Overview

The Hungarian life science industry is a relatively concentrated sector with almost 2,200 enterprises engaged in export-driven manufacturing, comprising 4.8% of Hungarian exports and employing close to 35,000 people. Some of these Hungarian companies have wider portfolios, such as 77Elektronika, Mediso, Sanatmetal, Innomed, GYSGY Rehab, Lasram, Diagon, and Medicontur. The country has a solid base for manufacturing a range of medical devices and medical supplies, however, given the small market, it is financially challenging for domestic production to compete with Western quality and innovation. The Hungarian MedTech sector includes cutting-edge research and development partnerships with universities with research areas in medical imaging, electric and biosensor devices, as well as lab diagnostics. Local production consists mainly of electro-medical equipment, ventilators, blood pressure equipment, lab diagnostic kits, cardiology and radiology devices, surgical and dental supplies, apnea alarms, incubators, infusion pumps, mechanical medical supplies, maternity products, surgical laser, X-ray, CT, and IVD equipment.  Local production and imports generally complement each other. 

The government has been implementing the “Healthy Hungary” program for the 2019-2030 timeframe.  There are five program elements: the National Cancer Program, the National Cardiovascular Program, the National Locomotion Program, the National Mental Hygienic Program, and the National Pediatric Program. Hungary has not had a dedicated Ministry of Health since 2014, and healthcare policy is managed only at the State Secretary level within the Ministry of Interior. The focus of the new healthcare culture has been shifting to preventative measures and promoting sports and a healthy lifestyle according to the mission statement of the National Locomotion Program.  The life expectancy of Hungarians is 77.4 years while the EU average is 81.7 years. 

In 2025, the total budget for healthcare is HUF 3,717 billion (USD 10 billion), which is HUF 330 billion (USD 890 million) more than the previous year. In 2025, the Hungarian medical technology market is expected to generate about USD 915 million in revenue, with the medical devices sub-sector comprising approximately USD 775.96 million.

Hungary has experienced healthcare workforce shortages for many years, and the country has one of the lowest ratios of doctors per inhabitant in the EU.  Healthcare salary adjustments in Hungary are ongoing, with significant raises implemented in 2022, 2023, and in 2025 for doctors and other medical staff, bringing average base salaries for doctors to approximately HUF 2.2 million (USD 6,000) and for healthcare professionals to around HUF 600,000 (USD 1,720). These adjustments resulted in improving compensation and addressing wage gaps within the sector. However, there is a persistent shortage of anesthesiologists in many Hungarian hospitals. Some operating rooms had to be closed, or surgeries postponed because there are not enough anesthesiologists.  Delays or cancellation of surgeries are increasing due to anesthesiologist shortages. 

Hungary is also facing a serious nursing workforce gap: estimates suggest a shortage of nearly 40,000 nurses in recent years. Over 30,000 nursing positions remain unfilled, putting strain on hospitals. About 32% of nursing staff are over 51 years old, while only about 19% are under 34. Despite salary increases in 2023 and in 2024 to narrow the wage gap between nurses and doctors, there remains a shortage of nursing staff. The Hungarian government has launched the “I will become a nurse” scholarship program: funding scholarships for new nursing students and improving housing and other benefits. Like other medical professions, many nurses report heavy workloads, burnout, and mental health challenges as a result of understaffing. Hospital wards are understaffed to the extent that they rely on temporary agency nurses or have only one nurse on night shifts for large wards.

Private healthcare in Hungary has been growing significantly for the past 10+ years. Public dissatisfaction - due to long waiting times, aging infrastructure, and regional disparities - has pushed more people toward private healthcare providers, especially for specialist outpatient care. Nearly 20% of specialist visits are now paid for privately, and overall usage of private health services has risen to around 40% of the population, depending on the age group. Private clinics score far higher for patient satisfaction on quality, access, comfort, and equipment compared to public facilities. 

While exact 2024 spending figures aren’t available, Hungarians covered 30% of total healthcare costs in 2024 through out-of-pocket payments (27%) and voluntary health funds/private insurance (3%). This indicates significant spending on private outpatient and inpatient care. There are around 195 private providers, employing over 8,000 full-time staff with more than 4,200 doctors across 114 specialties. As far as patients, a large part of private healthcare is funded out of pocket, though health savings funds and employer-sponsored schemes as part of the employee benefit program are increasing in importance. Private healthcare providers offer a wide range of services for relatively high prices, e.g., cardiology consultation for USD 100-120 and arthroscopic knee surgery starting at USD 2,000 or knee or hop prothesis surgery for USD 8,500-9,000. These prices are often out of reach for the average Hungarian as the median salary is USD 1,350. Patients in state healthcare, meanwhile, may have to wait over a year for knee and hip surgery and several months for cataract eye surgery. 

