The government expects economic growth of 2.5 percent for this year and 4.1 percent for next year, the Finance Ministry's state secretary responsible for macroeconomics and international affairs said on Radio Kossuth's Daily Kronika program on Wednesday. Tibor Toth indicated that the economy could be on an economic growth path of around four percent in the medium term.
He added that the GDP figure for the first quarter indicates that the economy has returned to the growth path, as the slowdown reached 0.8 percent after the recession in the previous quarter.
The fundamentals for economic growth are constantly strengthening, and real wages have been rising since September 2023, supporting household consumption. In addition, boosting exports and investments made will also help growth.
He stressed that reducing the state's debt is also on the agenda, according to the convergence program, and could be reduced from 73.5 percent last year to less than 70 percent by 2026.
The continued reduction of public debt will not change. After 2026, Hungary will reach a public debt ratio of 60 percent
he added.
The government is committed to reducing the budget deficit, which is expected to reach 4.5 percent this year, 3.7 percent next year, and 2.9 percent by 2026. He pointed out that this program is slower compared to the convergence program last year, but the reason for this is to support economic growth.
Tibor Toth noted that it is an important aspect that increasingly rapid and accelerating economic growth is not hampered by excessively stringent budget policy.
The convergence program – last prepared this year – shows increased employment, improved unemployment, higher wages and lower inflation in the coming years. Tibor Toth stated that as of the fall, the Convergence Program will be replaced by the National Medium-Term Fiscal Structural Plan as part of the EU economic governance reform, which will be the basis for budget discipline and economic growth plans.
