The Hungarian economy performed exceptionally well in 2022, despite finding itself in the midst of an economic crisis due to the war and rejected Brussels sanctions, according to the Minister of Economic Development, Márton Nagy. The country’s GDP increased by 4.6 per cent, putting Hungary in the top third of performing countries in the European Union, with a growth rate that was higher than the EU and eurozone averages. The minister attributed the impressive performance to factors such as international confidence, high investment and employment levels, low unemployment, and targeted government measures.

Despite Sanctions, the Economy Thrived

The Hungarian economy performed exceptionally well even in the economic crisis caused by the war and the harmful Brussels sanctions that Hungarians have rejected, Minister of Economic Development Márton Nagy stated on Tuesday, commenting on the latest report from the Central Statistical Office (KSH).

According to the KSH data, in 2022, due to the efforts of the Hungarian economic actors, the GDP increased by 4.6 per cent, which puts Hungary among the top third of the best-performing countries in the European Union. This also means that despite the war and sanctions, the Hungarian economy produced the 6th highest growth rate in the post-system change period. It has been proven that the Hungarian government is on the right track and its measures are effective, and it has been able to protect the performance of the economy, emphasised the minister.

The 4.6 per cent economic growth represents the second largest expansion among the V4 countries (closely behind Poland). The Hungarian GDP growth outperformed both the EU average (3.6 per cent) and the eurozone average (3.5 per cent). Moreover, the performance of the Hungarian economy grew more than twice as fast as the German, which can be considered a benchmark (1.9 per cent).

The outstanding result was possible thanks to the unshaken international confidence, consistently high investment levels, high employment, one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU, strong wage dynamics (with a growth rate of 17.5 per cent annually) and targeted government measures, Márton Nagy stressed.

The minister reminded that in order to mitigate the negative economic effects of the war and the sanctions, the government provides favourable loans through the Széchenyi Card Programme within the framework of its the economy defence scheme. The government has also extended the interest rate cap to SMEs, initiated support for energy-intensive companies, and started the Factory Rescue Programme.

Nagy noted that to further improve the competitiveness of companies, the government has launched one of the largest government loan programmes of all time, with a budget of 700 billion HUF, to finance, among others, the Baross Gábor Reindustrialisation Programme, which is aimed at improving the competitiveness of companies.

Finance Minister: EC Forecast Confirmed Hungarian Growth Potential

Prior to the meeting of the Council of the European Union Finance Ministers (Ecofin), Hungarian Finance Minister Mihály Varga emphasised in an interview with Hungarian journalists that according to the Winter Economic Forecast released by the European Commission on Monday, Hungary’s economy was able to strengthen even last year, as shown by the data released by the Central Statistical Office on Tuesday.

Although the momentum of growth in Hungary slightly decreased in the last quarter of last year, it remained above the European average, the Hungarian finance minister pointed out. This highlights Hungary’s resilience in the face of economic challenges, despite being affected by the adverse processes that affected the larger European economy.