7. Financing and support
Hungary
Last update: March, 2025
Indicator 1: 82 000 HUF or 215 EUR. Public cultural expenditure Eurostat – Cofog 08/2, all levels of government, per capita in 2023.
Indicator 2: This corresponds to 1.0% of the GDP (Cofog), or 1.2% (KSH).
Indicator 3: Public culture expenditure in percentage of the total public expenditure in 2022 was 2.1%.
In 2023, the population of Hungary was 9.6 million. According to Eurostat/Cofog, total general government expenditure on culture was 2,061 million euro. In 2023, among EU countries, Hungary registered by far the largest ratio to GDP of government expenditure on Cofog08, 'recreation, culture and religion', at 2.6% of GDP (after the 2020 peak of 3.9%).
No further detailed information is available on expenditure. The website of the state secretariat for culture is limited to news, announcements and to the presentation of the structure and main responsibilities. Links lead to 18 subordinate institutions only.
Last update: March, 2025
The years after the millennium showed continued decentralisation. This trend took a sharp turn after 2010 and by 2012 the central government became a stronger single public funder than the regional and local sources cumulatively. A part of the explanation is the restructuring in the museum sector, whereby the state took charge of many regional and municipal institutions.
In the absence of available statistics in the country, one must resort to Eurostat for the following data.
Table 14: Public cultural expenditure by level of government, 2019 and 2023
|
Level of government |
Total expenditure in million EUR |
% share of total |
Total expenditure in million EUR |
% share of total |
|
Year |
2019 |
2023 |
||
|
State (central) |
1 269 |
67% |
1 645 |
73% |
|
Regional (counties) |
0 |
|
0 |
|
|
Local (municipal) |
623 |
33% |
618 |
27% |
|
TOTAL |
1 892 |
100% |
2 263 |
100% |
Source: Eurostat Cofog (cultural services)
Last update: March, 2025
Due to the scattered character of public management of culture the combined data of the national statistical agency are used.
Cultural centres (houses of culture, community centres) occupy a decisive position, with folk culture constituting an important segment in their activities. The second biggest item is the safeguarding of historical monuments, overtaking subsidies to theatres.
Table 15: Direct state cultural expenditure by sector, 2019 and 2023, in millions HUF
|
Field / Domain / Sub-domain |
2019 |
2023 |
||
|
million HUF |
in % |
million HUF |
in % |
|
|
I. Cultural Heritage |
|
|
|
|
|
Historical Monuments |
70 650 |
12.4% |
98 489 |
13.3% |
|
Museums & Archives |
67 933 |
12.0% |
90 955 |
12.3% |
|
Libraries |
48 018 |
8.5% |
73 551 |
9.9% |
|
Intangible Heritage / Folk Culture |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
II. Visual Arts |
|
|
|
|
|
Fine Arts / Plastic Arts |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
Photography |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
Architecture |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
Design / Applied Arts |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
III. Performing Arts |
|
|
|
|
|
Music and Dance |
57 946 |
10.2% |
56 424 |
7.6% |
|
Theatre, Music Theatre |
80 737 |
14.2% |
82 127 |
11.1% |
|
Multidisciplinary |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
IV. Books and Press |
|
|
|
|
|
Books |
4 232 |
0.7% |
4 638 |
0.6% |
|
Press |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
V. Audiovisual and Multimedia |
|
|
|
|
|
Cinema |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
Radio & Television |
3 121 |
0.5% |
3 649 |
0.5% |
|
Multimedia |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
VI. Interdisciplinary |
|
|
|
|
|
Socio-culture |
121 027 |
21.3% |
194 666 |
26.3% |
|
Cultural Relations Abroad |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
Administration |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
Cultural Education |
.. |
|
.. |
|
|
VII. Not covered by domains I-VI |
|
|
|
|
|
Zoos & Natural Parks |
59 794 |
10.5% |
72 044 |
9.7% |
|
Other Entertainment & Culture |
54 084 |
9.5% |
64 966 |
8.8% |
|
TOTAL |
567 542 |
100% |
741 510 |
100.0% |
Last update: March, 2025
Direct payment to individuals is in the focus of cultural support (as compared to financing projects). This includes a large scale of fellowships, awards, and monthly allowances (to MMA members).
Last update: March, 2025
The National Cultural Fund is the main public source for financing projects. Some of the calls target individual artists who can apply for grants for creation.
The state-owned Hungarian Creative Arts Nonprofit Ltd. MANK administers over 300 studios with flats across the country, 8 recreation resorts and exhibition facilities etc.
The rights collecting agencies (Artisjus, Hungart etc.) act also as funds that hand out awards and other benefits to artists.
Last update: March, 2025
Awards and prizes:
Hungary has traditionally had a complex system of state awards and scholarships. The basic structure dates back to the communist regime; in addition to the existing list, each minister adds at least one new award. On the latest 15 March and 20 August national holidays 177 awards were handed over to people from the cultural sector in 25 categories. The list is topped by the Kossuth Grand Prize, in 2024 awarded to the composer Péter Eötvös. Besides the recipients of the Cross of Merit, the Excellent Artist and the Worthy Artist prizes, 57 artists were awarded with the 17 prizes that bear the name of a renowned Hungarian artist: e.g., the Liszt Prize is given to 8 musicians each year.
