survey

Despite record-high inflation, Orbán’s popularity remains high in Hungary

The Hungarian inflation is still the highest in the European Union, but that does not harm the popularity of PM Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party.

Based on a Republikon survey conducted between 14 and 25 July, Fidesz’s popularity is 28 percent of the total population. Former PM Ferenc Gyurcsány’s DK follows them with only 13 percent. Among the party voters, that rate reaches 46 percent, while DK’s is only 18 percent. DK is strengthening, and Fidesz is weakening, but the difference is still astonishing and would mean a comfortable majority for Orbán, provided the elections were this Sunday. Jobbik, the Socialists, Párbeszéd, and LMP – Hungary’s green party – would not cross the parliamentary threshold, Telex wrote.

Think-tank: US politician Kari Lake ‘stands by Hungary’

American politician Kari Lake, who was the big draw at this year’s CPAC Hungary conference, is supporting Hungary in connection with “foul” visa sanctions the Biden administration has imposed on Hungary, the Center for Fundamental Rights, said on Tuesday. The Hungarian think-tank said in a statement that Lake was among “the most vocal American supporters of peace” and had stood by Hungary in the face of “Joe Biden’s ideologically based attacks … devoid of rationality or legal grounds”. On its Facebook page, the think-tank quoted Kari Lake as saying: “Hungary won’t help Joe Biden escalate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, so Biden is weaponizing our visa waiver program against them.”

Inflation declines but still very high

Consumer prices in Hungary grew by an annual 17.6 percent in July, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said on Tuesday. Inflation fell for the sixth month in a row after peaking at 25.7 percent in January. Food prices rose by 23.1 percent in July, while household energy prices increased by 35.7 percent. Prices in the category of goods that includes vehicle fuel rose by 17.2 percent, while spirits and tobacco products increased by 14.6 percent and clothing prices by 8.0 percent. Service prices increased by 14.6 percent, accelerating from a 14.4 percent rise in June.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile fuel and food prices, was 17.5 percent. The CPI calculated with a basket of goods and services used by pensioners was 18.7 percent. In a month-on-month comparison, consumer prices edged up 0.3 percent.

Commenting on the data, Márton Nagy, the minister of economic development, insisted that government measures had been “brutally effective”, and “sanctions-fuelled” inflation may be reduced to single digits by October. Hungary had entered a period of “dynamic inflation reduction” thanks to targeted government measures such as online price monitoring, he added. He said the 0.9 percent drop, month on month, in food prices was an important component of the general decrease in inflation and food inflation had almost halved from its peak on an annual basis.

He said price monitoring had generated competition between food retailers, with prices falling in 53 of 62 product categories monitored. Lower food prices in July may have led to a 0.7 percentage point easing in general inflation, he added. Nagy also noted the competition authority’s involvement in strictly monitoring multinational retailers with a view to preventing price gouging.

August 8, 2023

Hungary in the TOP 5 of most affordable electricity prices in the world!

New research has revealed the top 10 countries in the world with the most affordable electricity prices, and Hungary ranks 5th, with a household electricity price per kWh of $0.114. First is Argentina ($0.036), the second is Malaysia ($0.05), while the third one is Belarus ($0.091) in that regard.

The team at Utility Bidder have analysed electricity and gas costs, property prices and the average gross national income in countries across the world to reveal the most affordable destinations to relocate to. You can view the full study HERE.

Here are some additional finginds of the research:

With a score of 8.71 /10, the United States has been crowned the most affordable country to live in. Taking the top spot, with an overall affordability score of 8.71 /10, is the United States. As one of the largest countries by area, you will find a lot of variation when it comes to the cost of living. Having said this, the US has a high gross national income of £56,035 ($70,930 | €63,837) and a low property price-to-income ratio of 4.5 which suggests that, on average, this country is more affordable to live in than any other on this list.
Canada has an overall affordability score of 7.32 /10 which is the second highest of any country in this list. As the second North American country in this top three, it appears that this continent is superior in terms of the overall affordability of living. Some of the factors that have contributed to Canada’s position on this ranking are the low household natural gas price of £0.035 ($0.044 | €0.040) per kWh, and household electricity price of £0.09 ($0.12 | €0.11) per kWh.
Completing this top three list of the overall most affordable countries to live in is Australia with a score of 7.23 /10. Whilst some expenses in this country have skyrocketed in price, it appears that Australia is one of the most affordable places to live when it comes to the price of household bills, evidenced by the £0.069 ($0.085 | €0.079) price of natural gas per kWh, and a 7.5 property price-to-income ratio.

Hungary is 15th on the list.

Gas prices:

Argentina, Belarus, and Malaysia are the TOP 3, while Hungary is only 11th preceded even by Serbia and Slovakia despite the Orbán cabinet’s utility price protection scheme. Read more about that HERE.

Property prices:

the USA, Belgium and Denmark are the TOP 3, Hungary is only 23rd out of the 66.

National income:

Ireland, the USA and Denmark occupied the first three places, while Hungary is only 22nd.

