Hungary Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in hungary, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Market Challenges
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Hungary’s regulatory climate makes it an increasingly challenging place to conduct business. 

  • Since 2016, multinationals have identified shortages of qualified labor mainly in rural areas, both white- and blue-collar, as the largest obstacle to investment in Hungary.
     
  • In recent years, the government introduced several new taxes which mostly target the banking, energy, retail, pharma, and telecommunications sectors. In certain industries, such as media and retail, these unpredictable, sector-specific taxes and regulatory policies have favored national and government-linked companies.
     
  • Hungary’s value-added tax (VAT) for most products and services is 27%, the highest rate in the EU.
     
  • Within the European Union, Hungary was ranked last among Member States in Transparency International’s Corruptions Perceptions Index 2024 for the third year in a row. On the global scale of 180 countries, this placed Hungary 82nd, a drop of 6 places from its 2023 ranking.  Because of corruption and rule of law issues, Hungary lost EUR 1.04 billion in EU cohesion policy funding in 2024 irreversibly.  There are also risks to further EU funding (including from the Recovery & Resilience Facility) unless Hungary fully implements required reform measures. In 2016, the government withdrew from the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a transparency-focused international organization, after refusing to address the organization’s concerns about transparency and good governance. Despite strong pressure from the opposition and public, the Government has not joined the European Public Prosecutors Office. Corruption Perceptions Index.
     
  • EU funding is a large driver of Hungarian GDP growth. Based on MFF 2021–2027 documents, Hungary is allocated roughly EUR 22 billion under EU cohesion policy for 2021–2027, with additional potential funding streams under other EU instruments. A portion of these funds were unlocked in recent years (around €10.2 billion), while significant amounts remain suspended pending compliance with rule-of-law conditions. After the April 2022 national election, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz party retained its leadership for the fourth time retaining its two-thirds supermajority in parliament. The Government remains focused on being an export-oriented economy facilitating Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Hungary under PM Orban has long been at loggerheads with the European Commission in Brussels over issues such as immigration, judicial reforms, and media freedom. FDI in Hungary reached a record EUR 6 billion in 2022.  The next elections in Hungary are coming up in April-May 2026.

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