Which are the poorest and richest Hungarian regions? See map inside!

In the first half of this year, wages rose rapidly in Hungary, partly due to the rise of the national minimum wage and labour shortages. However, income inequality is still very high in Hungary. But which regions of the country are the poorest and richest?

As reported by portfolio.hu, the salaries of people in lower income bracket saw an 8-8.8% increase in their wages, which is largely attributed to employers finding it more and more difficult to meet their labour demands.

Incomes are generally higher in the private sector than in the public sector, meaning that over the course of the past few months, firms that operate in the former are finding it easier to tackle labour shortages.

However, how does income vary across the country? Based on statistics from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), the average net income in Budapest in the first half of 2019 was at €900 (300,000ft) a month, which is 1.8 times higher than in the county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg (Eastern Hungary), where average salaries were at a lowly €490 (164,000ft) a month.  Salaries tend be highest in North-western Hungary – mostly attributed to multinational companies being located there – while people living in peripheral regions far away from the capital take home the lowest wages (see map).