Methodology

“We took a list of the most developed countries in the world, giving us a total of 66 countries. However, we had to remove any countries for which we were unable to get all the data, leaving us with a total of 29 countries in the final index. We used Global Petrol Prices to find the price of electricity for households, as well as the natural gas price for households in each country as of 2022. We used Numbeo to find the property price-to-income ratio for each country as of 2023. We used The World Bank to find the gross national income of each country in 2021. We used the affordability factors (household electricity and gas prices, property price-to-income ratio, gross national income) and normalised each factor out of 10 before taking an average of those scores to get our overall ‘affordability score’”, Utility Bidder wrote.

July 28, 2023

Survey: Hungarian youth sees prospects in Hungary

More than half, 52 percent, of young Hungarians see themselves as being most likely married, owning a home and living in Hungary in the second half of their prime in 2050, according to a survey released by the Youth Research Institute on Tuesday.

The institute conducted its representative national survey by asking in person 1,000 Hungarians aged between 15-39 at the end of 2022 and at the beginning of this year about how they saw their future when aged 42-66, it said in a statement, MTI wrote.

In a breakdown, 76 percent of respondents expected to own a home by then, 75 percent saw themselves as being married and 72 percent believed they would be living in Hungary, the institute said. Only eight percent said they did not see these three things as being likely.

Fully 68 percent planned to have more children and the same proportion were optimistic about being in a better financial situation than now. Two-thirds, 64 percent, were fairly certain that they would pursue a career in 2050 in the profession in which they had earned a degree. Forty-five percent said the language of communication at the workplace would most likely be Hungarian while 44 percent said it would be another, foreign language, the survey showed.

Another survey showed that Szeged and Budapest among global cities with the most drinking fountains.

July 26, 2023

Szeged, Budapest among global cities with the most drinking fountains

Water fountains have been through a lot of ups and downs lately. The phenomenon enjoyed a golden age in Victorian times, with fountains offering an alternative to unclean water or uncouth boozing, depending on the fountain’s sponsor. But a century on, fountains went into decline around the world as bottled water was marketed as a more sanitary and more stylish alternative to drinking from the tap.

Then, just when the fountains were enjoying a resurgence in response to the backlash against plastic bottles, COVID-19 hit. Nobody wanted to put their mouth near anything anyone else had touched — nor even to share a tap handle or push button, despite the fact that you’re unlikely to pick up Covid or anything else through sharing a water fountain. With lockdown over and the climate crisis back at the forefront of our minds, fountains are
coming back. So, QS Supplies decided to find out where in the world you’re most likely to find a water drinking fountain nearby.

Key Findings

● Montenegro has 472.4 public water fountains per 100,000 people — the most of any country.
● Zürich in Switzerland has more public water fountains per 100k people than any other city (221.9).
● Bournemouth is the UK city with the most public fountains: 4.36 per 100k people, against a UK average of 2.08.
● Washington D.C. is the U.S. city with the most water fountains: 24.83 per 100k, against a U.S. average of 5.01.

Szeged, Budapest in the world’s top

Single-use plastic bottles are some of the biggest sources of plastic waste. But the good news is that cities can help end the trend of buying water in plastic by ensuring citizens have access to free, drinkable water such as public drinking fountains. The study found that Szeged (Southeast Hungary) has 136.22 public water fountains per 100,000 people. Meanwwhile, Budapest has 74.3. With those results, Szeged has the 4th most drinking fountains in the world, while Budapest is in the 9th place. Both precede, e.g. Rome, Amsterdam, Canberra, Vienna, or Tel-Aviv. Furthermore, Szeged is ahead of even Geneva (Switzerland).

That’s according to QS Supplies, who analyzed more than 276,000 public drinking fountains to find out which countries and cities have the most drinking fountains today. Here are their findings on two charts:

Drinking fountains Szeged Budapest — Source: QS Supplies

July 22, 2023

Transcarpathian Hungarians think Hungary should deliver weapons to Ukraine

The sociology department of the National University of Ungvár (Uzshorod) in Transcarpathia, Ukraine, in cooperation with Smartpol agency, published an interesting survey about the attitudes of the Hungarian community living in the region towards the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine.

According to rtl.hu, their opinion differs from their compatriots living in Hungary. The interviewers talked in Hungarian with the Hungarians, so the survey should be regarded as representative.

71.4 percent of the Transcarpathian Hungarians believe in Russian responsibility for the war. Meanwhile, that rate is only 54 percent in Hungary. 67.3 percent of the local Hungarians agreed that Russia endangers peace, while that rate is only 48 percent in Hungary. More than 53 percent think Hungary should deliver weapons to Russia, and only 28.8 percent oppose that. The number of Hungarians asked was 510, and the interviews were conducted between 2 and 5 July in 18 localities.

Hungarian-Polish friendship to form part of 32nd Baile Tusnad Summer University

At the 32nd Baile Tusnad Summer University held in central Romania (Tusnádfürdő) from July 18 to 23, Hungarian-Polish friendship will be among topics of discussion, with the Waclaw Felczak Foundation holding two panel discussions, the organisers said on Saturday. On July 19, Bishop of Szeged-Csanád László Kiss-Rigó will join historian and sociologist Imre Molnár and philosopher David Lloyd Dusenbury among others to discuss the subject “Europe either will be Christian or won’t be”, moderated by the foundation’s head, Gergely Mohay.