Monetary prizes and various lifetime advantages accompany these awards. The Kossuth Prize brings a financial bonus that is equivalent to half a months' average income (as stipulated by the law). The five artists that are awarded the title of Excellent Artist each year, and the ten Worthy Artists are rewarded with half and one third of the amount of the Kossuth Prize respectively. All these awards are tax free.
On a higher level, the top national distinctions are the Order of St. Stephen (originally founded by Maria Theresa in 1764) as well as the Corvin Chain. This latter is held by twelve persons at a time, about half of whom are usually from culture. This award was originally founded by Admiral Horthy in 1930, renewed by the first Orbán-government (1998-2002), and again in 2012.
Twelve people can enjoy the benefits of the title the Actor (or Actress, the Hungarian language does not use gender) of the Nation at one time. Upon this model, the amended Film Law introduced the title Film Artist of the Nation that is given upon the decision of the government to selected artists who had formerly received the Kossuth Prize. Only 15 artists over the age of 65 can have this title at a time. It is at the discretion of the government to decide which of those artists that used to receive an annual allowance as holders of the title called Master of Hungarian Moving Pictures established by the Motion Picture Public Foundation, will be entitled to the new award.
Holders of all the above recognitions can be promoted to the Artist of the Nation award, administered by MMA, the Hungarian Academy of Arts. At any one time 70 people can bear this title, in ten categories. Over their 65th birthday - in the case of dance and circus art the 50th – they receive life annuity, the amount of which is 23 times the current minimum amount of the old-age pension, currently HUF 655 500.
Grants and scholarships:
The system of three-year state grants has been developing and expanding since 1955. Scholarships are available for altogether 100 people in various art fields. Recipients of these grants get 200 thousand forint a month (cca €500).
From 2020, the Petőfi Literary Museum awards the Térey Grant to 30 writers of 35-65 years of age, for up to 5 years, for a monthly grant of around the average salary in the country.
These schemes have been crowned by the allowances that the members of MMA, and senior artists receive, as presented in chapter 4.1.
Artists and cultural operators can also apply for scholarships and grants abroad in the general schemes operated by the Hungarian Scholarship Board Office (Magyar Ösztöndíj Bizottság). Senior experts, artists and researchers may seek opportunities to study and work in various countries all over the world through the Hungarian National Eötvös Scholarship (Magyar Állami Eötvös Ösztöndíj) . There are also scholarships available to artists at the Collegium Hungaricum in Rome, a tradition that dates back to the 1930s.
Last update: March, 2025
A most unfortunate manifestation of the dividedness of the society is the doubling of professional associations in major cultural fields like theatre and literature along political lines.
In the 2025 budget, 23.4 billion forints (approximately 57 million euros) are earmarked to subsidise cultural organisations. In two other chapters and three other budget lines, 74.8 billion forints (approximately 182 million euros) are allocated to support non-profit, social and civil society organisations and public institutions. Their beneficiaries partly pursue cultural goals. Support for Hungarian minorities abroad is a key element. A considerable degree of political bias characterises the distribution of these funds, similar to the various awards discussed in the previous section.
Last update: March, 2025
Like everywhere in Europe, the most decisive element of private funding to culture is through citizens’ spending on cultural goods and events – see household expenditure at 6.3. Individual citizens’ donations and patronage are sporadic and irrelevant.
Citizens can express their choice through the 1% scheme, by channelling 1% of their income tax to selected nonprofit bodies – see 4.1.4.
Crowdfunding is another way of expressing the preferences of individual small sponsors but only generates insignificant sums.
Intermediate cases are private investments in culture, especially when they generate impressive values. An exemplary instance is BMC, the Budapest Music Centre, legally a limited company, financed from public and private sources. A regular exhibitor at the MIDEM in Cannes, BMC mainly focuses on contemporary music and jazz. The government contributed both to the construction and the operation of the institution. The new BMC building in the centre of Budapest has a concert hall, a smaller stage for jazz events combined with a restaurant, residence area, music archive and offices.
Another case is Orlai Productions, a private theatre enterprise with a respectable scale of performances. Art galleries, concert and festival managers, book publishers are almost all private businesses.
Conventional sponsorship is dominated by state companies with Szerencsejáték Rt (lottery and betting), MVM (electricity), and Hungarian Development Bank on top, run with little or no transparency and with tangible political bias.
Statistically difficult to detect, but most cultural projects display impressive lists with names of sponsors and donors, much of which is in nature and have not necessarily entered the budgets. The tax regulations contain certain incentive measures, but this exerts negligible effect.
A peculiar project is the Prima Primissima Award, initiated in 2003 by wealthy entrepreneurs and their companies. It includes ten categories: next to science, sport, or media there are art categories as well. Winners – mostly individuals but also organisations - are selected by juries and popular votes, and get important amounts, up to 20 million HUF.