Márton Nagy: the turning point is here, the Hungarian economy will shift to a higher growth path in 2025

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 01. 30. 12:18

According to the Central Statistical Office, the economy grew by 0.4 percent in the last quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year based on raw data. Compared to the previous quarter, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data, GDP expanded by 0.5 percent, meaning the Hungarian economy has emerged from a technical recession – emphasized Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy in his commentary on the latest data.

According to the ministry’s statement sent to MTI, the minister highlighted: last year as a whole, GDP grew by 0.6 percent, which means that our country belongs to the middle class of the European Union based on the data published so far.

In the minister’s opinion, the Hungarian economy has reached a turning point. The domestic economy has recovered, the middle class is strengthening, and family confidence is gradually improving. In the case of the population, signs of a turnaround are clearly visible: the number of employed people remains at a record high, while the number of inactive people is at a record low.

Nearly 4.7 million people work, while the average wage has more than tripled and the minimum wage has quadrupled compared to 2010. Real wages have been growing continuously for more than a year, most recently by nearly 8 percent, and families’ money is worth more, meaning they can buy more or travel more. Thanks to this, retail turnover has been expanding for a year, and domestic tourism closed another record year in 2024, the minister said.

He mentioned that the retail credit market has also been gradually picking up since January 2023, and last November, Hungary’s retail credit growth was among the top in the EU. The housing market is also picking up, with the number of housing transactions increasing by more than a third in 2024, and the car market is also on a growth path: last year, the number of new car sales increased by 13 percent.

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