On July 20, Michal Kwilecki of the Hungarian-Polish Friendship Society of Wroclaw, Jacek Karnowski, editor-in-chief of Sieci weekly, and Attila Demko of Mathias Corvinus Collegium’s Geopolitics Workshop will discuss security policy in light of the Russia-Ukraine war entitled “Trust God and keep the gunpowder dry”, moderated by Mihaly Rosonczy-Kovács. The chairman of the board of trustees of the Waclaw Felczak Foundation, Karol Biernacki, and his deputy, Robert Zobolyak, will also visit Baile Tusnad.

Featured image: illustration

July 16, 2023

Majority of Hungarians say hospitals are in a catastrophic state, government says all is well

péterfy hospital Budapest Hungarian health care system

The Pulzus Media Research poll, conducted by 24.hu, shows a devastating picture of what people think about hospitals.

According to this survey:

37 percent of people think that patients are treated in unworthy conditions in most hospitals, while another 15 percent believe that the conditions in most hospitals are disastrous, both in terms of the hospital building and its technical equipment.
74 percent are dissatisfied with the cleanliness of hospitals, 54 percent say that bathrooms and toilets are dirty and worn, with no toilet seats or paper, soap or hand towels. 32 and 25 percent respectively said that common hospital rooms were not cleaned properly. 14 percent had encountered insects (cockroaches, spiders, bloodsuckers) during their hospital stay.
88 per cent are dissatisfied with the hygiene of hospitals. 50 percent know or have heard of someone who has contracted an infection in hospital.
56% are either very (41%) or very (15%) afraid that either they or a relative cared for in hospital will get an infection.
91 per cent see a clear link between the professional quality of patient care and hospital conditions, i.e. that hygiene deficiencies and the resulting hospital-acquired infections can endanger the health and lives of patients.
69% of them think that hospitals should receive more money to improve the operation and maintenance of hospital buildings.

The government says all is well

The government is committed to improving Hungary’s healthcare system, Bence Rétvári, interior ministry parliamentary state secretary, said on Monday, noting that next year the health budget will be boosted by 425 billion forints (EUR 1.13bn) compared with last year.

Healthcare spending has grown from 1,100 billion forints to 3,200 billion in the past decade, Rétvári said at an awards ceremony held marking Semmelweis Day, adding that the number of doctors had also risen appreciably, with 1,000-1,500 graduating from medical universities each year, 1.5 times more than ten years ago.

While in 2010, there were close to 34,000 doctors, this has risen to more than 40,000, while those applying to work abroad has fallen to one-third, he said.

Retvari noted the positive effects on the ban on so-called gratuity payments to doctors which had distorted the health-care system for around 70 years, adding that at the end of last year only 1 percent of Hungarians saw gratuity as a problem.

Hungarian healthcare workers to get a long-awaited pay rise in July, details HERE.

July 3, 2023

Sziget Festival among Europe’s best value music festivals!

With over 40 countries in Europe, there’s a plethora of festivals for music fans to attend this summer. But which festival offers the best value for money? According to a new study, Budapest’s Sziget Festival organized between 10-15 August is one of them.

Savoo has analysed the most popular music festivals in Europe, comparing the price of a full festival ticket with the average cost of watching the top five headliners individually, to find out the estimated value of how much festival-goers can save by attending each festival.

Sziget Festival Among Europe’s Best Value Music Festivals in 2023

Rank	Festival	Location	Festival cost ticket 2023 (€)	Total cost to see 5 top headliners individually in concert (€)	Saving = Total cost of headliners – festival ticket cost (€)
1	MEO Sudoeste	Odemira, Portugal	€125	€605.31	€480.31
2	EXIT Festival	Novi Sad, Serbia	€109	€451.39	€342.39
3	Sziget Festival	Budapest, Hungary	€365	€669.03	€304.03
4	Hideout Croatia	Novalja, Croatia	€180.55	€481.43	€300.88
5	Outlook Origins Festival	Tisno, Croatie	€173.74	€456.86	€283.12
6	NOS Alive	Lisbon, Portugal	€200.08	€470.51	€270.43
7	Bilbao BBK Live	Bilbao, Spain	€199	€465.96	€266.96
8	Rolling Loud Portugal	Portimão, Portugal	€226.81	€471.42	€244.61
9	Mad Cool Festival	Madrid, Spain	€226.59	€469.60	€243.01
10	Afro Nation Portugal	Portimão, Portugal	€247.52	€487.80	€240.28

Key points from the study:

MEO Sudoeste, in Portugal, is the best value music festival in Europe, with average savings of €480, followed by EXIT Festival in Serbia and Sziget Festival in Hungary

Rock en Seine is the best value music festival in France this year, saving an average of €465 compared to attending individual concerts of five of the festival’s top artists

You can find more information in the full research HERE, but the paper is in French.

June 24, 2023

Survey: Majority of Hungarians support immediate ceasefire in Ukraine war

Fully 75 percent of Hungarians agree with calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to a fresh survey by the Nezőpont Institute released on Friday.

