What do you think, how has Hungary performed since joining the EU?
Since joining the EU in 2004, Hungary’s convergence has improved by 11.5 percentage points compared to the EU27 average, by which it is ranked only 10th out of 13 Central and Eastern European Member States. Based on this, currently, Hungary is the 8th most developed country in the region. The latest data of Eurostat also revealed which EU members have developed the most in the last 16 years.
Due to the economic decline caused by the coronavirus pandemic last year, a significant drop could be expected in the convergence processes. As we previously reported, the value of the Hungarian forint reached a historic all-time low. Since the global pandemic harmed the economies of all the countries concerned, the weakening of the Hungarian currency did not cause any severe problems.
Based on the freshly published data of Eurostat, Hungary’s convergence has not stopped compared to the EU 27 average, even though it visibly slowed down in the recent period.
Since 2004, Hungary has improved by 11.5 percentage points (from 63% to 74%) compared to the EU27 average, by which it is ranked only 10th on the achieved convergence list out of the 13 Central and Eastern European Member States (EU13).
Accordingly, Hungary was the fifth in 2004 and is currently the 8th most developed member state in the region.
As the Hungarian news portal Portfolio reports, the result is not so encouraging, as only 3 Member States performed worse than Hungary in terms of convergence: Cyprus, Slovenia and Croatia, which only joined the EU in 2013. According to the overall ranking, Lithuania has developed the fastest, the Baltic country has advanced 37 percentage points of GDP per capita in 15 years and is currently the 4th most developed country in the EU13 with 87%. Meanwhile, it was only 50% in 2004.
Besides Lithuania, Hungary has also been overhead by Estonia and Poland, as well as Latvia and Romania have caught up.
The overall ranking that indicates how many percentage points the member states have approached the EU average is the following:
- Lithuania (37% ↑)
- Romania (37% ↑)
- Estonia (30% ↑)
- Poland (25% ↑)
- Latvia (24% ↑)
- Bulgaria (19% ↑)
- Malta (12,5% ↑)
- Czech Republic (12% ↑)
- Slovakia (12% ↑)
- Hungary (11,5% ↑)
- Croatia (8% ↑)
- Slovenia (1% ↑)
- Cyprus (-13% ↓)
The convergence index shows a decline in Hungary’s northern neighbour, Slovakia, which, in 2015, was still 78% of the EU27 average, and five years later was only 72% relatively developed. In Slovakia, productivity growth began to stagnate in the recovery period following the 2008 crisis. In addition, Slovakia does not have the necessary quantity and quality of know-how to maintain the high growth rate achieved in the automotive FDI inflow at the time. Although economic growth has not stopped, it has been left behind by neighbouring countries.
The future convergence process is still questionable in Hungary. The Treasury expects growth this year to exceed 5-6%, although this is not yet supported by current industrial and construction processes. Another question is how the skyrocketing increase of prices will affect the economy, through which a significant impairment risk threatens the purchasing power of Hungarian forint.
Read alsoCrazy price increase in the Hungarian & global food market!
Source: portfolio.hu
Politico is a leftist media, do not accept anything good from that media.
It would be interesting to find out (if you were honest and didn’t “fudge” the numbers) how people were
doing financially comparing COST OF LIVING TO INCOME.
THE COST OF LIVING IN HUNGARY IS ABOUT THE THIRD OF WHAT THE WESTERN EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES WOULD COST.
Ergo, life is much less expensive in Hungary.
That is why a whole lot of “westerners” have decided to come and live here.
If salaries go up, so will HAVE TO the cost of living.
PEOPLE CAN SEE THROUGH YOUR LIES.
NOLIESPLEASE – narrowness of your comments disturbing.
It must not be forgotten that wealth enables choice.
Westerners who may continue to live with us in Hungary contribute greatly to the finances of this country.
Vast thousands of them are not “takers” from Hungary but contribute on the other side of the ledger pumping contributing millions of hufs into the Hungarian economy which we need.
Wages in Hungary continues to be a “time bomb” ready to explode in comparison to “other” European countries.
Hungary needs to address this differential which will in time effect cost of living in our country.
NOLIESPLEASE – turn your eyes EASTERLY – that’s the BIG game changer that is Happening in Hungary and should be Crushed.
National Elections May 2022 – people power in their RIGHT granted them under DEMOCRACY – their Voice – provides the opportunity in numbers to make change or “go with the flow”.
NORBERT :
Hungary is trading with a lot of different countries.
It is definitely not up to you or me to decide what benefits this country.
You are so obviously so unhappy, it begs the question :
What are you doing and why are you doing it ?
Certainly not for humanitarian reasons as the majority of Hungarians are extremely happy with the way
our country is managed.
You obviously are NOT a Hungarian.
You also like to make out that most people DON’T KNOW, BUT OF COURSE YOU AND YOUR “CRONIES” DO KNOW !
WE HAVE REALISED A LONG TIME AGO WHERE YOU “COME FROM” – the ‘left side’ of Hungary or the
“terminal”, pathetic EU with their sick, decadent, destructive ways.
.
OPENYOUREYES says – “pathetic EU with their sick, decadent, destructive ways.”
I haven’t heard that kind of communist rhetoric since the 1970’s.
Reminds me of that musical, “The Sound Of Music”.
It seems that ‘Maria (von Diktover)’ is still a problem – after all these years.
For the record, DEAR, the E.U. has been spouting COMMUNIST CRAP for many years now and it is about time that everyone realises that fact.