Environment at a Glance: Hungary
Table of contents
The OECD Environment at a Glance Country Notes are designed to support transparent, evidence-based information. They provide concise and descriptive overview of progress across major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity conservation. They feature selected environmental indicators, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. See the Reader’s guide to the Environment at a Glance Country Notes for more information.
Hungary is a small open economy with a strong industrial base, including energy-intensive chemical and steel industries. After being severely affected by the 2008 global financial crisis, the economy recovered and returned to its pre-crisis levels in 2014.
Population density is about three times the OECD average. Yet the country has one of the lowest urbanisation rates in the OECD, with only about one in five residents living in predominantly urban regions.
Agriculture covers more than half of total land area, owing to large-scale canalisation and land reclamation (at the end of the 19th century), that drained floodplains for crop production.
Hungary is a lowland country, with 84% of its territory lying below 200 metres above sea level. The country is crossed by a chain of mountains of medium height and is relatively poorly endowed with natural resources. Its fertile soil is the most important asset. There are 1 200 natural and artificial lakes, including Lake Balaton, the largest freshwater lake in Central Europe. Its grasslands, caves, rivers and wetlands host a rich biodiversity, including many native species.
The per person production-based (i.e. produced within the territory) and demand-based (or footprint, i.e. including emissions incorporated in imported goods) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain below the OECD averages, but have only slightly declined during 1996-2020. The gap between production and demand-based emissions is tight, meaning that Hungary emits levels of GHGs close to those embodied in its final demand (i.e. demand for goods and services by all residents).
The transport and the residential sectors are the largest emitters of GHG, followed by energy industries, agriculture, industrial processes, and manufacturing industries and construction (Hungary, 2026). In 2020, emissions fell mainly due to a significant reduction in transport emissions as a consequence of COVID-19. Emissions fell again in 2022 due to reduced production and consumption levels, driven by rising energy prices and to a drop in natural gas consumption. The decline in emissions continued in 2023 and 2024, albeit at a slower pace. Extensive afforestation, which increased forest coverage, helped reduce net GHG emissions.
The main source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is burning of fossil fuels for energy purposes, including transport. Methane represents 16% of the total and is generated mainly at waste disposal sites and in animal farms. Fugitive emissions of natural gas systems (i.e., transmission, storage, and distribution) are also important sources.
Although their share has decreased, fossil fuels continue to dominate the energy mix, at 64.7% of total energy supply in 2025. Since 2000, coal has been gradually replaced by oil and natural gas. The share of renewables in total energy supply has fluctuated, reaching 16.5% in 2025. Most of the increase in renewables was due to the use of biomass, which has now levelled off. Nevertheless, the share of renewables in the electricity continues to increase, especially since 2017.
Emissions of most major air pollutants have decreased due to the shift from coal to natural gas, other technological improvements in power generation, the modernisation of the car fleet and reduced activity from mining and oil refining. Emissions of fine particulates (PM2.5) peaked in 2012 due to the burning of biomass in old, inefficient carbon power plants or in stoves for residential heating. They have decreased since then. Emissions intensities are below the OECD average. Road transport and agriculture are major sources of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. Hungary reached its 2020 Gothenburg Protocol objectives for sulphur dioxide (SO2), NOx, and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC), but not for ammonia (NH3).
Local air quality has slightly improved. Average population exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) decreased since 2010 but remains above the OECD average and the 2021 guideline value of 5 µg/m3 recommended by the World Health Organization.
Hungary is relatively well endowed in freshwater resources thanks to its 1 200 natural and artificial lakes, including Lake Balaton, the largest freshwater lake in Central Europe. However, Hungary strongly depends on river inflow from other countries: 94% of inland water flows from neighbouring countries. Freshwater abstractions for public supply per person have declined until 2014 but are on the rise again since then. They remain low compared to most OECD countries.
The share of the population connected to public wastewater treatment has significantly increased since 2000 thanks to substantial investment in new technologies that replaced obsolete infrastructure. Most households are connected to plants with tertiary (“advanced”) treatment. However, water quality remains an issue in Hungary: of 876 natural and 150 artificial water bodies identified, 579 freshwater surface bodies (56%) have been classified as being “at risk” from organic, nutrient or hazardous substances (according to the EU Water Framework Directive definitions). Approximately 70% of artificial lakes (mainly fishponds) are “at risk” due to organic and nutrient loads. None of the 108 groundwater bodies identified are considered to be “at risk” due to human intervention. However, 46 sites are listed as “possibly at risk” (mostly due to nitrate pollution from various sources) (OECD, Environmental Performance Reviews: Hungary, 2018).
Municipal waste generated per person decreased following the 2008 financial crisis and remained relatively stable until 2018. It started to increase again in 2019 but remains below the OECD average. Recovery rates (including recycling, composting and incineration with energy recovery) steadily increased over the last decade. Landfilling decreased but remains the main treatment method.
Hungary is relatively poorly endowed with raw materials and relies heavily on energy and material imports. The peak in domestic material consumption (DMC) in 2005 reflects major infrastructure investments, notably highway construction. DMC declined between 2008 and 2012 due to the economic crisis, then rose again during the subsequent recovery, before trending downward again since 2019. Material productivity has considerably increased since 2000 and now stands just above the OECD average.
