Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian energy, but public ignorance about the issue is immense
How dependent is Hungary on Russian energy? In recent times, increasingly harsh anti-Russian remarks by US President Donald Trump have once again drawn attention to Hungary’s energy imports from Russia, particularly its dependence on oil and gas. In early October, Europion conducted a nationwide representative survey of 1,300 respondents to gauge how the Hungarian public perceives this issue. The results reveal a poorly informed yet deeply divided public opinion.
Lack of awareness dominates perceptions of Russian energy dependence
According to the research, only about one-quarter of Hungarians (24%) correctly know that more than 80% of Hungary’s energy imports come from Russia. In contrast, 30% of respondents estimate this proportion between 60–80%, one-third (33%) put it below 60%, and 13% did not venture a guess. The share of well-informed respondents is somewhat higher among older people and among those who spend at least an hour a day consuming news, but even in these groups, it does not reach one-third of the population.
When it comes to perceptions of change in energy dependence, 32% of respondents believe Hungary’s reliance on Russian energy has increased during the years of the war in Ukraine, while 16% think it has decreased, and 51% say it has not changed significantly. Political divisions are evident: among opposition voters, especially supporters of the Tisza Party, more people believe dependence has grown.
Society appears relatively optimistic about the possibility of reducing reliance on Russian energy: nearly half of those surveyed think that a significant reduction is either already achievable now (23%) or could happen within the next 5–10 years (25%).
Divisions over the dilemma of cheap energy versus independence
Opinions are split over whether cheap energy or energy independence should take priority. A majority of 54% favour cheap energy, even if it comes from Russia, while 46% would prefer energy independence, even at higher costs. Residents of smaller settlements and people who consume less news tend to favour cheap energy. Politically, government supporters strongly prefer affordable energy, whereas opposition sympathisers place greater importance on independence.
The evaluation of Russian energy imports in the context of war is also sharply divisive: 38% approve of Hungary buying energy from Russia during the war, while 36% disapprove. One of the starkest divisions appears over alignment with EU sanctions. The majority of university graduates support adapting to EU measures, but political allegiances weigh even more heavily: Tisza Party supporters back sanctions, while the majority of government supporters oppose them.
Significant dependency, widespread ignorance
In summary, Hungarian society finds itself in a situation where dependence on Russian energy remains substantial, yet public awareness is low and opinions are deeply polarised along political lines. The choice between energy independence and low-cost energy continues to divide public opinion, while the long-term solutions and the effects of EU sanctions remain uncertain.
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What are the alternatives? Croats, for instance, want to charge us an exorbitant amount, just like they pick the pockets of the tourists who go there in summer.
Give us the same quality and quantity of energy, at the same or lower price, from elsewhere, and we’ll switch.
Until then, suck rope.
Its trumps fault – it couldn’t be the media including the Daily Wizz News. The tiza party is EU who insist everything is Putins fault and has done little to end the killing and is threating all out war. Little has been said what lead to what took place leading up to it. If you insist the media is controled by Orban here- strange little has been said about Orban and trumps efforts over the last 3 years to stop the killing, but has been all over social media. Hungary is apart of tge clown EU, so hungary is a part of. For the last 80 years the US has spent trillions in europe starting with marshal plan and funded most of NATO. If you think the US should pay much of EU defense and it insist and it thinks it OK to paying money to Russia. Trump made a statement about the small role hungary plays. Maybe you should do a survey the people of what they understand.
NEWS FLASH – when you have been one of the most successful leaders in Europe for 15 year- your going to have major influence with media. Sametine rhe EU and NGOs are trying to destroy him. Little coverage of the coming collapse france and germany- not mention what is going on in the UK