The Ministry of Human Capacities’ Minister of State for Family, Youth and International Affairs Katalin Novák said the past year was extremely positive from the perspective of the Hungarian population. According to Ms. Novák, in 2016 demographic indices broke 20-year records in several instances.

At her press conference, the Minister of State cited as examples the fact that the infant mortality rate has never been so low, and it has been twenty years since families’ willingness to have children was so high, and although the population is still decreasing, it is doing so at a lower rate than previously. Ms. Novák said she hoped the figures meant that people in Hungary had greater confidence, are more optimistic, are more willing to plan ahead and have greater trust in the future.

The fertility indices and the number of births and marriages are all positive, while the number of deaths and abortions has fallen, she told the press.

With regard to the reduction in the population, the Minister of State said that natural population decline had fallen by 16 percent in 2016, adding that more people have been dying than are born in Hungary for the past 35 ears, and although we can still not state that our nation is increasing and getting more youthful, because the population is still decreasing, but it is now doing so to a much lesser degree.

The infant mortality rate was the lowest ever recorded.

Ms. Novák said it was a positive sign that the growth dynamics of marriages had not changed, with an increase of almost 150% since 2010, which the Minister of State referred to as a 20-year record. 51,800 marriages were recorded last year, while in 2016 the number of divorces was 18 percent lower than in 2016, she added.

According to the Minister of State, it is also a long time since the number of abortions was this low, with a 75 percent reduction in recent years. 30,400 such interventions occurred last year, with regard to which Ms. Novák said it would be good if this figure was even lower.

It has been 20 ears since fertility rates were so high, with an average of 149 children born to every 100 families, and this index has increased by 20 percent since 2011, she highlighted.

The Minister of State also mentioned that for the first time in many years the number of children born out of wedlock had also decreased, which in her opinion could mean the reversal of a trend. She also said that according to the figures young people under 30 are more willing to have children, and people aged 35-44, the so-called generation of Ratkó grandchildren, are also more likely to say yes to starting a family.

On the subject of marriages, Ms. Novák stressed that 77 percent of marriages in 2016 were first marriages, and the greatest increase was among people under 25.

With regard to the family support system, the Minister of State stressed that while in 2010 the budget for family benefits was less than 1000 billion forints, this year’s budget for this purpose is 1741 billion forints (EUR 5.6bn).

At the press conference, Ms. Novák also announced that the number of women entitled to mother’s benefit would be increased and from January 2018, and these benefits will also be received by mothers whose children are born abroad. “Be they Hungarian citizens living in neighbouring countries or people who are living abroad temporarily, they will all become eligible for this single payment of 64,125 forints providing their children are registered according to Hungarian regulations”, she said.

According to the Minister of State, the Government would like this to “further strengthen the Hungarian-Hungarian umbilical chord”, and to provide support to those who happen to have children while living abroad.

In reply to a question from MTI, Ms. Novák said that the detailed regulations would be drawn up at a later date, but the plan is to reduce administrative burdens to an absolute minimum, and Hungarian consulates worldwide are expected to become involved in providing assistance with regard to applications.

(Ministry of Human Capacities/MTI)