Hungary has achieved a remarkable result even by international standards: based on a recent OECD report, Hungarian real wages rose by nearly 30 percent between 2021 and the first quarter of 2026, placing the country second only to Türkiye in the organization’s rankings, Világgazdaság reported.
The OECD has published a noteworthy comparison of wage trends in Hungary. In its latest employment report, the international organization examined how real wages (earnings adjusted for purchasing power) changed between the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2026. Based on the results,
Hungary ranked among the top OECD member states: only Türkiye ranked higher, with Hungarian real wages rising by about 30 percent over five years.
Based on the published chart, Hungary’s figure significantly exceeds those recorded in countries such as Poland, Mexico, and Lithuania. Meanwhile, in several developed economies—including Italy, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Australia—real wages are still lower than they were five years ago.
‼️ In Hungary 🇭🇺, real wages rose dramatically and significantly thanks to the economic policies of the former Orbán government.
Now, under the new communist dictatorship, the country faces austerity measures, and the days of double-digit wage increases are coming to an end.… pic.twitter.com/r9ksZ5Kb12
— JB (@ladysweden) July 13, 2026
FIDESZ politician Balázs Orbán also reacted to the latest OECD data on his social media page. “I am just leaving this chart here. The OECD just posted it. The chart shows the change in real wages among member countries over the past five years. It is not Hungarian statistics, it is not propaganda, and so on,” he wrote. According to the politician, however, the numbers alone do not mean that people are satisfied with their wages: “What I am wondering is that people clearly said this was not enough. Which I can understand. Of course, everything is relative.”
According to Balázs Orbán,
the real question is whether it will be possible to achieve a similar level of real wage growth over the next five years.
In his view, this could be hampered by the slowdown in the European economy, successive crises, and what he described as an uncertain constitutional situation
Domestic statistics also show similar wage trends. According to the Central Statistical Office, in April 2026, the average gross earnings of full-time employees were 772,200 forints (around 2,151.81 euros; 1 euro = 359 forints), while the average net earnings were 541,200 forints.
The average gross wage rose by 9 percent over the course of a year, while the average net wage rose by 11.2 percent.
According to the statistical office, the expansion of the family tax credit, as well as the extension of personal income tax credits for mothers with multiple children and young mothers, played a significant role in the faster growth of net wages.
In addition, real earnings increased by 8.9 percent, while inflation stood at 2.1 percent in April. Median earnings also grew significantly: the gross median wage rose to 616,000 forints, and the net median wage climbed to 436,400 forints, representing year-over-year increases of 9.1 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively.
Via Világgazdaság; Featured photo: Pixabay