The 2021 ESA deficit of the Hungarian budget was 6.8% of GDP. This is better than the 7.5% deficit expected in the Convergence Programme of last spring. The lower-than-expected figure was also due to the rapid economic growth, but even so, personal income tax refunds are included in last year's deficit. Only 6 EU countries have recorded budget deficits higher than Hungary’s. Even so, Hungary’s government debt has been reduced substantially, by 2.8 percentage points to 76.8% by the end of 2021. Despite the high deficit, the role of rapid economic growth in the declining government debt should also be highlighted.
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The February performance of the construction industry exceeded all expectations
In February 2022, retail sales increased by 9.8% compared to the same period of the previous year, while it increased by 1.5% relative to the previous month. Within this, sales increased by 3.4% in specialised and non-specialised food shops, by 14.6% in non-food shops, while fuel sales increased by 19.0% on a year-on-year basis.
