In the spring of 2026, the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation updated its own economic and development indicator, the Oeco-index, based on the World Bank’s latest data series for 2024 and 2025.
Based on the latest ranking, Hungary continues to be among the developed countries: it ranks 31st globally and 19th among the member states of the European Union.
This puts Hungary ahead of Romania, Poland, Greece, Latvia, and Slovakia, among others. In last year’s ranking, calculated based on 2023 data, Hungary ranked 35th in the world and 18th within the EU.
Hungary has been able to improve its global position in an extremely risky global economic environment, which demonstrates the flexibility and adaptability of the Hungarian economy. The results of the connectivity announced by the government are already visible, as the structure of the Hungarian economy rests on several external financing and investment pillars. The underlying indicators of the Oeco Index increasingly reflect the effects of geopolitical tensions and armed conflicts, the sluggish economic growth characteristic of the developed world, but also a general consolidation of inflation.
Graph: Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation
“We created the Oeco Index to use objective data to debunk myths that rank countries based on progressive perceptions. One such widespread myth, which was actually used as a means of exerting pressure in 2024, was that Romania had overtaken Hungary according to a number of indicators. The first Oeco-index clearly showed that the narrative of ‘Romania is doing so much better’ is false,” said Péter Törcsi at the opening of the 2026 Oeco-index presentation.
The president of the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation added: a new myth is being built today, according to which Hungary is the poorest country in the European Union.
“The data clearly prove that this is just as false and misleading a narrative. Based on the latest indicators, Hungary has dropped only one position at the EU level, but Italy has overtaken us, and globally we have improved by three places. We have maintained our position even in such a difficult period, burdened by wars and crises,” he explained.
Graph: Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation
Fact
The Oeco-Index is a complex indicator that attempts to condense the most important, regularly published economic and social development indicators into a single index. This makes it possible to compare countries and examine changes in the indicator over time. In the final index, economic indicators were given a 50% weighting, social indicators a 40% weighting, and political indicators, which are based primarily on perception, a 10% weighting.
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Via Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation; Featured photo: Pexels
The post Hungary Improves Global Economic Ranking, Maintains Developed Country Status appeared first on Hungary Today.
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