Hungary Government Consumption

Economic growth is stable in the second quarter of 2026

GDP reading: Hungary's GDP expanded 1.7% in annual terms in Q2, unchanged from the previous quarter's reading and slightly above the EU average. In seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, economic output increased 0.5% in Q2, following a 0.8% expansion in the previous quarter.

Domestic demand loses momentum: Compared with the previous period's data, figures in Q2 improved for exports of goods and services (+1.8% in annual terms vs -1.8% in Q1) and imports of goods and services (+6.3% vs +4.1% in Q1). In contrast, readings softened for private consumption (+4.5% vs +5.5% in Q1), government consumption (+2.0% vs +5.4% in Q1) and fixed investment (-6.3% vs -0.1% in Q1).

Panelist insight: ING’s Peter Virovacz and Zoltán Homolya commented: “The short-term outlook for the Hungarian economy has not changed significantly. The overall picture remains fundamentally positive. Further growth in consumption may be supported by the dynamic rise in real disposable income and the surge in consumer confidence. However, the renewed decline in investment is bad news in both the short and long term, as there is no substantial driving force behind potential GDP growth from either the labour market or capital accumulation. Furthermore, weak investment dynamics do not support productivity growth. However, we can take some comfort from the fact that the decline in investment is partly due to the review and suspension of projects initiated by the previous government, so it may be only temporary. Meanwhile, investment activity could see a sharp rise towards the end of the year as a result of the drawn-down of EU funds.”

How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Hungarian government consumption projections for the next ten years from a panel of 17 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable government consumption forecast available for Hungarian government consumption.

Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Hungarian government consumption projections.

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