Did Hungary manage the pandemic the most efficiently in the EU?

Hungary has been the most efficient in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in the European Union, according to the pandemic management competitiveness indicator (PMCI) made by the experts of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB).

The analysis was written by Péter Asztalos, Gergely Baksay, and Ákos Szalai, and it was published on MNB’s website on Friday, reported VG. The three experts say that they consider nine factors when putting the PMCI together; they study not only the number of infected or deceased people in the countries but also the degree of economic downturn and unemployment rates.

Hungary received 73 points out of the maximum of 100, which is 18 points higher than the average in the European Union and 14 points above the region’s average. Hungary is followed by Slovenia and Germany, while Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and Sweden are at the end of the list. The end of the list is mainly made up of Mediterranean countries. The Visegrad Group – including Hungary – all received scores higher than the EU average.

The most recent COVID-19 Regional Safety Assessment of June studied 200 countries or regions, considering 130 parameters. Hungary received 656 points out of the possible 1,000, which is the 4th highest score among all EU states and 18th in all of the world.

Hungary finished in 3rd place in the “Emergency Preparedness” category out of the 200 countries in the analysis. The number of infected people in Hungary is the 3rd lowest, while in terms of deceased people, Hungary finished somewhere in the middle, with a relatively low count.

Hungary’s economic performance may decline by 4.6 per cent this year, according to market expectations; one of the lowest expected declines among all EU states, the three MNB experts wrote. The 4.6 per cent of GDP general government deficit, which is expected by the market analysts, is the 4th lowest in predictions for EU countries.

The unemployment rate in Hungary increased by 1.3 per cent between January and May 2020, reaching 4.7 per cent in May 2020, which is the 7th lowest in the European Union, so in terms of unemployment indicators, Hungary is somewhere in the middle amongst other EU countries.

Source: vg.hu