Be Fruitful and Multiply! Says Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban (Photo: Flickr European People’s Party – CC by 2.0)

Viktor Orban proposes that mothers of four or more children be exempt from income taxes for life.

In his annual State of the Nation address this past Sunday, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbanannounced his proposed “Family Protection Action Plan,” a package of policies aimed at encouraging couples to marry and have children. Lots of children.

A key element of Orban’s plan would exempt women with four or more children from the income tax. His plan also offers women under 40 who are getting married for the first time special low-interest government loans of up to 10 million Hungarian Forints ($35,230 USD).

“Hungarian fertility rates have been below replacement for decades,” says Population Research Institute President Steven Mosher, “And its population has been shrinking since the 1980s.  The Orban government hopes to turn this around, and quickly, by rewarding those who are generous in having children. After all, such couples are providing for Hungary’s future in the most fundamental way: by providing the next generation of Hungarians.”

To counter the country’s rapid population decline, the new policy will offer couples with children a number of other benefits.  To help couples find family housing, families with two or more children would qualify to receive a 1 million Forint ($3.5 million USD) subsidy from the government to help pay off their mortgage, according to the Hungary Journal. Such subsidies were first offered to families with three or more children last year. Now this benefit would be extended to families with only two children as well.

The Family Action Protection Plan would also expand an existing government home loan program available to couples with two or more children buy a home. The current program that only allows couples to buy a new home will be expanded to allow couples to buy an older home as well.

Other benefits include help with transportation and childcare.  Couples raising three or more children will be eligible for a $9,000 grant that can be used to purchase a family car, defined as a vehicle that seats 7 or more people.  On the childcare front, Orban vowed to create 21,000 daycare centers across the country over the next three years, as well as promising childcare payments directly to grandparents who were caring for grandchildren.

Hungary’s fertility rate has been below replacement level for a half century or more. According to the U.N. Population Division, fertility in Hungary dropped below the level needed to sustain the current population in the early 1960s, a time when Hungary had the lowest birth rate in the world.[1]

Hungary’s fertility rate briefly rose to slightly above replacement in the late 1970s, but plummeted afterwards. By the beginning of the present century, it had fallen to around 1.3 children per woman of childbearing age.[2]  This is among the lowest levels ever recorded for any country.

While Hungary’s fertility rate has risen slightly in recent years, it remains far below replacement. According to EuroStat, Hungary’s total fertility rate was 1.53 in 2016,[3] which is still far below the 2.08 children per woman necessary, according to UNDESA, to reach replacement rate fertility.[4]

Reflecting Hungary’s low fertility rate, the country’s population began to contract around 2007. Since 2007, according to Eurostat, Hungary has lost nearly 290,000 people, even though the country had a small net gain of migrants over that same time period.[5] In 2017 alone, Hungary’s population contracted by 19,000 people.[6]

The number of births in Hungary is on the decline as well, although somewhat unevenly. While the number of births increased in 2012, 2014, and 2016, the intervening years saw declines.[7] The high water mark for births was 2006, when there were nearly 100,000 babies born. No year since has surpassed that number.[8]  In 2017, there were 95,361 live births, according to Eurostat, 3,000 fewer than in 2016.[9]

Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban has long advocated for policies to boost the country’s fertility as a means to stem population decline and to protect Hungary’s cultural heritage.

While some low-fertility countries in the West have sought to mitigate the effects of population decline with increased immigration, Orban and his Fidesz Party have rejected this as a solution to the nation’s population crisis. He maintains that his goal is to “ensure the survival of the Hungarian nation” and to preserve the small Central European nation’s Christian culture.

“The target countries for migrants are witnessing the emergence of a Christian-Muslim world with a shrinking rate of Christians,” Prime Minister Orban said, “But we, central Europeans, still have a future of our own.”

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Hungarian Government plans to pay for the action plan’s subsidies and loans from the government’s reserve funds and surplus revenues.

