🇭🇺 Hungary
Hungary uses the forint. Magyar Nemzeti Bank sets policy independently of the ECB. That is still fiat: MNB can expand HUF whenever it chooses. High inflation since 2015 is already priced into the purchasing-power chart. Own currency is not hard money.
Debt: Eurostat, Q1 2026 Maastricht debt. 77.7% of GDP, HUF 68,969,989 million. Source.
Purchasing power of 100 HUF
Hungary never joined the euro. The forint is still a fiat unit MNB can expand. Official HICP since 2015 has cut the real value of 100 forint by more than two-fifths. The 2022–2023 inflation spike is visible on the chart.
Source: Eurostat HICP snapshot, as of July 2026 (not a live feed). 2026 = Jan–Jul average. Hungary series. Methodology.
What €100 still buys
The 2026 bar is Hungary HICP purchasing power versus 2015. Same snapshot as this page's chart. Not a live feed. Not a picture of a real banknote. The extra bar is euro-area HICP from the same snapshot method, not a live feed.
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€100 in 2015
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€100 in 2026
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Euro area 2026
Compare what €100 still buys across sixteen countries.
The same basket, a higher till
A Hungary all-items HICP basket that cost €100 in 2015 costs this much at the 2026 year-to-date average. Same snapshot as this page's chart. Not a list of groceries. Not a live feed.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2015 | — |
| 2026 | — |
| Extra to pay | — |
The tax that never hits your payslip
Type a euro amount (cash or monthly pay). The deduction uses Hungarian HICP purchasing power versus 2015, the same snapshot as the chart on this page. Example amount only. Not an official wage. Not financial advice.
Example only. Not an official salary.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| This amount | — |
| Hidden tax since 2015 (HICP) | |
| What it still buys in 2015 euros | — |
Eurostat HICP snapshot, as of July 2026 (not a live feed). 2026 is the year-to-date average of published months. Hungary, not euro-area. Methodology.
Why this matters in Hungary
Independent of the ECB — still fiat
The forint is set in Budapest, not Frankfurt. Magyar Nemzeti Bank can expand HUF whenever it chooses. Independence from the ECB is not a gold standard. Hungary is not in the euro. It is still a fiat unit that can be created at will.
Maastricht 77.7% is not a shield
Eurostat Q1 2026 Maastricht debt was 77.7% of GDP (HUF 68,969,989 million). That was the largest quarter-on-quarter rise in the EU: +3.1 percentage points versus 2025Q4 and +2.4 percentage points versus 2025Q1. A rising forint ratio does not protect wages or savings.
The same hidden tax on forint wages and savings
Whether new forints fund government borrowing, energy subsidies or anything else, existing HUF balances buy less. The tax is not imported from the ECB. Hungarian savers and wage earners pay it in forint.
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