Internal trade

In 2024, the calendar-adjusted volume of retail trade in Hungary was 2.6% up on the previous year: the volume of sales rose by 3.8% in specialized and non-specialized food shops, and by 2.5% in non-food retailing, while they fell by 0.8% in automotive fuel retailing. The number of retail stores at the end of June 2024 was 7.0% lower, or 7,000 fewer than a year earlier. The average floor area of shops increased by 4.7% over this period.

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In March 2025, the volume of retail trade was 0.4% lower in raw data, or 0.4% higher in calendar (and Easter effects) adjusted terms, than in the same month of the previous year. Compared to the same period of the previous year, calendar-adjusted sale volumes expanded by 1.2% in specialized and non-specialized food shops, by 5.9% in non-food retailing and by 0.1% in automotive fuel retailing. According to seasonally and calendar adjusted data, the volume of retail sales was 0.5% down on the previous month. In January–March 2025, the volume of sales – also according to calendar adjusted data – was 2.7% higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Based on international trends, the popularity of purchases on the internet rapidly increases in Hungary as well, more and more people recognise its advantages and take advantage of this. 56% of households placed an order on-line in the 4th quarter of 2024, and they spent an average 84.7 thousand forints in making purchases on the internet. E-buyers most often purchased articles of clothing and shoes (64%), which was followed by electrical goods (48%), the administration of overheads payments, and of various finances (42%), as well as the order of household equipment (31%).

The performance of the Hungarian economy surpassed in the 1st – 3rd quarters of 2024 the one year earlier level by 0.6%. Household consumption increased, supported by real earnings growth, while inflation stabilised, being 3.7% in the 1st – 3rd quarters. The performance of most service offering sections and that of construction grew year-on-year, while that of the industry and agriculture lagged behind the one year earlier level. Labour market-wise both employment and unemployment rate slightly grew.

The yearbook provides an overview of Hungary's demographic, social and economic processes, environmental characteristics and their changes over time, with the help of tens of thousands of data of 500 tables, graphs and maps. Innovatively, the Tourism, catering chapter in the volume includes the gross receipts of tourist accommodation establishments by type of accommodation. Another change is that this year the Regional data chapter already presents territorial data by tourism area, giving greater emphasis to tourist destinations.

Geopolitical tensions continued to overshadow economic developments in 2023, with the gross domestic product falling by 0.9%. Inflationary pressures gradually eased, but the 17.6% annual increase in consumer prices led to a decline in real earnings and consumption, and negatively affected investment decisions. Despite the economic difficulties, employment has reached a record high. In 2023, the number of deaths and births continued to fall, in addition to the decrease in the number of women of childbearing age.

The tables and graphs in the latest edition of the Statistical Pocketbook of Hungary provide a comprehensive insight into the evolution of social and economic trends in Hungary in 2023. Its international chapter allows for comparisons of major data primarily on member states of the European Union. The publication amasses, starting this year, commercial, private and other accommodation establishments in one unit.