The think-tank said in a statement that only 15 percent of the survey’s respondents disagreed with the need for a ceasefire.

In a breakdown of responses by age group, Nezőpont found that support for an immediate ceasefire was equally high among 18-39-year-olds (73 percent), 40-59-year-olds, who were born during the Cold War (77 percent), as well as those over 60 who lived through the armed conflicts and retaliations of the 20th century (76 percent).

In terms of political affiliation, Nezőpont found that 91 percent of pro-government voters agreed with the government’s position that the warring sides should enter into negotiations and reach a peaceful settlement.

Meanwhile, 58 of left-wing voters also agreed with calling for an immediate ceasefire, while 30 percent disagreed.

Nezőpont’s phone survey was conducted with a representative sample of 1,000 adults between June 12 and 14.

June 23, 2023

Official: Budapest Chain Bridge to stay car-free

Participants in “Budapest’s first residents’ meeting”, an online municipal survey, have expressed their preference for maintaining the current traffic rules on the city’s landmark Chain Bridge, allowing buses and taxis, as well as pedestrians and cyclists but no private cars, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, said on Tuesday.

Almost 80 percent of those answering the Town Hall’s questions agree that the bridge should stay one with “reduced traffic” and cars should not be allowed to return once the bridge’s renovation, now under way, is completed.

Karácsony said the city would have further talks with traffic organisations, but added that “Budapesters have made a clear decision, shared with city leaders: we don’t want to allow cars back onto the bridge,” he said.

Another survey: Budapest residents expect Karácsony to cooperate with government

Fully 95 percent of Budapest residents want the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, to cooperate with the government, according to a Center for Fundamental Rights survey, while 92 percent expect him concentrate on local rather than national issues.

In less than a year’s time, municipal elections will be held in Hungary, and Budapest voters will also decide whether Karácsony, who has held office since 2019, will remain in his post, the think-tank noted in connection with its survey of 1,000 (0.05 percent of the capital’s population) Budapest adult residents published on Tuesday.

The think-tank commented that Karácsony’s term could not be qualified as “a success story”, noting that the mayor had nurtured ambitions to become prime minister in 2022, and had relied on deputy mayors and advisers appointed by Ferenc Gyurcsány to manage the city.

Budapest, it added, had been a battlefield ever since, and used by the opposition as a base of “resistance”.

June 20, 2023

Mayor Karácsony: Budapest residents ‘stood up for their city’ in public survey

The residents of Budapest have stood up for their city, and for themselves with a total of 136,000 of them stating their opinion on the city’s affairs in a survey, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Monday.

The mayor said on Facebook that Budapest’s first-ever online survey dubbed the “residents’ meeting” has been concluded and its results are to be published on Tuesday.

“This is the biggest such survey in Budapest’s history with the participation of more than nine percent of the city’s residents eligible to vote,” Karácsony said.

The mayor said that the Budapest survey had been thoroughly different from the government’s National Consultation public surveys because the Budapest survey had “indeed asked for the residents’ opinion whereas the government’s surveys had deceived them”. He added that participation in the Budapest survey had been almost twice as high as in an online National Consultation drive.

“It is clear that the opinion of Budapest residents can simply not be ignored anymore,” Karácsony said, adding that decisions on matters affecting the city’s future would be taken “in line with the will of its residents”. Among the issues, he noted the payment of taxes to the central government and transport on Chain Bridge after completion of its overall renovation.

June 19, 2023

Even the majority of left-wing Hungarians reject the new migrant quota

The overwhelming majority, 77 percent of Hungarians reject the European Union’s scheme to send immigrants to Hungary, including 58 percent of leftist respondents, the Nézőpont Institute said in a survey published on Monday.

In the survey, Nézőpont asked 1,000 people by phone between June 12 and 14 on a negotiating position the European Council adopted on June 8, which will form the basis of negotiations with the European Parliament on regulating immigration and asylum procedures in the bloc. Hungary voted against the position.

Nézőpont said that under the proposed regulation, Hungary would have to accept “8,500 illegal immigrants every year, equivalent to about 30 percent of all resettled immigrants”.

In the poll, 77 percent of respondents said the EU should not send asylum seekers to Hungary without the country’s approval. Almost all, 93 percent of pro-government voters and 58 percent of leftist voters rejected the mandatory resettlement quota scheme, while 32 percent said they were acceptable, Nézőpont added.

As we wrote before, the Hungarian government paves the way for hundreds of thousands of guest workers, details HERE.

June 19, 2023

Voters against foreign campaign financing?

Sixty-one percent of respondents in a recent pro-government Nézőpont Institute survey said political parties should not be allowed to receive any financing for their campaigns from abroad, the pollster said on its website on Monday.

According to Nézőpont’s analysis, 60 percent of the respondents said campaign financing rules should be made more stringent.

It said that 78 percent of ruling Fidesz‘ supporters found “all forms of foreign financing unacceptable”. Forty-one percent of Left-leaning participants said parties should not receive funding from abroad, however, 52 percent of them “were rather indulgent, probably in defence of their preferred parties”, the survey showed.

What was the Government’s aim with the survey?

