Main population and housing characteristics
(national and regional data)

On 1 October 2022, 9.6 million people lived in Hungary. Of a child population of 1.4 million, those aged 2 and under and 3 to 5 years were both more than 280 thousand, and the primary school aged 6 to 14 year olds numbered 842 thousand. The working-age population (15-64 years) was 6.2 million, 65% of the population. Nearly 2 million were aged 65 and over, outnumbering the child population.

The 52% female majority in the population has decreased slightly since the previous census (52.5%). There are more boys among the newborns, who also make up the majority (51%) of the population under 5. The male surplus is predominant up to the age of 55, after which the proportion of females increasingly exceeds that of males.

On 1 October 2022, 3.4% fewer people were living in Hungary than at the reference date of the 2011 Census. The population has been falling steadily since 1980. The main reason is that deaths are increasingly outnumbering births.

Population change in the settlements shows a mixed picture. While large cities have generally seen their population decline, their catchment areas have typically seen an increase. Population also increased in the north-western areas and around Lake Balaton. Overall, however, most settlements were characterised by population decline.

In 2022, there were 1.4 million children (aged 0–14) in the country. The age group has stopped shrinking and their population share (14.7%) has barely changed since the previous census. The north eastern and south western parts of the country and the Budapest agglomeration has the highest rates of children.

Nearly 2 million elderly people (aged 65 and over) lived in Hungary in 2022, with their population share rising by 3.9 percentage points since the previous census to 20.8%. Most elderly people live in the capital, around Lake Balaton and in the small villages in the western and northern parts of the country, but their proportion is also high in the south-eastern region.

Hungary's housing stock is growing from census to census. In 2022, there were 4.6 million dwellings in Hungary, an increase of 190 thousand (4.3%) compared to the previous census. Housing construction in Hungary reached its lowest point in 2013, followed by a recovery until 2020.

Population per 100 occupied dwellings in 2022 was 237. Density standard continued to decrease (by 11 persons) between 2011 and 2022 as a consequence of declining resident population and increasing housing stock.

The 2022 census data show that 97% of occupied dwellings are owned by private individuals. Preferential housing purchase options for tenants of municipally-owned housing in the decade before the turn of the millennium reduced the share of municipally-owned housing to below 4% by 2001 and to only 2.4% by 2022.

In 2022, the average floor space of occupied dwellings was 82 m², 4 m² larger than in the 2011 census. This reflects the construction of new dwellings with a larger floor area than before, as well as the impact of housing extensions. Almost one fifth of dwellings with a floor space of more than 100 m² have been occupied since 2001. Nearly 40% of the smallest ones, under 30 m², were built before 1946, and just under 3% between 2011 and 2022.

New housing, typically multi-roomed, and extensions to existing housing have continued to shift the mix of dwellings by number of rooms. Around three-tenths of dwellings in 2022 had 4 or more rooms, almost doubling since 2001, while the combined share of one- and two-room dwellings fell to three-quarters of the previous level.

Massive housing renovations in recent years and increasingly modern construction methods and technologies have led to a steady increase in housing amenities. All-amenities housing is increasingly becoming the dominant housing type in the country. Housing with principal amenities, partial amenities and no amenities as well as emergency housing have all decreased in proportion since the 2011 Census.

Housing numbers have changed differently across regions of the country, reflecting construction trends between 2011 and 2022. Housing stock has increased significantly in the area around Lake Balaton, in the capital and its agglomeration, in some regional centres and on the north-western border.

More than a third of the occupied dwellings were built between 1960 and 1980. 14% of the stock was occupied after the turn of the millennium and 16% before World War II. Both the most recently and the oldest built homes are found in the capital in the highest proportions. Housing stock in towns of county rank have the most favourable age composition.

Nearly two thirds of dwellings occupied are built of brick, the most common wall material in all settlement types. Panel dwellings in the capital and in the towns of county rank and adobe dwellings in smaller settlements are the second most common group.

Most occupied dwellings are equipped with a central heating system using a gas boiler. District heating is mainly used in residential areas of large cities, while room heating in smaller towns and villages. Prevalence of room heating has further decreased since the 2011 Census.

Natural gas was the most common heating fuel in 2022. The smaller a settlement, the more likely it is that other fuels, mostly wood, are used in addition to gas heating. Moving towards more populated settlements, the proportion of dwellings heated by district heating is increasing. Housing that is either heated by electricity or by electricity as well has increased significantly in number since the 2011 Census. Their share is over 10% in the capital and close to 9% in rural towns.

Both modern energy-efficient heating solutions and the use of renewable energy sources are key to reducing energy dependency and environmental pollution. In 2022, 68 thousand homes had heat pump heating, with the highest proportion in the capital. Solar panels were installed in 165 thousand dwellings and solar collectors in 28 thousand, with the highest prevalence in rural cities.

Using the internet has become part of everyday life. 73% of all dwellings in 2022 had wired internet. This proportion is higher in the capital and its agglomeration, in the North-Western and Central Transdanubian regions, and in and around larger cities.

The proportion of unoccupied dwellings in the housing stock is on the increase. Housing use patterns have changed, with an increasing number of seasonal dwellings and a growing use of private dwellings for tourism. In 2022, 599 thousand dwellings were not habitually occupied, their share having increased by 2 percentage points since the last census to 13%.