Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary has introduced a series of measures to encourage families and marriages while reducing immigration. Among these measures, women who have four or more children will be exempt from paying personal income tax for life. The government will also offer subsidies for larger families to purchase bigger cars and plans to open 21,000 new childcare places.
Hungary, like many European countries, faces a declining birth rate. Prime Minister Orban emphasized the need for more Hungarian children, stating, “There are fewer and fewer children born in Europe. For the West, the answer [to that challenge] is immigration. They want as many migrants to enter as there are missing kids, so that the numbers will add up. We Hungarians have a different way of thinking.”
Orban criticized countries with mixed populations, warning that Christian countries in Europe might soon see Christians as a minority. He stated, “The people of Europe have come to a historic crossroads.”
A few years ago, Hungary introduced a similar initiative to promote marriage and childbirth, which led to a significant increase in weddings. In 2019, the government offered couples marrying before the bride’s 41st birthday subsidized loans of up to 10 million forints ($33,000). A third of the loan is forgiven if the couple has two children, and the entire debt is wiped out if they have three.
