The Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) has just released its rapid report on the balance of the general government sector for the year 2023. What it found was that the deficit grew to 5.018 trillion HUF, 6.7 per cent of the country’s annual GDP. That is an increase by 911 billion HUF from last year; and a 0.5-per-cent increase in proportion to the GDP.

Also,

in 2023, the government revenue was 31.8 trillion HUF ($88.21 billion), showing a growth of 3.645 billion HUF from last year,

which constitutes a 12.9-per-cent increase.

However, government spending also grew: the national government spent 36.832 trillion HUF last year, 4.556 billion HUF more than the year before, hence the increasing deficit.

The increase in expenditures was 456 billion HUF (6.7 per cent) for compensation of public employees and 1.265 trillion HUF (18.4 per cent) for social benefits in cash. Intermediate consumption increased by 400 billion HUF (7 per cent). Meanwhile, interest payments increased by 1.660 trillion HUF (88.8 per cent). Gross fixed capital formation increased by 232 billion HUF, amounting to 6.5 per cent. Other expenditure of the general government sector was 543 billion HUF, up by 7.3 per cent.

As of the end of 2023, Hungary’s national debt stood at 55.134 trillion HUF, 73.5 per cent of its GDP. Its debt-to-GDP ratio is considerably lower than that of the Eurozone countries,

the collective debt of which amounts to 90.3 per cent of their combined GDP. The most indebted country is Greece, according to the European Commission’s 2023 report, with its public debt amounting to 165 per cent of its GDP.

The newly released data about the Hungarian general public sector were reported by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, as per the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) legislation and in accordance with the methodological requirements of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).

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