Hungary's 2018 budget deficit ended at 2.2 percent of GDP, slightly higher than the 2017 deficit of two percent but still below the government's 2.4 percent target.
According to data released by the Central Statistics Office, Hungary's central budget deficit was 2.2 percent of the gross domestic product last year, 934 billion HUF (2.9 billion EUR). The country's public debt fell to 70.8 percent at the end of 2018 compared with 73.4 percent a year before.
Finance Minister Mihály Varga said in parliament that the Hungarian budget deficit has remained below three percent of GDP every year since 2012 and this year is expected to be 1.8 percent, while public debt is forecasted to be just under 70 percent by the end of the year.
State Minister for budgetary affairs Péter Benő Banai added that public debt was 10 percentage points below the average of European Union states while ten years ago it was 10 percentage points above it.
Varga also said that the government is constantly monitoring a slowdown in major European economies and should it be required, it is ready to implement economy-boosting measures in the second half of the year, but there is no need for such measures yet.