Hungary’s bidding system, requiring manufacturers to submit blind price reductions to the National Health Insurance fund every six months to keep consumer prices low, delays launching of new medicines and limits their availability. In late 2022, the government also raised pharmaceutical distributors and manufacturer’s windfall tax from 28% to 40%, on top of the already existing claw-back system.  The windfall tax was removed in January 2025. Frequent changes in the taxation system create unpredictability for manufacturers and uncertain business environment.  

Hospital debts in Hungary have escalated dramatically, posing serious operational challenges across the healthcare system. At the end of 2025, hospital debts reached almost HUF 110 billion. Various professional organizations in the medical sector are pressing for immediate government action to settle these overdue depts. Recurring hospital debt, which is financed from the central budget at the end of each calendar year, remains the most significant problem in the country’s healthcare system and places real strain on services: supplier payments are delayed, departments are being temporarily closed due to lack of supplies, and hospitals are operating with ongoing financial losses.

Hungary’s healthcare system has been showing the following significant shortcomings: 

• Significant underfunding of the healthcare system and huge hospital debt
• Severe shortages for nurses, anesthesiologists, dermatologists.
• Inequalities in access: waiting lists for surgeries and diagnostics, and significant regional disparities between Budapest and rural areas mean patients often face delays for treatment.
• Aging infrastructure: many public hospitals operate with outdated equipment and facilities, further lowering quality of care.
• Shift toward private care: growing numbers of Hungarians now rely on private providers, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with public services and creating a two-tier healthcare system.
• High ratio of death or serious impact caused by cardiovascular diseases, stroke, lung and colon cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
• Prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity for both adults and children. 
   

Hungary spends about 7% of its national GDP on healthcare. Most of it is spent on wages, financing hospital debts, and maintenance of hospitals and out-patient clinics; only one third is spent on purchasing innovative medical equipment.

Hungary is working to achieve a globally significant position in certain sectors where its infrastructure and know-how are strong, such as clinical trials of innovative drugs, the development of biopharmaceuticals, in-vitro diagnostics, animal biotechnology, molecular medicines, and the use of bioreactors. The historically strong Hungarian pharmaceutical industry has an established knowledge base and skilled workforce, which has enabled the creation of a red biotech subsector (such as gene therapy, stem cell research, and genetic engineering) adept at developing therapeutics, unique in the CEE region and strong by international standards.  

There are around 90 biotech companies in Hungary. Key representatives of international biotech companies present in the market include Richter, Amgen, Omixon, Biogen, Servier, UD-Genomed, and Solvo Biotech. They focus on R&D services, digital health, diagnostics and most of them have also expanded their presence into major European markets. The government supports such expansion via the National Research, Development and Innovation Office,which regards biotechnology as a strategic area for development.

Significant results have been achieved in nanotechnology, molecular chemistry, and biotechnology services. Red biotechnology – also known as biopharmaceuticals – is a highly prosperous sector in Hungary and market players are seeking opportunities to intensify their activity in the international arena. The Hungarian Biotech Association plays a key role in conducting biotech research. Hungarian universities including Budapest Semmelweis Medical University and Medical Universities of Debrecen, Pecs, and Szeged have active working relationships with international biotech research companies. Pharma companies conducted close to 1000 clinical trials in Hungary in 2024. Oncology, Cardiology, Neurology, Gastroenterology, and Hematology account for most clinical trials. Innovative pharma companies invest close to HUF 100 billion (USD 270 million) in clinical trials in Hungary annually. Approximate 20,000 patients get access to innovative therapies via trials. 

Medical device and pharmaceutical importers have faced serious challenges obtaining approval for placement on insurance reimbursement lists, including significant delays of up to 24 months (a common challenge among Central and Eastern European countries). If a product is not included in the reimbursement scheme or paid for by insurance companies, the market for the product is limited or an exception needs to be requested. Such ‘exceptions’ are preceded by lengthy negotiations between the company and the National Health Insurance Fund, often delaying patient treatment. The catalog of reimbursed operations, medical aids, and pharmaceuticals is reevaluated every six months by law. Drug categorization takes place on a bi-monthly basis. 

