Hungary's actual individual consumption (AIC) per capita at purchasing power parity was 70% of the EU average in 2023, according to Eurostat data.

This rate was lower than those of Czechia (81%), Poland (86%), and Slovakia (75%) during the same period, according to a report by state news wire MTI.

AIC encompasses all goods and services utilised by households, irrespective of whether they were directly purchased by households or by the state.

Hungary's GDP per capita amounted to 76% of the EU average last year. In comparison, Czechia's rate was 91%, Poland's was 80%, and Slovakia's was 73%.

In response to “misinterpretations” of the data suggesting Hungary as “the poorest” European Union member state, the National Economy Ministry highlighted that Hungarian households have a gross savings rate exceeding 21%, the highest among EU member states, The Budapest Business Journal reports.

“Hungarian households aren't spending their income, they're saving it,” the ministry stated.

Since the beginning of 2022, Hungarian households' gross financial assets have increased by more than HUF 22.5 trillion, reaching over HUF 102 trillion, according to the National Economy Ministry.

In 2023, Hungarian households' interest income as a percentage of GDP reached 4%, the highest rate among EU countries, largely attributed to subscriptions to retail government securities, the ministry added.