Despite the Hungarian left’s pre-election demagoguery about Hungary being Europe’s poorest country, the financial wealth of our households has grown at a historic rate over the past decade and a half. Net financial wealth as a percentage of GDP rose from 71% to 115% between 2010 and 2025. This trend was driven by the rapid growth of household savings, the deliberate development of the government securities market, and a significant reduction in household indebtedness. The new study by the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation suggests that Hungarian families have demonstrated an exceptionally high propensity to save in recent years, even by EU standards.
Household wealth in Hungary far exceeds the value of state assets. While the book value of state assets in 2024 was approximately 24 trillion forints (66.9 billion euros) based on the National Inventory data, households’ net financial wealth alone amounted to 92 trillion forints (256.3 billion euros) in the same year. This is supplemented by residential real estate wealth of a similar value.
Households’ net financial wealth is the difference between financial assets (cash, bank deposits, government securities, stocks, insurance products, etc.) and financial liabilities (loans, other debts). To ensure comparability over time and across countries, the value of household financial wealth is expressed as a percentage of GDP for the given year. Data on the financial assets and liabilities of Hungarian households for the period between 1991 and 2025, broken down by quarter, are available on the website of the Hungarian National Bank. Based on these, the analysis presents how the financial asset situation of the Hungarian population has evolved over the past 15 years.
The volume of financial assets held by households increased from 115% of GDP to 137% of GDP over these 15 years.
Hungarian Households’ Financial Wealth: 2010 vs. 2025
Between 2010 and 2025, the structure of household wealth also changed. While the share of cash savings did not change much (from 7.9% of GDP to 8.5%), households’ wealth in corporate shares rose sharply (from 33% of GDP to 51%).
Thanks to favorable interest rates on government securities, exemptions from interest tax and transaction fees for private individuals, and user-friendly, digitized sales channels, household holdings of government securities have also grown significantly.
Thus, the government successfully channeled household savings into financing public debt after 2010, resulting in a notably high level of household holdings of government securities in Hungary compared to the rest of Europe.
Household assets held in debt securities rose from 6% to 18% of GDP between 2010 and 2025.
At the same time, the stock of retail bank deposits declined as a share of GDP (from 29% to 20%), and the volume of savings held in various insurance products (referred to in financial statistics as technical reserves) also declined substantially (from 22% to 8% of GDP).
Bank loans accounted for the vast majority (85–90%) of household debt during this period. Other liabilities, such as utility bills, condominium maintenance fees, and unpaid taxes and social security contributions owed to the government, accounted for a significantly smaller share.
Household debt as a percentage of GDP fell dramatically between 2010 and 2025.
While it stood at 44% of GDP in 2010, it had fallen to half that level—22%—by 2025. Notably, household debt also declined in nominal terms between 2010 and 2016, and did not exceed the 2010 level until 2021.
Net financial wealth is calculated as the difference between savings and debt. This indicator reflects the extent of households’ long-term financial security. Households’ net financial wealth as a percentage of GDP rose from 71% to 115% between 2010 and 2025. This represents an increase of 44 percentage points.
Net Financial Wealth of Households Across EU Countries
Among the 27 member states of the European Union, Hungary ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of net financial wealth, placing approximately 12th during the period under review.
Via Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation; Featured photo: Pixabay
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