“The growth turnaround of recent years has given rise to a never before seen period of cohesion within the Hungarian economy, and never before has the economy grown at such a rate in three consecutive years as it did from 2017 to 2019”, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga said in evaluation of the latest data published today by the Central Statistical Office (KSH).
“So far, Hungary has proven to be resilient to the global economic slowdown, and in 2019 the gross domestic product increased by 4.9 percent, which is significantly higher than the European Union average”, the Minister highlighted.
“One of the most important results of recent years is that the Hungarian economy’s vulnerability to international effects has fallen significantly”, Mr. Varga emphasised, explaining that according to Eurostat data GDP in the eurozone increased by 1.2 percent last year according to preliminary estimates, while growth throughout the entire European Union averaged 1.4 percent. “According to the data published so far, France’s economy grew by 0.8 percent, while that of Italy stagnated during the last three months of 2019”, the Minister told reporters.
“The 4.5 percent Hungarian economic growth achieved in the fourth quarter of last year was already well above expectations, and was contributed to in the most part by market-based services, and to a lesser extent by industry and construction”, the Minister explained, also highlighting various government measures as major factors behind economic growth. As he explained, last year saw the continued realisation of the impetus generated by the six-year wage and tax agreement, in addition to which the already introduced measures of the Economy Protection Action Plan also had a positive effect. From among the elements of the Program For a More Competitive Hungary, the Minister highlighted the increase in efficiency at employment offices and the tax-free status of working pensioners, adding that the effects of the development projects begun within the framework of the Modern Cities Program and the Hungarian Village Program were also significant.
“These investments have contributed significantly to growth, primarily thanks to the increase in capacity of large corporations, the targeted use of European Union funding, and the home creation programmes aimed at boosting housing construction. In addition, the permanent increase in the population’s income situation and the favourable job market changes have boosted consumption”, the Minister stated.
Looking forward to 2020, the Minister of Finance declared: “In the interests of assuring that economic growth will continue to exceed the European Union average by at least 2 percent, the government will be continuing to reinforce the competitiveness of the Hungarian economy and will be launching further economy protection measures”.
(Ministry of Finance)