According to the E.U. Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), unemployment in Hungary has fallen by more than half over the past decade.[10] While the unemployment rate in 2009 stood at 10%, it was only 4.2% by 2017, almost as low as the U.S. number of 4%.[11]

[1] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, DVD Edition.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Eurostat, Total fertility rate (tps00199), (last updated: 2018 Oct 24), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tps00199&plugin=1.

[4] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, DVD Edition.

[5] Eurostat, Population on 1 January (tps00001), (last updated: 2018 Nov 26), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tps00001&plugin=1.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Eurostat, Live births and crude birth rate (tps00204), (last updated: 2018 Nov 26), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tps00204&plugin=1.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Id.

[10] Eurostat, Total unemployment rate (tps00203),  (last updated: 2019 Feb 1), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00203.

[11] Ibid.

Read the source:  https://www.pop.org/be-fruitful-and-multiply-says-hungarian-prime-minister/

Here-under are some articles about family and marriage for you to read or watch: 

  1. Getting to know you, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=284
  2. Be Positive, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=288
  3. Love and Marriage, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=292
  4. Endless Love – Marriage after all, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=294
  5. Say it with love, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=298
  6. Quality family moments, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=300
  7. Secret of successful marriage, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=302
  8. The vocation of marriage, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=1968
  9. Marriage as Covenant, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=1974
  10. Humility: Foundation for Marital Happiness, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=1986
  11. Gratitude: Foundation for marriage, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=1980
  12. True Meaning of marriage, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=1972
  13. Marriage and incompatibility, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=2112
  14. Love is a garden, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=2116
  15. Three kinds of love, please click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/?p=2095

The Silent Marriage Killer That’s More Deadly Than Sex & Money http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/10/22/the-silent-marriage-killer-thats-more-deadly-than-sex-money/

CATHOLIC HEROES: ST. DOROTHY OF MONTAU – A martyr for the indissolubility of marriage http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2019/01/03/catholic-heroes-st-dorothy-of-montau-a-martyr-for-the-indissolubility-of-marriage/

What #MeToo and hooking up teach us about the meaning of sex? Making war, not love http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/07/27/what-metoo-and-hooking-up-teach-us-about-the-meaning-of-sex-making-war-not-love/

Why the world needs natural family planning more than ever? It may be the last line of defence for wholesome sex http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/07/27/why-the-world-needs-natural-family-planning-more-than-ever-it-may-be-the-last-line-of-defence-for-wholesome-sex/

Is the Holy Family a Realistic Model for Ordinary Families?  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/06/24/is-the-holy-family-a-realistic-model-for-ordinary-families/

Pope Francis says gay couples cannot be considered ‘families’ http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/06/18/pope-francis-says-gay-couples-cannot-be-considered-families/

Pope Francis’ ‘Amoris Laetitia’ vs. Pope St. John Paul II’s ‘Veritatis Splendor’: You Say You Want a Revolution? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/04/08/pope-francis-amoris-laetitia-vs-pope-st-john-paul-iis-veritatis-splendor-you-say-you-want-a-revolution/

Renewing or Imperiling our Understanding of the Sacrament of Marriage?  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/06/10/renewing-or-imperiling-our-understanding-of-the-sacrament-of-marriage/

No ring, no baby: How marriage trends impact fertility? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/03/26/no-ring-no-baby-how-marriage-trends-impact-fertility/

On Coming to the Sacrament of Marriage: A Personal Pilgrimage  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/06/10/on-coming-to-the-sacrament-of-marriage-a-personal-pilgrimage/

On the Truth that Heals the Crisis of Marriage  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/06/24/on-the-truth-that-heals-the-crisis-of-marriage/

Escaping from Motherhood: How it Destroys Society? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/05/15/escaping-from-motherhood-how-it-destroys-society/

Archbishop Bernardito Auza Stresses Benefits of Good Parenting at the United Nations in New York  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/06/03/archbishop-bernardito-auza-stresses-benefits-of-good-parenting-at-the-united-nations-in-new-york/

Lucifer’s Game: The first step is to identify the enemy http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/04/17/lucifers-game-the-first-step-is-to-identify-the-enemy/

