In Hungary, the number of the child population was the lowest in 2022 since the first census of 1870. The number of children younger than 15 years was more than 2.6 million in 1910 and nearly 2.3 million after the Second World War, which, following the population policy measures of the 1950s, rose again to over 2.5 million by 1960. The number of births fell significantly from the mid-1970s until 2011, so the number of the child population was only slightly less than 1.4 million in 2022.

The number of population of working age has doubled since 1870. At the time of the 1970 census, nearly 7 million people aged 15–64 lived in Hungary. The number of people in this age group has been decreasing since then, and was 6.2 million in 2022.

The number of the old-age population was 144 thousand in 1870. At the time of the 1980 census, when the population number was the highest, the number of people aged 65 years and over was nearly 1.5 million. Although the number of the total population has been decreasing steadily since 1980, but that of people in the older age groups continued to increse, reaching almost 2 million in 2022.

The population number in the present territory of Hungary has doubled since 1870. During the Second World War, the population declined, but, due to the significantly increasing number of births in the 1950s, more than 10 million people were enumerated at the 1970 population census. The population number peaked in 1980, and has been decreasing since that time. In 2022, 9.6 million people lived in Hungary.

The share of the child population was the lowest in 2022 since the first census of 1870. Until the 1910s, 35–37% of the population were younger than 15 years, while this share did not even reach 15% in 2022. The share of the population of working age grew slightly, from 60% to 65% over the nearly 150 years. A significant increase occurred in the share of elderly people: the proportion of people aged 65 years and over was below 10% until 1970, and rose to 21% by 2022.

The ageing index shows the number of old-age people per hundred children (people aged 65 years and over per hundred 0–14 year-olds). The ageing age structure of the population is indicated by the steep upward curve of the indicator. The number of old-age people per hundred children was 8 in 1870 and 142 in 2022.

The ageing age composition is more pronounced in the South-East, which is burdened by youth emigration, and in the Balaton region due to the presence of elderly migrants. By contrast, high fertility and shorter life expectancy in the areas with small villages of the north-east and south-west, and young people moving to the cities and the North Transdanubian region reduce the value of the ageing index.