As of the end of 2023, Hungary’s national debt stood at 55.134 trillion HUF, 73.5 per cent of its GDP. Its debt-to-GDP ratio is considerably lower than that of the Eurozone countries, the collective debt of which amounts to 90.3 per cent of their combined GDP.
The minister stressed the importance of maintaining disciplined fiscal policies this year, aiming for an annual average inflation rate of around 5 per cent. He firmly asserted that until the inflation rate returns to a more moderate range, fiscal spending should be limited.
Despite extraordinary expenditures, the government has consistently reduced the budget deficit and the national debt year after year, the Ministry of Finance emphasized in its interim report released on the situation of the central subsystem of public finances, excluding local governments, at the end of November.
Similarly to the budget deficit, public debt is also declining and may drop to below 70 per cent this year. To compare: Hungary’s public debt was 83.6 per cent of the GDP in the second quarter of 2010, the final three months of the Socialist government’s tenure.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.