Investment

In the 4th quarter of 2019 the national economy’s investments expanded by 5.9%. The slow-down in the rate of expansion was primarily the result of the fall-back of investments in the predominant manufacturing - within it partly in the manufacture of motor vehicles. In the majority of service sections investments grew above the national average. In 2019 the volume of investments grew by 14%, reaching its highest level so far.

In the 1st-3rd quarters of 2019 the performance increase of the Hungarian economy continued. The growth was a result on one hand of the performance of the industry, construction and certain service divisions (e.g. commerce, tourism), on the other hand of the strengthening of the consumer and investment activity. Beside the price level increase real earnings surpassed the previous year’s level. Due to fewer live births and basically unchanged death numbers natural decrease was higher than in the 1st-3rd quarters of 2018.

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.