Poverty in Hungary threatens every fifth person

Recent data shows that the income of Hungarian households increased in 2021. The growth was around 8.5 percent compared to the previous year’s figures. However, despite the positive news, the data also points out that almost 20 percent of Hungarians are hit by poverty. Let’s see what other information the Central Statistics Bureau brings us.

In 2021, the income of households grew by approximately 8.5 percent. This means that the net income of households was about HUF 1.9 million (EUR 4,700). Between 2015 and 2021, the net income of households grew by 40.7 percent, which seems like a great achievement. Individuals who lived alone seemed to earn the most while the highest growth was observed among people who had three or more children. Despite the 14 percent growth, families with multiple children still earn about half the amount single people earn. The data also shows that no household type with children reaches the average national income — reports Portfolio.hu.

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With growing incomes, consumption also increased. Although the pandemic slowed down the growth in certain sectors, the real growth of spending was still 3.1 percent. Services suffered the most due to the prolonged lockdown period. At the same time, the greatest increase in spending was surprisingly observed in the poorest regions of the country, such as Eastern Hungary.

In 2021, the rate of poverty decreased and 20,000 fewer people were affected by it. Still, almost 2 million people were subject to financial uncertainy which is about a fifth of the Hungarian population in the country. The relative income poverty dropped by 0.4 percent. However, the rate of people beset by severe financial issues stagnated at 10.2 percent. In the past few years, the decrease in poverty rates slowed down to an almost stagnating level. If it can be considered a positive aspect, at least poverty rates in Hungary are still lower than the European Union’s average which stands at 21.7 percent.

People in the country are understandably dissatisfied with their financial situations. As the age goes higher, this trend becomes more apparent. Nevertheless, members of the older generation are at least content with the amount of leisure time they have. The data also shows that the higher the education level of an individual, the higher the probability of obtaining happiness. Of course, higher earnings bring more satisfaction in general. The most content people live in the western regions, while the most dissatisfied people live in the northern counties.

These factors correlate as certain people groups tend to be concentrated in specific parts of the country.

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Source: Portfolio.hu