Hungary has one large biogeographic region – the Pannonian – that consists of a large flat alluvial basin and two major rivers, the Danube and Tisza. Hungary is one of the least forested among OECD countries, but it has one of the largest continuous grasslands. Agricultural areas cover about 60% of the total land area, with important implications for the management of natural resources. Drastic changes in land use have occurred previously, since the political regime change in the late 1980s and accession to the EU in 2004. Many arable lands and other agricultural areas have been abandoned, over-grazing has stopped, and agricultural intensification (use of chemicals) has decreased. Although these changes have favoured agrobiodiversity, traditional land use forms have disappeared. Large-scale vegetation mapping conducted between 2003 and 2006 indicates that only 3.2-9.8% of Hungary’s natural capital remains, with forest area having increased primarily as a result of plantations (OECD, Environmental Performance Reviews: Hungary, 2018).
More than 53 000 species are present in Hungary, 82% of which are animals, and 3% of the total number of species protected under national law. The plains, home to endemic plants and animals, are important for birds and rodents. Hungary has an extensive system of underground caves that are home to bats, as well as other unique species. There are also a range of wetland types. Since 2003, the number of protected species has grown by 6%. Common bird populations on agricultural habitats are stable. Forest bird populations show great fluctuations with no apparent long-term trend. Population trends of long-distance migratory birds show declining tendencies, compared with more stable species, partly-migratory and short-term migratory species. The most frequently identified pressures on species are agricultural intensification, fragmentation of habitats and resulting loss of connectivity, pollution (especially eutrophication), land take and intensification of forestry (OECD, Environmental Performance Reviews: Hungary, 2018).
Hungary’s share of protected land areas is above the OECD average, but more efforts are needed to achieve the 2030 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) target to protect at least 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas. Hungary’s protected areas consist primarily of national parks and protected landscapes. Only a limited number of sites have strict management objectives (IUCN categories I and II) and 0.8 % of the country’s land is covered by protected areas that have management effectiveness assessments.1
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
Revenues from environmentally related taxes are relatively high compared to the OECD average. However, the environment-related tax burden in the economy has been declining in recent years, just below the OECD Europe average of 2% in 2024. With the economic recovery and recent tax hikes, environmentally related tax revenues have increased in real terms, but at a lower rate than GDP and total tax revenue. Registrations of new passenger cars have declined sharply, with registration and ownership vehicle tax rates decreasing with car age. The latter provides an incentive to keep a car in use for longer than with age-neutral taxes, and to purchase used cars. With a growing stock of cars that are over ten-years old, revenues from vehicle taxes have declined.
As in all other OECD member countries, Hungary collects most environmentally related tax revenues through taxes on consumption of energy products. Compared to many other countries, Hungary relies more on energy taxes and on pollution and resource taxes. Taxes on pollution and resource use include the landfill levy, an air emission charge and water-related levies. In addition, use of road fuel declined sharply between 2009 and 2013, especially petrol, which is taxed at a higher rate than diesel. Increasing excise duties since 2011 have helped stabilise revenue from energy-related taxes despite lower road fuel consumption (OECD, Environmental Performance Reviews: Hungary, 2018).
In total, 57.6% of GHG emissions in Hungary were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate2 (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in Hungary consist of emissions trading system (ETS) permit prices, which cover 24.5% of GHG emissions in CO2 equivalent. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, covered 37.1% of emissions in 2023. Direct fossil fuel subsidies cover 12.5% of emissions. About 48% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. Net ECRs are highest in the road transport sector, which accounts for 21.5% of the country’s total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is on average positive in all sectors (OECD, Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down, 2024).
The shares of environmentally related public research and development (R&D) and the share of renewables in public energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) are quite volatile, and remain at relatively low levels.
Hungary is also a marginal player in environmentally related inventions, with less than 20 patent applications annually by national inventors in more than two jurisdictions. Their share in total inventions is also below the OECD average.
Hungary’s growing development co-operation programme focuses on economic development, support for crisis situations and scholarships. Much of its official development assistance (ODA) is channelled multilaterally through EU institutions, and it represents a low share of national income, 0.14% in 2025. Sustainable development and water management are key priorities. On the other hand, only a small part of its bilateral ODA addresses climate change (less than 5%). By contrast, 16.5% targeted biodiversity in 2023-24, a relatively high share by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) standards (OECD, 2026).
References
Hockings, M., & al, e. (2006). Evaluating Effectiveness. A framework for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas. 2nd Edition. IUCN. Retrieved from https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/PAG-014.pdf
Hungary. (2026). National Inventory Document for 1985-2024. Hungarian Meteorological Service. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/documents/656779
OECD. (2018). Environmental Performance Reviews: Hungary. OECD Publishing, Paris. doi:10.1787/9789264298613-en
OECD. (2024). Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down. OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris. doi:10.1787/b44c74e6-en
OECD. (2026). Development Co-operation Profiles. OECD Publishing, Paris. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/hungary_3e20e63e-en.html
Further reading
CBD (2022), Country profiles: Hungary, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=hu
UNEP-WCMC (2024), “Protected Area Profile for Hungary”, the World Database of Protected Areas, www.protectedplanet.net
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← 1. Protected Area Management Effectiveness evaluations, can be defined as: “the assessment of how well protected areas are being managed – primarily the extent to which management is protecting values and achieving goals and objectives" (Hockings & al, 2006).
← 2. Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) is the sum of fuel excise taxes, carbon taxes and tradeable permits that effectively put a price on carbon emissions. The Net ECR equals the ECR minus fossil fuel subsidies that decrease pre-tax fossil fuel prices.