mirror and look at how even Bulgarians live better than them. It needs to change starting in 2026 with their votes. No more of this misery, this corruption, this alliance with Russia. Wake up.