Briefly Revisiting Pre-1983 Canonical Practice for a Better Response to Marriage Issues http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/03/16/briefly-revisiting-pre-1983-canonical-practice-for-a-better-response-to-marriage-issues/

Archbishop Charles Chaput: Blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples is not permitted http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/02/08/archbishop-charles-chaput-blessing-ceremonies-for-same-sex-couples-is-not-permitted/

5 Reasons Why I Ask for My Husband’s Permission http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/02/05/5-reasons-why-i-ask-for-my-husbands-permission/

POPE FRANCIS: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS A DIABOLICAL ATTACK ON THE FAMILY http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/02/20/pope-francis-same-sex-marriage-is-a-diabolical-attack-on-the-family/

Cardinal Tagle tells parents: Put kids first  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/03/02/cardinal-tagle-tells-parents-put-kids-first/

Have the courage to marry, start a family, Pope Francis tells youths in Assisi http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/05/30/have-the-courage-to-marry-start-a-family-pope-francis-tells-youths-in-assisi/

Pope Francis says marriage can only be between a man and a woman and ‘we cannot change it’  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/09/07/pope-francis-says-marriage-can-only-be-between-a-man-and-a-woman-and-we-cannot-change-it/

THE DOWNLOAD: CLARIFYING MARRIAGE – A canon lawyer joins the panel  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/05/15/the-download-clarifying-marriage-a-canon-lawyer-joins-the-panel/

The Beauty of Marriage from a Biblical Perspective  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/02/12/the-beauty-of-marriage-from-a-biblical-perspective/

Saint Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body in Video Presentation Saint Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body in Video Presentation

Sophia Sketchpad on Marriage Sophia Sketchpad – Marriage

Sacraments 101: Matrimony (Why make it Catholic)? Sacraments 101: Matrimony (Why make it Catholic?)

Want to change the world? It starts with joy – Archbishop Charles Chaput says http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/07/28/want-to-change-the-world-it-starts-with-joy-archbishop-charles-chaput-says/

How to Fix the “Annulment of Marriage Mentality”?  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/07/14/how-to-fix-the-annulment-of-marriage-mentality/

A love that is life long: The marriage God wants for you A love that is life long: The marriage God wants for you

What’s destroying some Catholic marriages? What’s destroying some Catholic marriages?

‘Love Is Love’—or is it? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/10/06/love-is-love-or-is-it/

The worm that is killing married love http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/10/06/the-worm-that-is-killing-married-love/

‘An act of pure evil’: Are rifles or relationships at the bottom of the madness in Las Vegas?   http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/10/06/an-act-of-pure-evil-are-rifles-or-relationships-at-the-bottom-of-the-madness-in-las-vegas/

The Centrality of Love to the Teaching of Humanae Vitae  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/07/21/the-centrality-of-love-to-the-teaching-of-humanae-vitae/

Historian lays out how we’ve arrived at today’s unprecedented attacks on the family http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/05/20/historian-lays-out-how-weve-arrived-at-todays-unprecedented-attacks-on-the-family/

Divorce’s many victims Divorce’s many victims

FATHERLESSNESS BREEDING SCHOOL GUN VIOLENCE http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/03/16/fatherlessness-breeding-school-gun-violence/

What Catholics need to know about marriage and sex, Part 2 What Catholics need to know about marriage and sex, Part 2

Why happily married women need to talk about sex?  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/04/08/why-happily-married-women-need-to-talk-about-sex/

Deficiencies of the Family Code of the Philippines (II): Void and Voidable Marriages? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/12/03/deficiencies-of-the-family-code-of-the-philippines-ii-void-and-voidable-marriages/

Can a Catholic sign a pre-nuptial agreement? Can a Catholic sign a pre-nuptial agreement?

We want Church truth on marriage, young Catholics say We want Church truth on marriage, young Catholics say

Wives, Be Subordinate to Your Husbands? – John Paul II on Ephesians 5:21-33 http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/02/12/wives-be-subordinate-to-your-husbands-john-paul-ii-on-ephesians-521-33/

An Open Letter to the Adulterers outed by the Ashley Madison Hackers An Open Letter to the Adulterers Outed by the Ashley Madison Hackers

Pro-life, Married & Contracepting: Is there a a problem? Pro-life, Married & Contracepting: Is there a problem?