“Since it is not usual to amend election laws in the year before elections, the tightening of campaign financing promised by the governing parties should be tabled in the summer session of parliament before the 2024 European and local elections. It is clear that there is a social demand for this”

– stressed Nézőőpont, a think tank close to the governing party.

On this basis, another amendment to the electoral law with a 2/3 majority is expected.

Unfortunately, the survey also did not ask voters about the huge sums of money spent on campaigns financed by the Government, or about hidden domestic subsidies.

Nézőpont conducted its survey between May 30 and June 1, asking 1,000 voting-age adults by phone.

June 5, 2023

Foreign investors love Hungary!

FDI inflows in Hungary have increased by 7.96% in the past decade – 5% more than any other country analysed. Lithuania places second, experiencing a 2.51% growth in inflows – where they’re now amassing over a billion dollars in foreign direct investment. In 2022, Chile’s FDI inflows totalled $11.4 billion – 4.41% of their GDP.

Amid reports from the OECD that global foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 20% from the first half of 2022, City Index were keen to uncover which countries benefited the most from foreign investment. The experts analysed FDI inflow statistics in 36 countries over the last decade, to reveal which countries have seen the largest growth in foreign investment.

Countries with the largest increase in FDI benefit in the past decade

Rank	Country	2013-2017 average inflows as a % of GDP	2018-2022 average inflows as a % of GDP	Growth
1	Hungary	1.55%	9.51%	7.96%
2	Lithuania	0.46%	2.97%	2.51%
3	Estonia	1.64%	3.86%	2.21%
4	Austria	-1.30%	0.61%	1.91%
5	Sweden	0.99%	2.32%	1.33%
6	Belgium	-4.19%	-3.02%	1.17%
7	Poland	1.14%	2.04%	0.90%
8	Greece	0.53%	1.37%	0.84%
9	Israel	1.88%	2.59%	0.71%
10	New Zealand	0.53%	1.24%	0.71%

Hungary’s average foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 7.96% between 2018 and 2022, surpassing any other country analysed by over 5% when compared to figures between 2013 and 2017. This could be attributed to Hungary’s strategic location as the gateway to Central and Southeast Europe. The country’s main investors hail from Canada, the Cayman Islands, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and Austria.

Lithuania takes the second spot, experiencing a 2.51% rise in FDI inflows. As a result, the Eastern European country secured the tenth spot among the nations that benefited the most from FDI in 2022, receiving more than $1 billion – 2.57% of its GDP. This remarkable growth could be attributed to the country’s robust international relations that offer investors access to international markets, in addition to its business-friendly tax policies.

The Eastern European region countries experienced the most significant increase in FDI inflows, with Hungary, Lithuania, and Estonia topping the list. Austria follows in fourth place, with a 1.91% growth in FDI over the last five years, peaking in 2021 with a 1.37% surge. In fifth place is Sweden, with an average growth of 1.33% in FDI over the same period. This could be attributed to Sweden’s stable political and exonomic environment over the last decade, as well as being ranked the 10th best country for ease of doing business by the World Bank in 2020.

Fiona Cincotta, financial market expert at City Index, comments:

“The growth in foreign investment inflows that’s occurred across Eastern Europe has been substantially greater than anywhere else. One of the major contributing factors to this growth is the surge in tech hubs, which are an attractive prospect to foreign investors as the technology sector is evolving at an astounding pace. Evidence of this shows as Central and Eastern Europe are now home to 34 unicorns.”

Luxembourg receive the largest decrease in FDI benefit

Luxembourg has seen a dramatic decline in FDI benefits in the past five years when compared with the five previous. Between 2013 and 2017, Luxembourg’s inflow of FDI was equivalent to an impressive 296.36% of GDP. In 2014, a reported 74% of all economic activity in this country was dependent on foreign markets, the highest in the OECD. However, between 2018 and 2022, these figures dropped leaving Luxembourg’s FDI inflows at 92.95% of GDP a -362.31% drop from the previous 5 years.

The countries that benefited most from FDI in 2022 as a % of their GDP

Rank	Country	FDI inflows (USD) 2022	FDI inflows (USD) 2022 as % of GDP
1.	Chile	$11,416,530,000	4.41%
2.	Sweden	$22,607,280,000	3.88%
3.	Israel	$11,603,300,000	3.70%
4.	Poland	$19,605,750,000	3.64%
5.	Australia	$45,934,390,000	3.13%
6.	Costa Rica	$1,614,430,000	3.11%
7.	Portugal	$6,090,780,000	2.65%
8.	New Zealand	$5,202,470,000	2.59%
9.	Colombia	$9,845,520,000	2.58%
10.	Lithuania	$1,244,610,000	2.57%

Chile’s FDI inflows make up over 4% of its GDP

Chile benefited the most from foreign investment in 2022, amassing $11.4 billion in foreign direct investment — 4.41% of the country’s GDP. This recent success could be due to the appointment of a new president, Gustavo Petro, who advocates for the development of more sustainable energy. This is a major attraction for any business looking to invest, as in the last seven years alone, Chile brought in $20.8 billion in clean energy investment.

Perhaps even more impressively, Chile grossed $1.6 billion more than South American neighbours Colombia (9th) which generated $9.8 billion in foreign direct investment. This is 2.58% of the country’s GDP.

