How much money do Hungarians working abroad send home in a year?

Source: KSH, növekedés.hu

 

Gender differences 

Men are apparently more open to working abroad. The number of male employees working abroad was nearly three times as high in 2020 and 2019 as that of female employees. 

Number of Hungarian men and women working abroad

	Men	Women	Total
2017	83 240	26 365	109 606
2018	77 343	27 338	104 681
2019	86 157	29 936	116 094
2020	75 092	24 792	99 884

Source: KSH, növekedés.hu

 

International migration 

In 2016, net emigration stopped after a long time, while from 2017 our immigration surplus was growing at a faster rate. More and more people returned to Hungary, which is due, among other things, to the extensive and rapid growth of the economy and dynamic wage growth.

During 2017, 2018 and 2019, average wages grew at a rate of more than 10 percent per year in Hungary. This was accompanied by an average inflation rate of around 3 percent, which 

resulted in an extremely fast real wage increase. The rising standard of living in Hungary has convinced more and more Hungarians abroad to return to Hungary. 

International migration of Hungarian citizens

Source: KSH, növekedés.hu

 

How many people commute to work abroad? 

Data on employees commuting to work abroad are available from the census conducted by KSH in 2011. 

In that year, there were more than 27,000 Hungarian employees who commuted to work abroad while retaining their residence in Hungary. 

There can be many reasons for commuting, but most common of all is the difference in wages. The majority of commuters took up work in Austria. Apart from that, commuting to Slovakia and Romania can be considered significant, although the motives are different in the case of those countries. 

Most of those commuting abroad were under the age of 44, with secondary education, mainly vocational qualifications. Commuting was most common in the hospitality and catering sectors, and in the industry.

Number of Hungarian commuters by age, 2011

Age group	Total
		Austria	Romania	Slovakia
15–29	5 227	4 481	240	425
30–34	5 261	4 426	246	480
35–39	5 216	4 389	290	407
40–44	4 119	3 445	276	306
45–49	2 720	2 186	147	290
50–54	2 338	1 841	162	233
55–59	1 793	1 428	121	165
60–69	427	281	37	70
70–	27	11	4	9
Total	27 128	22 488	1 523	2 385

Number of commuters by highest level of education, 2011

Highest level of education	Total
		Austria	Romania	Slovakia
Primary school (< 8 grades)	64	45	9	6
Primary school (8 grades)	1 880	1 566	100	165
Secondary school without maturity, with vocational certificate	11 962	10 888	338	587
Secondary school with maturity	9 241	7 665	520	827
University or college degree	3 981	2 324	556	800
Total	27 128	22 488	1 523	2 385

Number of commuters by economic activity, 2011

Economic activity	Total
		Austria	Romania	Slovakia
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	1 917	1 772	52	55
Industry	4 706	3 906	308	360
Construction	3 898	3 501	144	202
Commerce, vehicle repair	2 366	1 696	260	337
Transportation, storage	2 264	1 779	164	249
Hospitality and catering	4 841	4 625	64	122
Information, communication	344	156	33	127
Finance, insurance	252	129	29	80
Real estate	81	45	13	20
Science, engineering	545	301	78	109
Office administration	660	550	30	67
Public administration, defence, compulsory social insurance	284	110	42	82
Education	453	209	76	122
Healthcare, social services	1 012	825	55	104
Arts, entertainment, leisure	325	226	42	41
Other services	667	512	55	76
Household work, production and service for own use	842	767	34	33
Other	1 671	1 379	44	199
Total	27 128	22 488	1 523	2 385

Source: KSH, növekedés.hu