Hungary 2024 Digital Decade Country Report

Two main strengths or areas of progress

Connectivity infrastructure

Hungary is above the EU average for Very High-Capacity Network (VHCN) coverage, reaching 84.1% against an EU average of 78.8%, and for Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage, standing at 76.2% against an EU average of 64%.

Adoption of cloud and data analytics by enterprises

Hungary made good progress in adoption of cloud, now at 37.1% (up from 20.6%  last year), only slightly below EU average of 38.9%. The level of uptake of data analytics by enterprises is particularly high, standing at 53.2% against an EU average of 33.2%.

Two main weaknesses or areas to improve

Adoption of Artificial Intelligence by enterprises

Hungary is below the EU average (8% of enterprises) when it comes to enterprises’ adoption of AI (3.7%), demonstrating the need to further improve performance in this area.

Basic digital skills and ICT specialists

In 2023, 58.9% of the Hungarian population had at least basic digital skills. Although above the EU average (55.6%), attention should remain high, to ensure that digital skills are spread across all the population including the oldest generations. Moreover, the share of ICT specialists in employment (4,2% in Hungary against 4,8% in the EU) and, more importantly, its annual progress (+2.4%, against 4.3% in the EU) are insufficient for reaching the 2030 target.

Hungary’s Digital Decade strategic roadmap

The Hungarian roadmap demonstrates that the country plans limited effort to achieve the Digital Decade objectives and targets. It sets targets for 12 out of 14 key performance indicators (KPIs), and, in half of the cases, targets are above or aligned with the EU 2030 ambitions, while the other half is lower. To achieve its digital transformation, Hungary plans to allocate a total budget (excluding private investments) estimated at EUR 1.7 billion (0.9% GDP).

Digital rights and principles

The Special Eurobarometer 'Digital Decade 2024' offers key insights into Hungarians' perceptions of digital rights. 60% of Hungarians believe that the EU protects their digital rights well, significantly above the EU average of 47%. While some concerns have grown, notably regarding the freedom of online association and online safety for children (both by 5 percentage points), Hungarians remain overall more confident compared to the EU average. Nonetheless, these findings underscore the need to reinforce digital rights at national level. On the positive side, a significant 70% is satisfied with the level of digital skills, and 68% appreciate aspects such as access to affordable high-speed internet or environmentally friendly online services.

Country-Specific Recommendations

Hungary must improve its performance towards the Digital Decade targets and objectives, to foster competitiveness, resilience, sovereignty, and promote European values and climate action.

For more information and the full list of recommendations, please consult the report.