Turned out where, in what numbers and under what conditions we live

Population Census 2022: HCSO publishes new results

According to the 2022 census, Hungary's population is 9 million 604 thousand people. The population of large cities has generally decreased, while that of their catchment areas has typically increased. The number and size of dwellings has also increased, with fewer people per dwelling. The Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO) presented the latest results of the 2022 census at a press conference.

The population of Hungary at the reference date of last year's census, 1 October 2022, was 9 million 604 thousand, 334 thousand fewer than at the last census in 2011. Budapest had 1.7 million inhabitants, nearly 47 thousand fewer than 11 years ago. Debrecen was the most populous of the rural towns, with 200 thousand inhabitants, but it also saw a decrease of 12 thousand. While the population of large cities has generally decreased, their catchment areas have tended to increase. The population also increased in the north-west of the country and around Lake Balaton. More than one third of the settlements in Hungary have fewer than 500 inhabitants.

According to final housing data, Hungary's housing stock now stands at 4.6 million dwellings, 21% of which are in Budapest, 52% in rural towns and 27% in villages. Nearly two thirds of the occupied dwellings are of brick construction, while 13-13% are of adobe or panel construction. Thirty-one percent of occupied dwellings have two bedrooms, 32 percent have three bedrooms, and 29 percent have four or more bedrooms. The average floor area of dwellings is 82 square metres, 4 square metres more than in 2011. The share of large apartments continued to rise, with those with a floor area of more than 100 square metres accounting for 28 per cent. There are 237 occupants per 100 dwellings, 11 fewer than in 2011.

98 percent of occupied dwellings have piped water. The public sewerage network has expanded significantly, while the proportion of households using domestic sewerage has fallen to less than half. The number of households that also use electricity for heating has increased more than fivefold since the last census, to 357 thousand. The increasing importance of sustainability is reflected in the spread of modern energy solutions. There are 165 thousand dwellings in buildings with solar panels, 68 thousand dwellings use heat pumps for heating and 28 thousand dwellings have solar collectors for hot water.

During last year's census, HCSO collected 1.8 billion different data items. Thanks to full digitisation and the use of administrative databases, the processing of this huge amount of data has been significantly accelerated compared to previous paper censuses. The processing of census data will be completed in the autumn. This is when the office will publish the detailed data for all topics, said Dr Gabriella Vukovich, President of the HCSO.

The data can be retrieved from the census information database on the HCSO website according to individual needs. In addition, the most important characteristics are also published in the form of traditional tables. The data can also be used in map form, added Marcell Kovács, Census Project Manager.