EBRD raises Hungary GDP growth forecast

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) raised its forecast for Hungary’s GDP growth this year to 5.5 percent in a biannual report published on Wednesday.

The forecast was raised from 4 percent in a release issued in September 2020.

The government’s official projection for GDP growth this year is 4.3 percent.

The EBRD sees Hungary’s economic growth slowing to 4.8 percent in 2022.

In the short term, the economic recovery will likely be driven by investments, propelled by higher FDI inflows and the EU recovery fund, and improving household consumption thanks to accumulated savings during the lockdown periods, the EBRD said.

The share of total population that received at least one vaccine dose reached 55 percent at the start of June 2021, the highest share in the region and well above the EU average of 43 percent, which lowers the risk of another pandemic wave amid lifted restrictions, they added.