Market Research Companies in Hungary

Key figures for researchers

Population

9.49 million (9,488,428 on 1 January 2026)¹

Capital region

Budapest 1.68 million, Pest county around it 1.34 million (1 January 2026)¹

Births and deaths

7.6 live births and 13.1 deaths per 1,000 people (2025)²

Aged 65 and over

21% of the population (beginning of 2025); nearly 2 million people on 1 January 2026³

Ageing index

147.8 people aged 65+ per 100 children; 172.9 in Budapest (2026)⁴

Life expectancy at birth

77.10 years (2025)⁵

Foreign language skills

more than half of adults aged 25–64 know no foreign language (2022)⁶

Households with internet

94.8% of households (2024)⁷

Internet users

93.8% of individuals (2024)⁸

Mobile subscriptions

105 per 100 people (2024)⁹

Research guide

Research landscape

Hungary has a developed research industry serving local clients and international studies covering Central and Eastern Europe. Full-service agencies work alongside specialist qualitative, B2B and healthcare firms, CATI studios, field networks and online panel providers. Budapest, the capital, is the main business centre, and Debrecen, Szeged, Pécs and Győr are common locations for regional city samples and focus groups.

The capital region weighs heavily in national samples: on 1 January 2026, Budapest had 1,675,777 residents and the surrounding Pest county 1,338,870, out of 9,488,428 in total. A common quality reference is the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, revised in 2025 (fifth edition) and endorsed by over 60 associations in more than 50 countries.

Languages and fieldwork

Hungarian is the fieldwork language for almost all studies: questionnaires should be translated by native speakers and tested before fieldwork. Foreign language skills are limited: in the 2022 Adult Education Survey, more than half of adults aged 25 to 64 in Hungary said they did not know any foreign language, and fewer than 60% of employed adults knew one. Interviews in English are only realistic for some B2B and professional targets.

The population is shrinking and ageing: in 2025 there were 7.6 live births and 13.1 deaths per 1,000 people, 21% of the population was aged 65 and over at the beginning of 2025, and the ageing index reached 147.8 people aged 65+ per 100 children in 2026 (172.9 in Budapest). National samples need quotas or weighting by age, region and settlement type so that older people are well covered.

Which methods work

Connectivity is high: 94.8% of households had internet access in 2024, 93.8% of individuals used the internet in 2024 and there are 105 mobile subscriptions per 100 people. Online surveys using access panels are widely used for consumer research, and mobile-friendly questionnaires are essential.

With nearly 2 million people aged 65 and over, telephone (CATI) and face-to-face interviews (CAPI/PAPI) remain used for older or offline audiences, smaller towns and villages, B2B decision makers and public sector studies. Focus groups are usually held in dedicated studios in Budapest, and sometimes in the larger regional cities.

Timing

Hungary’s three national holidays are 15 March (1848 Revolution), 20 August (St Stephen’s Day) and 23 October (1956 Revolution); in 2027 they fall on a Monday, a Friday and a Saturday. Other public holidays include Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, Whit Monday, All Saints’ Day (1 November) and 25–26 December. The government sometimes moves working days to create long weekends, so check the official calendar for the year of your fieldwork.

In the 2026/2027 school year, schools close for an autumn break (23 October to 1 November 2026), a winter break (19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027) and a spring break (25 March to 4 April 2027). The last teaching day is 18 June 2027: summer holidays follow, when families and business respondents are harder to reach, so allow more fieldwork time.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the GDPR and Hungary’s Act CXII of 2011 on Informational Self-Determination and Freedom of Information (2011. évi CXII. törvény, the “Info Act”), which was updated to apply alongside the GDPR from 26 April 2019. Among other things, a child must be at least 16 years old to consent to information society services, and health data is also covered by a specific act (Act XLVII of 1997).

The supervisory authority is the Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH), based in Budapest, which also reports to Parliament every year. Ask your agency which lawful basis it uses, how respondents are informed, where the data is hosted and how recordings or video will be shared with you.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, regions and settlement types, method, languages and deadline.
• Ask whether the agency follows the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, and which panels or fieldwork suppliers will be used.
• Ask how older people and respondents outside Budapest will be reached, and how quotas and weighting are set.
• Check fieldwork dates against 15 March, 20 August, 23 October, the school breaks and the summer.
• Agree in writing who is controller and who is processor of the personal data, and the retention period.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.