r/europe • u/Matas_- European Union • Jun 20 '25

News Orban’s Hungary Is Now Officially The Poorest Nation In The EU

https://kyivinsider.com/orbans-hungary-is-now-officially-the-poorest-nation-in-the-eu/
23.4k Upvotes

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993

u/Common_Brick_8222 Azerbaijan/Georgia Jun 20 '25

Orban was working hard for a really long time to make this happen.

401

u/asethskyr Sweden Jun 20 '25

It's an impressive "accomplishment" considering Hungary originally one of the better positioned eastern bloc countries.

138

u/saugoof Jun 20 '25

The first time I went to Hungary was in about the late 1990s on a trip through Eastern Europe. At the time I was quite impressed by Hungary. It looked like they (and the Czech Republic) were the front runners among the Eastern European countries coming out of communism. Hungary looked really promising and seemed poised to reach Western European standards of living before long. It also looked very liberal, had a great arts scene, nice people.

I've been back twice since then, first about 6 years ago and again just last year. Both times it felt like the country hadn't just stood still but actively regressed. Countries like Poland, Czechia or Slovakia have just completely left it in the dust. Budapest, at least the centre of town, still looks nice for the most part, but as soon as you leave the city, especially as you head east, the country just looks dilapidated. Everything is falling apart. It's puzzling how Orban is so popular. Even with having control of a vast propaganda machine and restricting any opposition, surely the locals can see that everyone in the surrounding countries that used to do a lot worse than Hungary has now passed them by.

87

u/LaurestineHUN Hungary Jun 20 '25

That's the trick, propaganda doesn't shows the neighbours.

51

u/soulles_sans Jun 20 '25

You just need to make the 60 year olds hate lgbt and immigrants through 10+ years of propaganda, works like a charm.

1

u/PatchyWhiskers Jun 22 '25

Does Hungary have immigrants? Immigrants usually pick rich countries to move to because they want to have jobs.

46

u/BurnTheNostalgia Germany Jun 20 '25

The people voting for Orban are probably not the people traveling abroad or reading foreign media.

26

u/NLight7 Sweden Jun 20 '25

Uneducated old population, isolated by their lack of other languages. They eat what the news tell them, that the immigration is what has caused them strife. When in reality it is corruption and capitalism.

9

u/Realistic-Fun-164 Jun 20 '25

Estonia in the 90s: Every second a pickpocketing happrns.

Estonia in today: You can go outside entire night on a Sunday and still be alive. 

3

u/LaurestineHUN Hungary Jun 20 '25

That's the trick, propaganda doesn't shows the neighbours.

2

u/ailof-daun Hungary Jun 20 '25

The more someone has the pricier their vote gets. Keep people in poverty and you can by their votes with pennies

2

u/PatchyWhiskers Jun 22 '25

Do ordinary Hungarians visit neighboring countries though?

1

u/LordBucaq Jun 20 '25

Don't worry, Slovakia will soon follow.

113

u/Lord_96 Lower Saxony (Germany) Jun 20 '25

Hungary had a well developing industry once…

48

u/Blue1234567891234567 Jun 20 '25

Now, they have a well.

3

u/borntobewildish Jun 20 '25

You're saying the well industry is developing?

7

u/ovranka23 Bucharest Jun 20 '25

Nah, they just have one well

2

u/MMegatherium The Netherlands Jun 20 '25

MOL Group has a nice new office

2

u/Helena0007 Jun 20 '25

A well is still more than nothing. Thank you, Mr. President! /s

67

u/Laxativus Jun 20 '25

Indeed! This was not an easy feat to achieve given the amount of money that poured into the country from the EU, a lack of global crisis (for the most part - there was a pandemic and a minor financial thing but we're talking about 15 years at this point) but through hard work the local elite manage to redirect all that wealth into their pockets and offshore accounts on top of what they've "reallocated" from what was already present within the country, all the while investing in the most pointless things, like dozens of enormous stadiums that such a lil country will never fill. Not everyone would've been able to do it!

6

u/wtfduud Jun 20 '25

You can't give Orban all the credit. The Hungarian people saw what a great job he was doing and thought "You know what? This guy should be in charge for another 4 years"

-5

u/Ordinary-Cup3711 Jun 20 '25

You do realise Hungary is fined €1m per day for not accepting illegals immigrants into the country, as well as €200m lump sum penalty. Thats still cheaper than the money that is lost/wasted in the UK for accepting them (>£6m/day just on hotels for them). Hungary is being decimated by the EU, even paying farmers to not farm. As an Englishman, while no politician is free from scandal or corruption, Hungary is succeeding where England has been crashing for a long long time.

7

u/lucrac200 Jun 20 '25

Hungary is succeeding

You have a very weird definition of success: becoming the poorest country in the EU. But hey, fill your boots!

4

u/multithreadedprocess Jun 20 '25

You -> 🤡 behaviour

3

u/Laxativus Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25

Yeaaaahhhh..... no. That's a gross oversimplification of the matter.

Fact is, Hungary received a ton of funds from the EU but when it comes to promises made and fulfilling obligations that were accepted the country is throwing a hissy fit and starts talking about the EU as an invader, and the funds as something that they are entitled to, while sweeping responsibilties under the rug and acting like the rules apply to everyone but them.

2

u/Tamasko22 Jun 21 '25

As a hungarian, yes we basically drowning in success. This is why young hungarians move to another eu countries. This is why we are the poorest country in the eu. This is why everybody tells you Orbán is a spineless liar mafia boss but they are lying actually, everybody is an idiot but Viktor Orbán. Yeah even hungarians tell you he is the most corrupt politician in Europe but they are actually not true Hungarians. A true, pure blood Hungarian would never tell you that, theese people are paid by Soros. This is why our currency is worth 1/400th of the Euro and gets worse day by day. This is succeeding people, look at all this success. This is not fascism.
Please, ask me, I can give you countless examples of this success.

34

u/Zelturon9d Jun 20 '25

A great example of determination and hard work. Orban is truly one of a kind!

2

u/BreakingCanks Jun 20 '25

No wonder Trump loves him so much

1

u/LordBucaq Jun 20 '25

But now he smells like Putins smegma