Fiona Cincotta, financial market expert at City Index, comments:
“In 2021, after the global pandemic had struck, economies were hit tremendously harshly, however, Chile managed to overcome this obstacle and create a thriving economy. This is due to its strong foreign investment in key sectors, such as wholesale trade and the manufacturing industry. This stems from the prospect of new changes brought in by the new president, Gustavo Petro, who is leading the country in the direction of sustainability, by opting to replace environmentally damaging processes that use oil and gas. This is a big attraction for any country looking to invest overseas.”

June 4, 2023

Shame: Hungary has the strongest antisemitism in Europe

Bad news came out about Poland and Hungary’s antisemite sentiments. According to a recent survey of ten European countries, more than a third of the population in Hungary and Poland hold explicitly anti-Jewish views.

According to a survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in ten European countries, a significant percentage of the population agrees with certain anti-Semitic views and stereotypes, The Jerusalem Post reports. The ADL poll ran from November last year to January this year. It covered Belgium, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Russia, Spain and Ukraine, rtl.hu writes.

The questions that helped determine the populations’ antisemitism

The questions covered eleven commonly held anti-Jewish views, such as the following:

Jews have too much power in business.
Jews are the cause of most wars in the world.
Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their homeland.

Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with statements such as the above. If someone agreed to some extent with at least six of the 11 statements, they were classified as holding antisemitic views.

According to the survey, 37 percent of the population in Hungary hold anti-Semitic views.

What about the rest of the countries examined?

This figure is 35 percent in Poland, 29 percent in Ukraine, 26 percent in Russia and Spain. It is 24 percent in Belgium, 17 percent in France, 12 percent in Germany and 10 percent in the UK. According to the ADL, the Netherlands has the lowest level of antisemitism at just 8 percent.

The survey data show that while the proportion of people who hold antisemitic views is relatively high in Poland and Ukraine, around one third, the situation has improved since the last survey in 2019. Antisemitism fell from 48 to 35 percent in Poland and from 46 to 29 percent in Ukraine. In Hungary, antisemitism has fallen by a smaller amount, from 42 to 37 percent. Thus, the five-percent drop has seen Hungary jump to the top.

June 2, 2023

Hungary among the best European countries for outdoor workouts

Outdoor workouts are predicted to be the biggest trend this year, improving not only fitness energy but also wellbeing benefits such as stress reduction and mood boosting. With the number of outdoor public fitness parks in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, it is a great place to workout in the great outdoors.

With this in mind, the experts at Live Rugby Tickets were keen to discover which European countries are the best for an outdoor workout this Summer. To do this, they created a points-based index system evaluating several factors in 28 European countries, including average temperature, wind speed, pollen count, humidity level and sunshine hours. Each country was then ranked out of 100 for its suitability for an outdoor workout this summer.

Key Findings:

Hungary ranks as the 10th best country in Europe for outdoor workouts, with its average temperature of 21.35℃ and sunshine duration of 1107.72 hours.
Spain is the ultimate European country for outdoor workouts with an overall outdoor workout score of 96.6, ranking highly for its average temperature and low pollen count.
France ranksed second with an outdoor workout index score of 93.1. Italy third with 89.7.
Germany has the highest number of hiking trails of all the countries analysed however only ranks 4th overall.
Greece has the highest average temperature in the top 10 and ranked 5th overall.
Fitness expert Carley Mellors-Blair offers key advice and comments on the impacts exercising outdoors can have on a person’s workout.

Hungary ranked tenth best European country for outdoor workouts

Live Rugby Tickets found that Hungary is one of the best countries for an outdoor workout, with a suitability score of 65.5/100. The country has a high pollen count (0.75 grains per m3) and low number of hiking trails (2,233). Hungary has 93% fewer walking trails than Germany, which is home to the most in the top ten (35,092). Despite this, Hungary still makes the top 10, with its average temperature of 21.35℃ and sunshine duration of 1107.72 hours.

Top 10 best European countries for exercising outdoors

Rank	Country	Average Temperature (°C)	Average relative humidity %	Average wind speed (metres per second)	Total sunshine duration (h)	Average pollen count label	Number of hiking trails	Outdoor workout suitability score / 100
1	Spain	21.71	49.67	0.33	1289.33	Low	14,818	96.6
2	France	18.94	65.78	0.65	986.39	Medium	16,955	93.1
3	Italy	20.96	64.30	0.28	1197.63	Medium	11,028	89.7
4	Germany	17.87	68.51	0.82	862.52	High	35,092	86.2
5	Greece	22.73	55.07	0.60	1253.80	Low	2,367	82.8
6	Switzerland	13.76	75.64	0.16	902.36	Low	10,302	79.3
7	Netherlands	17.66	72.66	1.19	823.19	High	5,784	75.9
8	Croatia	20.93	65.41	0.49	1134.87	Low	2,848	72.4
9	United Kingdom	14.36	78.63	1.34	623.60	High	23,683	69.0
10	Hungary	21.35	62.47	0.58	1107.72	High	2,233	65.5

Live Rugby Tickets found that Spain is crowned the ultimate country for an outdoor workout, with a suitability score of 96.6/100. The country boasts the second highest average temperature of the top ten countries analysed (21.71°C), only behind Greece (22.73°C). As exercising in high humidity can lead to dehydration, fitness fanatics in Spain can take advantage of low humidity levels ideal for outdoors (49.67). This is 36% lower than the United Kingdom, which has the highest humidity level in the top ten (78.63%).