Drug price referencing is executed twice yearly by NEAK. The newly established Batthany-Strattman Foundation is a public benefit foundation in Hungary established at the end of 2024 to manage elements of healthcare financing that are not covered by the mandatory health insurance system.  Its principal responsibility is to assess and decide on “named-patient reimbursement” requests. These are cases where patients need drugs or medical aids that are medically accepted but are not yet included in the national health insurance coverage. The foundation evaluates such requests and provides state funding when the request is approved.  It is funded by the state budget, but the approval process is characterized to be bureaucratic and often causes delay in getting the necessary therapy for patients. 

The public health center NNK was merged with the drug supervisory OGYEI in a new entity, the Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Authority (NNGYK) in August 2023. The authority is overseen by the Interior Ministry and is responsible for coordinating the pharmaceutical market. Its portfolio focuses on issuing licenses for the domestic distribution and manufacture of medicines. The new authority also supervises places of manufacture, oversees clinical trials, and analyses side-effects related to the products. 

Leading Sub-sectors

Most medical equipment suppliers in Hungary are EU-based manufacturers (primarily German, Italian, and French). Major U.S. medical suppliers, such as GE Healthcare, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Varian, and Becton Dickinson, also have direct representatives or subsidiaries in Hungary. The most promising subsectors are biomedical devices, diagnostic equipment, robotic-assisted surgical systems, post-surgery recovery, therapeutic products and systems, imaging technologies, and dental equipment/supplies. Investments in new medical equipment within the healthcare sector are expected to increase as both public hospitals, outpatient clinics, and private healthcare services are expected to grow. In recent years healthcare technology has become a priority sector for the Hungarian Government and there has been a shift to move all MRI and CT diagnostics under the state-owned, centralized umbrella as of November 2025.   

Opportunities

Hungary’s local legislation concerning medical devices complies with EU directives. Foreign producers that wish to export medical devices to Hungary are recommended to establish a contract with a local importer, who can help the company fulfill regulations such as the CE mark or the Medical Device Directive (MDD), Declaration of Conformity, and translation of directions and manuals into the Hungarian language. Medical devices and pharmaceuticals are subject to customs duty and VAT of 27%. The duty for medical technologies imported from the United States ranges between 0-7% according to a specific Harmonized Schedule (HS) code under Chapter 90. 

Hungary has market opportunities in the fields of innovative health technologies and equipment, Robotic-Surgical Systems (RAS), dental care equipment and many other types of equipment that increase efficiency and reduce occupancy rates in hospitals. 

Products with the best sales potential in Hungary include but are not limited to:

• Patient monitoring and diagnostic systems
• Robotic-Assisted Surgical systems (RAS)
• Mini invasive surgery (MIS) and day surgery equipment
• CT, MRI and Ultrasound equipment
• Digital image processing and picture archiving
• Any related device and technology that advances Health IT, eHealth development and telemedicine
• Skin and Breast Cancer detection medical technologies

Procurements are mostly executed through public tenders. Tenders for healthcare public procurements are published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union (Ted Tenders).

The EU’s revised Medical Device Regulation and In Vitro Diagnostic Device Regulation went into effect in May 2021 and in May 2022 respectively. The In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/746 (IVDR) establishes a new regulatory framework for in vitro diagnostic medical devices. It is estimated that around 70% of clinical decisions are made using in vitro diagnostic medical devices.

The IVDR replaced the current Directive 98/79/EC on in vitro diagnostic medical devices from 26 May 2022 and introduced substantial changes in the sector. The Regulation aims to ensure a high level of protection of public health, patients and users and the smooth functioning of the internal market considering the high number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in this sector. European Commission.

Main Competitors

Hungary’s medical device and medical supplies manufacturing sector is skilled and has enjoyed an increasing trend toward manufacturing. The number of innovative start-up companies is significant for MedTech solutions. Imports for the Hungarian medical device market is dominated by imports from EU markets such as Germany, France, Italy, and the UK with an increasing portion of imports from Asia more specifically from China. The total imports of MedTech products reached USD 3.29 billion in 2023. Direct imports from the United States accounted for USD 141.2 million in 2023. High-quality and technically sophisticated U.S. medical equipment has the best market potential in Hungary.  
 

U.S. Embassy - U.S. Commercial Service  
Csilla Viragos, Commercial Specialist  
Budapest, Hungary  
Tel:  +36 1 475 4250  
Email: csilla.viragos@trade.gov