The International Monetary Fund revised its GDP growth estimate for Hungary by 0.4 percentage points in comparison to the prior prognosis published last autumn. International economic institutions and analysts have come to acknowledge that Hungary’s pro-growth economic policy, based on tax cuts and wage hikes, has been effective.

The latest macro-economic forecast was published in the IMF World Economic Outlook. In it, analysts predict economic growth of 3.8 percent for this year in Hungary, 0.4 percentage points higher than previously expected.

The Government’s estimate is even higher, 4.3 percent for 2018. The upward revision of the rate of economic growth by the IMF signals that international organizations have come to acknowledge the fact that Hungary’s economic policy has been heading in the right direction. In 2017, the country’s GDP grew by 4 percent, well above the prior IMF prognoses of 2.9 percent (published in May 2017) and 3.2 percent (published in October 2017). In addition, core growth – calculated on the basis of data adjusted for working day and seasonal effects – was as high as 4.2 percent last year.

The IMF is also expecting employment trends to improve further: the unemployment rate is seen to decline to 3.8 percent in 2018 and to 3.5 percent in 2019.

(Ministry for National Economy)