France places second with an outdoor workout suitability score of 93.1/100. With average temperatures of 18.94°C and a medium pollen count (0.29 grains per m3), France is a more favourable destination for outdoor workouts than Belgium, which has a high pollen count of 0.67 grains per m3. Low rainfall in France has also contributed to a high suitability score. The total precipitation per month is among the lowest of the top ten (265.05 mm), nearly half the level of rainfall experienced in Switzerland (620.13). France’s low precipitation is vital for exercising outside because increased precipitation creates wet surfaces which can lead to injuries.

Italy’s outdoor suitability score of 89.7/100 ranks them third. Italy has the third highest sunshine hours (1,197.63) in the top ten, giving fitness fanatics plenty of opportunity to exercise outdoors during the day. This is almost a quarter (24%) more sunshine hours than Switzerland, which has just 902.36. Also contributing to Italy’s score is its wind speed of just 0.28 m/s — the second lowest wind speed in the top 10 — over one metre per second slower on average than the United Kingdom (1.34 m/s). Having a low wind speed is beneficial for exercising outdoors because higher winds can negatively affect balance.

At the bottom of the top 10 chart is Hungary, with an outdoor workout suitability score of 65.5/100. Hungary places low in the ranking due to its high pollen count (0.75 grains per m3) and low number of hiking trails (2,233). Hungary has 93% fewer walking trails than Germany, which is home to the most in the top ten (35,092).

Fitness expert, founder of Altered Health Solutions and author of I Am Not My Diagnosis, Carley Mellors-Blair explains why conditions like humidity are key for an outdoor workout: “Exercising in high humidity can increase body temperature, which has positive and negative impacts. The negative part is that it can reduce endurance, cause muscles to fatigue quicker, and can also cause dehydration. It’s possible to lose more calories, but if you go too hard for too long, it can cause more problems than positive effects.”

May 28, 2023

Katalin Novák in office for 1 year, half of Hungarians don’t even know who she is

Hungarian President official visit Ukraine

The majority of Hungarians are satisfied with President Katalin Novák’s first year in office, according to a fresh survey by the Nézőpont Institute.

The survey found that 55 percent of Hungarians knew that Novák is the head of state, according to a summary on Nézőpont’s website.

Fully 60 percent of Hungarians and 62 percent of those who know Novák is the president are satisfied with her performance so far.

Nézőpont said the reason behind Novák’s high approval rating was that her performance was in line with expectations, emphasising her role as an ambassador for national interests abroad and for national unity at home.

Altogether a quarter of Hungarians say that the president’s primary function should be to represent Hungary internationally.

The survey found that 65 percent of Hungarians who know Novák is the president are satisfied with her diplomatic performance compared with 57 percent six months ago.

Assessing the reasons for the positive view of the president’s work in diplomacy, Nézőpont noted that Novák took part in 52 diplomatic events during her first year in office.

Novák’s pro-peace position also played an important role, Nézőpont said, noting that at last September’s United Nations General Assembly session in New York, she quoted the late Queen Elizabeth II, emphasising the importance of the “waging of peace”. In November, she attended the Paris peace conference at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron before visiting Kyiv at the invitation of her Ukrainian counterpart.

First year

Hungary’s wealth is made up of the Hungarian people,” Katalin Novák said at an event marking the first anniversary of her assuming the post of president of Hungary, on Wednesday.

Novák said her presidency was focused on the people of Hungary, adding that she was planning to “continue working as the president of each Hungarian” in the remaining four years of her term.

She said her first year had been “a year of encounters with a new face to meet each day, offering opportunities to know each other and listen to the other person’s story”. She said she had learnt that “Hungary’s assets are not its natural or economic resources but the people, who live in Hungary, in the Carpathian Basin, or elsewhere in the diaspora as Hungarians; they make up Hungary’s wealth”.

Novák said she wanted to maintain “a sense of belonging together” in everyday life because “we can only achieve a positive turn in Hungary that way”. “A sense of community and unity must be experienced as often as possible,” she added.

The celebration was attended by 300 people from Hungary and from ethnic Hungarian communities.

May 11, 2023

Do Hungarians support the sanctions? The answer might be surprising

The majority of Hungarians reject the European Union’s current policy of sanctions, according to a fresh survey by the Szent István Institute commissioned by the Nézőpont Institute.

Fully 54 percent of the survey’s respondents completely disagreed and 17 percent somewhat disagreed with the European Union‘s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, its sanctions and weapons deliveries. Meanwhile, 9 percent said they strongly agreed and 13 percent said they somewhat agreed with the EU’s responses.

In a breakdown of responses by age group, the Szent István Institute found that the economically active respondents in the 40-49 and 50-59 age brackets were the most strongly opposed to the EU’s responses to the aggression of Russia.