Pope Francis’ General Audience: The Family is an irreplaceable source of stability for children Pope Francis’ General Audience: The Family is an irreplaceable source of stability for children

The 4 most important parts of marriage The 4 most important parts of marriage

Pre-Cana with St. John Chrysostom: 7 Tips to a successful marriage Pre-Cana with St. John Chrysostom: 7 Tips to a successful marriage

Reflections on the Indissolubility of Marriage and the Trinity http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/02/12/reflections-on-the-indissolubility-of-marriage-and-the-trinity/

Why Is Marriage Indissoluble? “The first natural tie of human society is man and wife.” St. Augustine http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/04/14/why-is-marriage-indissoluble-the-first-natural-tie-of-human-society-is-man-and-wife-st-augustine/

Sins Against the sacrament of marriage 44 Sins against the sacrament of marriage

Live-in: Research facts and analysis on cohabitation Live-in: Research facts and analysis on cohabitation

Bishop Olmsted Calls Men Into the Breach http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/02/05/bishop-olmsted-calls-men-into-the-breach/

Pope Francis: When families teach forgiveness, they strengthen society Pope Francis: When families teach forgiveness, they strengthen society

THIS EUROPEAN NATION JUST FOUGHT THE GAY AGENDA AND WON – Pope Francis lent a hand http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2015/12/23/this-european-nation-just-fought-the-gay-agenda-and-won-pope-francis-lent-a-hand/

Never Date a Feminist: 12 Warning Signs for Young Men http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/04/07/never-date-a-feminist-12-warning-signs-for-young-men/

Keeping sex for marriage helps marriages last the distance http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/06/15/keeping-sex-for-marriage-helps-marriages-last-the-distance/

Pope Francis: Most Catholic marriages are null, some ‘cohabitations’ are ‘real marriage’ http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/06/19/pope-francis-most-catholic-marriages-are-null-some-cohabitations-are-real-marriage/

Why Christ Will Never Let His Bride Redefine Marriage? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/08/19/why-christ-will-never-let-his-bride-redefine-marriage/

Gay ‘marriage’: It’s not gay, and it’s not marriage – G.K. Chesterton  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/09/14/gay-marriage-its-not-gay-and-its-not-marriage-g-k-chesterton/

Church’s Teaching on Marriage Comes From Author of Creation, Say Bishops  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/09/16/churchs-teaching-on-marriage-comes-from-author-of-creation-say-bishops/

The family in the era of soulmate marriage http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/09/29/the-family-in-the-era-of-soulmate-marriage/

Why millenials don’t want kids… Are their reasons good enough? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/09/29/why-millenials-dont-want-kids-are-their-reasons-good-enough/

Real insights about porn and marriage  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/10/28/real-insights-about-porn-and-marriage/

10 Issues You Should Discuss Before You Get Married (otherwise your marriage could be invalid!) http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/11/12/10-issues-you-should-discuss-before-you-get-married-otherwise-your-marriage-could-be-invalid/

Engaged Couple’s Spiritual Checklist http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/11/13/engaged-couples-spiritual-checklist/

Should You Get Married in the Church? 7 Couples Share Their Experience  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/11/13/should-you-get-married-in-the-church-7-couples-share-their-experience/

Must Catholics Marry in a Church? Must Catholics Have Their Wedding in a Church? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/11/13/must-catholics-marry-in-a-church-must-catholics-have-their-wedding-in-a-church/

Last Video Released in Series on Marriage http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/12/21/last-video-released-in-series-on-marriage/

For Catholics A Woman’s Place is in the Home http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/01/20/for-catholics-a-womans-place-is-in-the-home/

Real Women- The Catholic View Marriage and Family http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/01/20/real-women-the-catholic-view-marriage-and-family/

Real Women- Feminine Virtue and the Moral Life  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/01/20/real-women-feminine-virtue-and-the-moral-life/

