Population and vital events

In January–July 2020, the number of births was 4.9% more and that of deaths 5.1% less than in the corresponding period of 2019 according to preliminary data. As a result, the natural decrease declined by 23% or 6,480 compared to January–July 2019. In July 2020, the number of live births increased by 1.7% and that of deaths went down by 6.1% compared to the same month of the previous year. The natural decrease of 913 in July was 45% lower than a year earlier.

Data related on settlements and districts of Budapest in the Dissemination database are updated twice this year, as such part of the 2019 serial settlement and district data, among others about settlement size, permanent, respectively resident population by sex and age groups, as well as live births, deaths, marriages, internal migration are available from 31 July, four months earlier than it was customary before.

The population of Hungary was 9,769 thousand on 1 January 2020, 3.3 thousand fewer than a year earlier. The number of deaths decreased at a higher pace than that of births, so the rate of natural decrease of the population decelerated in 2019. The positive balance of 37.1 thousand of international migration reduced significantly the natural decrease of the population. 21.9 thousand Hungarians moved abroad, while 23.2 thousand returned home. Substantially, 28% more couples entered into marriage, their number was the highest in the past 30 years.

7.5% less people died in the first 16 weeks of 2020 as a whole than in the same period last year. The number of deceased people was permanently lower in the first 11 weeks, but there was a slight surplus of deaths from the middle of March.
This weekly updated summary table of vital events includes data broken down by sex and age as well.

The coronavirus epidemic is particularly dangerous for the elderly, so we need to take better care of them during these weeks. More and more people are among the elderly: on 1 January 2019, nearly 1.9 million people aged 65 and over lived in Hungary, nearly one fifth of the population.

On 1 February 2020, a withdrawal agreement entered into force between the European Union and the United Kingdom (Brexit). Reducing the EU to 27 member states significantly changes aggregated (average, total, etc.) EU data. However, due to the different purposes of use, consideration should be given to the simultaneous communication of old and new aggregates, and the back-calculation of time series for the new composition is also an issue to be addressed. Taking all this into account, it is necessary to restructure the publication of EU statistics.

The wide range of tables presented in this annual publication provides useful data about the current issues of the population. The Demographic Yearbook offers detailed information on the number and composition of population, the changes in marriages, registered partnerships, divorces, births, foetal losses, deaths and causes of death, as well as internal and international migration. The international data are also suitable for comparisons between different countries. The main demographic indicators are illustrated by interactive graphs, maps and age pyramids, too. For the access to this publication, our Users have to register on our website www.ksh.hu/shelf. Then, by activating the volume identifier, they can upload the publication on their own user shelf created on our website and there it can be accessed at any time.