Changes in the situation of Hungarian families in the EU – the latest KINCS publication summarizes 15 years of results
The latest publication by the Mária Kopp Institute has been released, providing a comprehensive overview of changes in the situation of Hungarian families in a European context, with a particular focus on employment, livelihoods and demographic processes. The volume entitled “Changes in the situation of Hungarian families after 2010 in EU comparison”, shows how far Hungary has come in the last 15 years and what results it has achieved in supporting families and improving the standard of living of the population.
The latest publication by KINCS summarizes a period in which Hungary's social and economic processes underwent a visible transformation. The comparative data clearly show that since 2010, our country has made significant progress in supporting families and improving the standard of living of the population. While the desire to have children has declined in most EU Member States, Hungary's fertility rate rose the most between 2010 and 2023, from 1.25 to 1.55. While the average number of births per 1,000 women aged 15-49 fell by 13% in the EU, in Hungary the number of births per woman of childbearing age rose by 9%. In Hungary, three out of four children are now born to married parents, with the proportion of children born to foreign mothers remaining low. In contrast, the proportion of children born within marriage has declined in 16 EU Member States, and now in many countries, one in three to five newborns has a foreign mother.
Employment in Hungary has grown at the second-fastest rate among EU countries, and more and more mothers with young children are active in the labor market. While in 2010, only one in six women with young children and large families were working, by 2024 this figure has risen to five in ten, making Hungary the country with the highest growth rate in the EU after Malta. Mothers' employment is significantly supported by low nursery fees, which are very favorable in EU terms, but those who want to stay at home caring for their children are not at a disadvantage either, as Hungary provides the longest period of paid parental leave in the EU.
There has also been a significant improvement in terms of living standards. In terms of the risk of persistent poverty, Hungary ranks in the middle, with the Hungarian figure being almost a third lower than the EU average. It is also encouraging that since 2010, Hungary has seen the largest decrease in the proportion of families with children who are unable to face unexpected financial expenses. Progress in the area of home ownership is also visible: Hungary now has the third highest proportion of people living in their own homes among EU countries, and Hungarian households pay the lowest electricity and gas prices in the EU, which means significant savings and more predictable daily life for families.
Over the past 15 years, Hungary has moved from being one of the EU's laggards to one of its leaders in many areas, and its performance, as reflected in the reliable, comparable, and objective data of the European Union's statistical office, is significantly more favorable than many people want to see or believe. These data also confirm that the consistent expansion and implementation of Hungarian family policy has not only made everyday life more predictable, but has also contributed to improving demographic indicators, creating jobs and homes, and strengthening the well-being and financial security of families.