The Human Person Is a Bioethical Word http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/01/20/the-human-person-is-a-bioethical-word/

Millennials stall the gender revolution in the home  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/04/08/millennials-stall-the-gender-revolution-in-the-home/

‘Don’t Judge’ — How to Respond When Your Relativistic Friend Quotes Jesus  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/04/22/dont-judge-how-to-respond-when-your-relativistic-friend-quotes-jesus/

Don’t divorce: Powerful arguments for saving and revitalizing your marriage http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/04/22/dont-divorce-powerful-arguments-for-saving-and-revitalizing-your-marriage/

Procreation: Still the Primary End of Marriage  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/04/25/procreation-still-the-primary-end-of-marriage/

Archbishop Charles Chaput: ‘The future belongs to people with children, not with things’ http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/08/02/archbishop-charles-chaput-the-future-belongs-to-people-with-children-not-with-things/

The Church teaches contracepted sex leads to hell. So, why is a priest promoting it in Rome? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/01/12/the-church-teaches-contracepted-sex-leads-to-hell-so-why-is-a-priest-promoting-it-in-rome/

Birth Control and NFP: What’s the Difference?  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/07/14/birth-control-and-nfp-whats-the-difference/

Divorce, Remarriage, and “Discerning the Body” http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/05/17/divorce-remarriage-and-discerning-the-body/

Annulments of Marriage: A Concession to Human Weakness  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/07/05/annulments-of-marriage-a-concession-to-human-weakness/

PSYCHOLOGIST VICKI THORN: FREE LOVE HAS CREATED CHAOS  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/07/27/psychologist-vicki-thorn-free-love-has-created-chaos/

Bishop Thomas Paprocki under fire for denying funerals for people in same-sex ‘marriages’ refuses to back down http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/07/30/bishop-thomas-paprocki-under-fire-for-denying-funerals-for-people-in-same-sex-marriages-refuses-to-back-down/

But What About Abusive Marriages?  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/08/04/but-what-about-abusive-marriages/

Sex, Sanity, and Beliefs that ‘Live Loudly’ Within Us – Archbishop Charles Chaput http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/09/13/sex-sanity-and-beliefs-that-live-loudly-within-us-archbishop-charles-chaput/

What Makes a Marriage Valid?  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/08/09/what-makes-a-marriage-valid/

What’s changed in Britain since same-sex marriage? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/09/13/whats-changed-in-britain-since-same-sex-marriage/

Subversion, liberty, and ‘marriage equality’  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/09/14/subversion-liberty-and-marriage-equality/

AUSTRALIAN BISHOP VINCENT LONG WON’T FIGHT GAY MARRIAGE VOTE  http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/09/14/australian-bishop-vincent-long-wont-fight-gay-marriage-vote/

Alternative truths: A wife’s view of a gay coming out http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/09/15/alternative-truths-a-wifes-view-of-a-gay-coming-out/

Is There Marriage In Heaven? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/11/02/is-there-marriage-in-heaven/

Be a Man – Get Married http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/11/15/be-a-man-get-married/

There is No More Important Job Than Being a Good Mother http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/11/19/there-is-no-more-important-job-than-being-a-good-mother/

Our Current Youth Culture and its Upcoming Impact on Successful Marriages http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/11/27/our-current-youth-culture-and-its-upcoming-impact-on-successful-marriages/

The Church Needs Honesty About Sexuality http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/01/21/the-church-needs-honesty-about-sexuality/

Being Open to Life—Abstract Norm, or Embodied Word? http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/01/23/being-open-to-life-abstract-norm-or-embodied-word/

Portland Archbishop Alexander Sample celebrates marriage Mass after call for new family initiatives http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/02/05/portland-archbishop-alexander-sample-celebrates-marriage-mass-after-call-for-new-family-initiatives/

Children of Divorce Aren’t “Resilient”; They Just Suffer in Secret http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/03/16/children-of-divorce-arent-resilient-they-just-suffer-in-secret/

“God himself is the author of marriage” (GS 48:1). The vocation of marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes (CCC:1603)