Hungarian workers earn less than 1/3rd of Austrian counterparts

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Hungarian wages are among the lowest in the European Union, with workers earning less than a third of the average Austrian salary in 2023.

Hungary’s average net wage 4th lowest in EU

According to Eurostat data cited by Bankmonitor, last year, Hungary’s average net wage was the 4th lowest in the EU. While the EU average net salary stood at EUR 28,217 per year, Hungary’s was less than half of that, at EUR 12,456. Only Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia had lower average wages.

When converted to Hungarian forints, the disparity becomes even clearer. The average EU wage in 2023 was nearly HUF 900,000 per month. The highest-paid workers were in Luxembourg, where the average monthly net salary was HUF 1.56 million. In the Netherlands, it was HUF 1.44 million, and in Ireland, HUF 1.37 million.

Austrian workers earn 3 times as much as Hungarians

Austria, a country Hungary has aspired to match for over three decades, remains significantly ahead. In 2023, the average net salary in Hungary was HUF 396,000—approximately 44% of the EU average—while Austrian workers earned over three times that amount, at HUF 1.22 million.

The standard of living also lags behind. Hungarians live at 65.2% of the EU’s average living standards. When considering purchasing power, the wage differences between EU member states are less pronounced than nominal figures suggest. The gap between the top-ranked Luxembourg and the lowest-ranked Bulgaria is more than fivefold.

In the Netherlands, the average wage’s purchasing power is less than three times that of Slovakia, which is at the bottom of the list. Hungary improved two places in the ranking compared to the previous year, now standing at 22nd. This means the average wage in Hungary is only enough to cover about two-thirds of the consumption level that an average EU citizen can afford, according to the report.

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