Social situation and system in Hungary

1. Social situation and system in Hungary

2. 93.036 km2=35.921 square mile 10.076.581 citizens

3. Issues….. • Population • Settlement system • Employment • Wages • Social security system

5. Problem and problem solving • Birth rate • Death rate • Steady decrease in population. • More elderly people in the nation: need for health and social services is growing and transforming!

6. Settlements • 3167 towns and villages • Number of cities with more than 10000 inhabitants: 165 • 252 cities (functionally only 200 can be regarded as cities) • More than 60 per cent of citizens live in middle-sized, or big settlements (number of inhabitantas over 10000)

7. Settlement structure • 2 million live in the capital. • Further 2,6 million live in bigger cities. • Special feature: high share of very small villages…crisis areas – rural development strategies.

8. Small villages • No work - high unemployment rate. • Young people moving away – number of inhabitants decreasing, population getting old. • Poor infrastucture, limited services (school, health care, shops). • Escape route: form alliences with other villages and towns and have common projects. • Advantage: splendid surroundings.

9. Number of active age-group people significantly decreasing. • 2003: 7 million • 2050 (forecast): 5,2 million) • 1,1 million elderly (55-65 ys)people belong to the active-age group, but only 1/5th of them are employed.

10. „Roma problem” • Proportion of Romani people is growing. 20% of children will be Roma in a few decades. • Less then 10% of them live in the capital - (total population: 20%) • 60 % live in small settlements – (total population: 38%) • Appr. 600.000 citizens are Roma, only 16% of them are economically active.

11. Larger proportion of the less children are born into poor families. (almost one-third of the 2,9 million (0-24 years old) children and young people get regular financial support. • Proportion of one-parent families is growing. • Regional disparities increase the danger of exclusion (from goods, chances, rights, social processes), especially in small settlements, in North-Hungary and in South-Transdanubia.

12. Death rate: the third highest in Central and Eastern Europe. • How can we solve the problem? • More birth? • Immigration? – if there had not been any immigration to the country, the loss of population would be much higher! (Hungarians from neighboring countries, China program?)….

13. Education • More and more young people go for higher education. • Lack of good blue-collar workers in the new generation. • Battle for students by the schools and universities – quality education or mass education? • Battle against government actions (e.g. closing schools, decreasing support of education).

14. Employment - unemployment • In employment: 3.906.000 (2007 March). • Unemployment rate: 7,5%. • Number of officially unemployed: 316 000. • Unemployment rate of the Youth: 18%.

15. 3,5 million women belong to the active age group, but only half of them are employed. 400 thousand raise her children alone.

16. Average Wages (2006) ~11000 $/year • Differences in the average Hungary ~ 29000 $/year ~ 32000 $/year EU-25 USA Source: OECD

17. Purchasing Power Index: Annual Purchasing Power/head, on Euro parity (2004) 100= average of 29 countries EU and EFTA coutries

18. Minimum wage • Nearly three-quarters of EU Member States have some form of statutory national minimum wage, with sectoral collective agreements playing the main role in setting minimum pay rates in the remainder of the countries. • Hungary: 2 $/ hour, above 55 years: 2,4 $/hour

19. Who earns more in Hungary? • Those who work in the financial sector: 20.250 $/ year. • Those who work in Budapest: 13.100 €/ year, especially if they are white-collar workers (18.900 $ /year). • Those who work in the administration: 12.150 $/ year. • AVERAGES!

20. Who earns less in Hungary? (Averages) • Those who work in the agriculture: 5800 $/year. • Those who work in the textile industry: 5100 $/ year. • Education: 10900 $/year • Health: 8300 $/year

21. Pension • Retirement age: 62 years (Both men and women) • Planned: 65 years (starting form 2009)

22. Pension • No redistribution, no security net – the amount of the pension depends on the money you and your employer paid into the system. • The total amount of the minimum old-age pension is very low…25.800 Ft/month ( ~141 $/month). • The average of the old-age pension is 360 $/month (= 4320 $/year).

23. Persons entitled to pension and pension-like state support

24. What else provided? • + 1 month pension; • Public transportation for reduced fee, or for free of charge; • Life-annuity for agricultural land; • Support of medicine prices; • Other kind of price supports based on the amount of monthly income.

25. Health issues • Life expectancy among the worst ones in Europe. • Men: 68 years (EU average: 75 years) • Women: 78 years (EU average: 81 years) • Leading death causes: heart and circulation diseases, cancer.. • Cancer became leading death cause in the case of middle aged – 45-65 y. - males and females!

26. Heavy burden on the health sector – transition period! • All covered – meaning service for free (?) for many. • Coverage upon payment - service for charge – who pays?

27. National Healt Service – Private health insurance together? Under discussion yet. • Pay for the service; 300 Ft/visit (appr. 1,66 $) now. You pay for 20 visits, the others are for free. • Not everyone has to pay!

28. Suicides

29. Source: WHO