BUDAPEST, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's budget deficit increased to 9.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2026, up from 5.9 percent a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Wednesday.
The general government deficit totaled 2.09 trillion forints (6.7 billion U.S. dollars), 838 billion forints higher than the same period of 2025.
The central government posted a deficit of 2.49 trillion forints during the quarter, while local governments and social security funds recorded surpluses of 373 billion forints and 28 billion forints, respectively.
The increase came as government expenditure rose 18.7 percent year on year, outpacing an 11.5 percent increase in revenue. Spending was driven mainly by higher employee compensation and social benefit payments.
Reacting to the fresh data on Facebook, Hungarian Finance Minister Andras Karman said the government plans to submit future budget bills to parliament in October to improve transparency and align fiscal planning more closely with economic conditions.
Analysts at Portfolio said the figures reflected strong government spending ahead of this year's parliamentary election. According to the leading local financial news portal, the government expects the full-year budget deficit to exceed 7 percent of GDP, including one-off expenditures equivalent to 1-2 percent of GDP that are not expected to recur next year.(1 Hungarian forint = 0.0032 U.S. dollar) ■