Altogether 35 percent of Budapest respondents rejected sanctions and weapons deliveries, compared with 55 percent of respondents based in other cities and 62 percent of those living in villages.

Meanwhile, the survey found that 51 percent of Budapest residents trusted that the EU was capable of protecting its citizens, compared with 43 percent of those living in other cities and 44 percent of those who live in villages.

In terms of age, trust in the EU was highest among 18-29-year-olds (56 percent) and lowest among 50-59-year-olds (37 percent). Altogether 11 percent of respondents did not or could not answer the question.

Fully 36 percent said they were completely or somewhat satisfied with the EU’s current leadership as against 54 percent who were dissatisfied, among whom 26 percent were completely dissatisfied. Altogether 10 percent of respondents did not or could not answer the question.

The survey also found that some 40 percent of Hungarians believe Christianity is vitally important to the future of Europe, while another 40 percent consider it somewhat or very important. Altogether 10 percent said Christianity was not at all important to the future of Europe, while 8 percent said it was of little importance.

The Szent István Institute conducted its representative survey on the occasion of Europe Day.

May 10, 2023

New research reveals that Budapest is Europe’s favourite UNESCO site!

In 2023, there are over 1,100 UNESCO heritage sites in the world and Europe is home to 503 of them. In fact, searches for “UNESCO sites Europe” went up by +129 % in the past 12 months. With so many options to visit in every corner of the continent, online travel agent loveholidays has released a new ranking of Europe’s most popular UNESCO heritage sites to visit this spring.

By analysing data from Twitter and TripAdvisor, each UNESCO site was ranked based on the number of total five-star reviews and the number of online posts mentioning the sites.

The Budapest-based Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue was named Europe’s most popular UNESCO heritage site in a new ranking by online travel agent loveholidays.
Overall, sites in Germany and Spain are especially popular, with both countries appearing twice in the top 10.

Check out the top 30 UNESCO sites in Europe below:

Rank	Site	Location	Twitter posts	*TripAdvisor 5 reviews**	Total score
1	Budapest, inc. Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter & Andrássy Avenue	Hungary	124763	4393	53.7543
2	Hanseatic City of Lübeck	Germany	127602	1355	51.5011
3	Tower of London	UK	2090	45133	50.8190
4	Works of Antoni Gaudí	Spain	29	41382	45.8559
5	Alhambra, Generalife & Albayzín, Granada	Spain	40	34912	38.6925
6	Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn	Austria	2	28539	31.6173
7	Acropolis, Athens	Greece	598	27080	30.2345
8	La Grand-Place, Brussels	Belgium	12	25651	28.4218
9	Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum & Torre Annunziata	Italy	N/A	21916	24.2794
10	Cologne Cathedral	Germany	14216	16293	23.6204
11	Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon	Portugal	N/A	19413	21.5064
12	Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville	Spain	N/A	18486	20.4795
13	Paris, Banks of the Seine	France	66	16714	18.5422
14	Palace and Park of Versailles	France	283	14768	16.4714
15	Historic Centre of Vienna	Austria	2	14839	16.4400
16	Historic Centre of Brugge	Belgium	0	14067	15.5839
17	Old City of Dubrovnik	Croatia	19	13793	15.2878
18	Auschwitz Birkenau	Poland	5710	11666	15.1615
19	Archaeological Area of Agrigento	Italy	0	13427	14.8749
20	Plitvice Lakes National Park	Croatia	74	12412	13.7795
21	Old and New Towns of Edinburgh	United Kingdom	2	11859	13.1386
22	City of Verona	Italy	31536	0	12.3572
23	Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn	Estonia	0	11093	12.2892
24	Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay	France	1473	9854	11.4938
25	Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites	United Kingdom	7727	7486	11.3210
26	Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau	Germany	26826	208	10.5116
27	Mount Etna	Italy	231	8712	9.7420
28	Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines	Poland	0	8733	9.6747
29	Historic Centre of Warsaw	Poland	0	8706	9.6448
30	Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct	Spain	0	8331	9.2294

The city of Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter & Andrássy Avenue, is officially Europe’s most-loved UNESCO heritage site, with 124,763 posts mentioning the city and 4,393 five-star TripAdvisor reviews. Germany’s city of Lübeck, known for its delicious marzipan, follows in second place, while the UK’s famous Tower of London comes in third.

The majority of the top-ranking sites are located in Germany or Spain with both countries bringing two heritage sites to the top 10: The city of Lübeck and Cologne Cathedral in Germany, and the work of Antoni Gaudí and the famous Alhambra in Spain. Likewise, both Spain and Italy even appear four times in the top 30

Other sites that just missed the top 10 but appear in the top 30 include historic cities like Vienna, Bruges and Dubrovnik, as well as nature sites like Mount Etna, Stonehenge, and Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Al Murray, Chief Marketing Officer at loveholidays comments on the research: “Europe is home to some of the most magnificent architectural sites in the world, as recognised by UNESCO. Every location on the list tells a tale which is rooted in history and celebrated by visitors from all over the world. With hundreds of heritage sites to choose from, our ranking is designed to make it that bit easier to decide which to visit and when.”

To learn more about loveholidays, please visit THIS website

May 7, 2023