Census 2022: final data presented by HCSO

The Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO) has released final data just 10 months after the end of the 2022 census. Thanks to the full-scale digitisation, the time between data collection and the release of the results has been significantly shortened. Overall, the number of marriages and the share of people with children are increasing among the under-30s, but society is also ageing. Employment has increased, modern technologies are reshaping the labour market, Hungary is developing and changing.

Just ten months after the 2022 census, HCSO presented the census results at a press conference. " Overall, the number of marriages and the share of people with children are increasing among the under-30s, but society is also ageing. Employment has increased, modern technologies are reorganising the labour market, Hungary is developing and changing at the same time." - said Dr Áron Kincses, President of the HCSO.

At the census reference date, 1 October 2022, the population was 9 603 634. For every 1,000 men, there were 1,078 women, compared to 1,106 in the previous census in 2011. " The increase in marriage numbers in recent years has slowed the decades-long decline in the marriage rate, which has risen to 12 per cent among people under 30. 73 percent of women have had a child in their lifetime: 23 percent have had one and 35 percent have had two." - said Marcell Kovács, Census Project Manager.

One third of the adult population had a general certificate of secondary education (GCSE) in October 2022, and a further 22% had a degree. The proportion with no more than primary school education fell to 23 percent, and the proportion with a vocational diploma was little changed from 2011 at 21 percent. Even as the population is shrinking, the number of people in employment is growing: from 3.9 million in 2011 to 4.7 million in 2022. The share of people aged 14 and over in employment is highest in the capital and in cities with larger populations (54 and 50 per cent respectively), while in villages it is below the national average of 49 per cent. The unemployment rate is above the national average of 2.5% in villages and below it in the capital and rural towns.

The voluntary question on religious affiliation was answered by 60% of the population. Of the 2.9 million respondents, 50% were Catholic, of whom 2.6 million were Roman Catholic and 165 thousand Greek Catholic. Reformed accounted for 16 per cent and Evangelicals for 3.1 per cent in 2022. 27 percent of respondents were non-religious. In the optional questions on nationality, 86% of the population answered. The most populous nationality in the country is the Roma, with 2.5 per cent of respondents, 210 thousand people, belonging to this community. The number of Germans was 143 thousand, Slovaks 30 thousand, Romanians 28 thousand and Ukrainians 25 thousand.

The optional questions on health status were completed by 75% of respondents. 72% of respondents reported no health problems. 1.7 million respondents reported a persistent illness, 639 thousand said their health condition severely limited them and 270 thousand had a disability.

Detailed data can be retrieved on the Census Information Database on the HCSO website on an individual basis. In addition, the Office also publishes the most important characteristics as traditional tables. The data can be used in map form.