According to its biannual Economic Outlook published on Thursday, the OECD forecasts Hungary’s GDP will climb by 2.1% this year and its growth will accelerate to 2.8% in 2025.
Commenting on the report, the finance ministry acknowledged in a statement that the OECD’s GDP forecast for 2024 was under the government target but said that it was still 1 percentage point over the average forecast for all OECD members and in the top fourth of the range. Growth is expected to be underpinned by lower inflation and interest rates, supporting private consumption and investment, the OECD said, while noting risks posed by international trade and global commodity prices. The OECD acknowledged that Hungary was attracting significant FDI in the manufacturing sector, mainly in relation to electromobility, that would eventually boost export capacity, it added. The ministry said that the OECD report highlighted the importance of improving the structural primary balance, adding that the OECD sees the headline deficit falling from 4.5% of GDP in 2024 to 3.7% in 2025 which the ministry said was in line with the Hungarian government’s goals. The ministry said the report points out the Hungarian labour market’s resistance to crises with a low rate of unemployment maintained at around 4%. It is one of the most favourable rates among EU member states, the ministry added. It said the OECD experts noted in connection with the high employment rate that continuously increasing real wages and improving consumer confidence could all be engines of refuelling growth.