Hungarian household consumption – adjusted for purchasing power parity – was only 70% of the EU average in 2023, which places Hungary at the bottom in the bloc, tied with Bulgaria.

This metric, a key indicator of household material well-being, underscores that Hungarians and Bulgarians had the lowest spending power among member states.

Eurostat’s  (AIC) per capita compilation, which is regarded as a better indicator than GDP per capita to describe the material welfare of households, stood at 64% of the EU average in Hungary in 2011 before rising to 66% before the pandemic.  

Meanwhile, Bulgaria made significant strides in the same period, rising from 49% to 60% Between 2020 and 2023, Hungary's 7pp advantage to its peer disappeared.

AIC per capita was significantly higher in Hungary’s neighbours – Romania (86%), Poland (83%) and the Czech Republic (81%) – explained by lower price levels and faster income growth of households.

In 2023, Luxembourg had the highest AIC per capita among 36 countries included in the comparison at 36% above the EU average, followed by the Netherlands (19% above average) and Germany (19%).

In the GDP per capita ranking, Hungary was placed 22nd with 77% of the EU average, unchanged from the previous year. Luxembourg topped the list, well above the EU average by almost 2.4 times, and Bulgaria was ranked at the bottom with 64% of the EU average. The GDP per capita of Romania, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia and Latvia were all less than 30% below the average.