Following the enactment of its pro-family policies, Hungary continues to see a growth in birthrates according to Hungarian Family Minister Katalin Novák.
From January to July of 2020, Hungary has seen a five per cent increase in the number of births, 2,488 more than the same period last year for a total of 52,825 births and increasing the country’s birthrate to 1.53 children per woman from 1.44.
Broken down by month, June saw the largest increase at 8.9 per cent and the period of January to February came second with an increase of 8.8 per cent. None of the months this year saw a decrease in births compared to 2019, newspaper Magyar Hirlap reports.
According to the Hungarian Central Bureau of Statistics, fewer people have died in Hungary this year as well, despite the coronavirus outbreak that has swept across Europe. Between January and July, nearly four thousand fewer deaths were recorded than in 2019.
Hungary has been one of the European countries to see the fewest number of coronavirus dearths per capita in Europe with just 613 deaths in a population of 9.7 million. Sweden, which has a population of around 10.1 million, by contrast, has seen 5,813 deaths as of Tuesday the 25th of August.
Marriages have also seen an increase this year with 2,158 more marriages this year compared to 2019.
As part of the pro-family policy enacted by the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, married couples are eligible for a $33,000 cash sum in the form of a loan which is forgiven after the couple has three children.
Earlier this month, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács noted that more so-called “baby expecting loans” had been issued in the second half of last year than housing loans.
Prime Minister Orbán has been clear in the past that he views pro-family government policies as an alternative to solve demographic issues, rather than mass migration.
Speaking at the unveiling of a memorial last week, Orban laid out his views on the future of Europe and families when he said that leftists were “experimenting with a godless universe, with the rainbow reshaping of families, with migration and with open societies. Meanwhile, the peoples of Central Europe are in the process of restoring to their rightful place the time-honoured instincts for life, the liberating power of Christianity, the honour of work, national pride and duty towards our parents and children. We are defending our borders and we aim to leave our country to our own children and not to migrants.”