Science and technology

The yearbook presents how demographic, socio-economic trends and environmental characteristics changed over time in Hungary. The main indicators are illustrated in time series or regional comparisons by charts and maps; the interactive versions of these are available on our website. Spatial disparities among counties and regions as well as international indicators are presented in separate chapters. The internet annex contains the publication in PDF format and all tables in Excel format.

Expenditure on R&D activities went on rising, mainly due to business enterprises, however, the rate of increase was more moderate than GDP growth. As a result, the expenditure as a proportion of GDP (1.48%) was somewhat lower than in the previous year, yet even so this has been the second highest value as a proportion of GDP since 1991. The number of research and development units slightly decreased over a year, however, research and development staff as a proportion of total employment continued to rise.

Every year the Statistical Pocketbook of Hungary is the first detailed tabular publication comprising all themes, which provides information on socio-economic processes in the previous year according to preliminary data. Its regional chapter presents the different regions, while its international chapter allows for comparisons of major data primarily on member states of the European Union. The interpretation of figures is supported by methodological description and while orientation by several charts.

In 2018, the Hungarian economy performed 4.9% better compared to the previous year. In parallel with economic growth, the labour market continued to expand dynamically. An important pillar of GDP growth was the improvement in the willingness of economic stakeholders to invest and the use of EU funds. In 2018, among factors influencing population number, the number of births declined faster than that of deaths. So the natural decline of the population continued. The total fertility rate was the same as in 2017, and the inclination to have children was significantly above the 2011 low.

In 2017, HUF 517 billion, 1.35% of GDP was spent on research and development activities at the level of the national economy. Nearly 74% of research and development expenditure came from the activities of business enterprises at the level of the national economy, R&D units in higher education as well as R&D institutes and other budgetary research units accounted for 13% each. The significant part of tender resources of 2016 were used in 2017, as a result of which R&D expenditure financed from the government budget rose to the highest extent, by nearly HUF 53 billion (by 47%) at current prices. R&D expenditure financed by the sources of business enterprises rose by HUF 31 billion (by 13%). Out of the financial sources of R&D expenditure only the amount of funds from non-profit organisations that decreased, by 10.5% over a year.