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Hungary

4. Social Inclusion

4.3 Strategy for the social inclusion of young people

Last update: 6 April 2025
On this page
  1. Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion
  2. Scope and contents
  3. Responsible authority
  4. Revisions/Updates
On this page
  1. Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion
  2. Scope and contents
  3. Responsible authority
  4. Revisions/ Updates

Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

There is no Hungarian strategy directly for the social integration of young people, however, several official documents are related to the inclusion of youth.

The two main strategies are:

In addition to these two documents, there are important laws and decrees, as well as other strategy documents, are linked to the topic of inclusion for youth:

Finally, the Catching-up Settlements programme (Felzárkózó települések program) is also relevant when it comes to the social inclusion of youngsters.

Scope and contents

National Youth Strategy

The National Youth Strategy (NYS) is discussed in more detail in Chapter 1 (1.3. National Youth Strategy). Areas of NYS that connect to social integration were related to the main principles of solidarity and responsibility. The goals of NYS were horizontal; its primary aim was the provision of equal opportunities through the prevention of social exclusion and marginalisation of youth. The strategy expired in 2024 and there is no new youth strategy planned.

National Social Inclusion Strategy

In 2021, the Hungarian Government adopted the National Social Inclusion Strategy 2030 (Magyar Nemzeti Társadalmi Felzárkózási Stratégia 2030, NSIS 2030) that builds on the experience of previous years. The main priorities and intervention directions of the previous strategy (in force between 2014 and 2020) are thus continued by the new strategy.

The NSIS 2030 includes seven main areas of intervention in Hungary:

  • birth and childhood,
  • education (from kindergarten to university),
  • youth affairs,
  • employment,
  • territorial inequalities, settlement development,
  • physical and mental health, health care, and
  • Roma identity, enforcement of rights.

The three main horizontal aims of the NSIS 2030:

  • equal access to public services,
  • development of the situation of Roma women, and
  • digitalisation.
Sure Start Children Centres

The most important step of the previous strategy against child poverty has been the establishment of Sure Start Children Centres (Biztos Kezdet Gyerekház), the aims of which are the development of parenting competencies and to implement complex improvement measures for disadvantaged children in their early childhood. One of the main aims of the programme is to help overcome socio-cultural disadvantages and promote social inclusion.

According to ministry information, the programme has been running since 2009, initially with funding from the European Union. Since 2012, the government has supported the programme from the central budget. Since 2013, it has been part of the child protection system, which is a state guarantee for the programme. At the beginning of 2022, 107 children's homes were in operation. From 2023, 177 children's homes are funded nationwide. Under the programme, underprivileged children under the age of 3 who are not cared for in an institution and their families receive services. Participants receive professional help for their movement, language and mental development.

Also, the government is continuously increasing the number of nursery and kindergarten places to reduce the access inequality to childcare services.

Action Plan for the Implementation of the NSIS 2030

The Strategy's lines of intervention set out the main tasks, while the three-year action plans describe the programmes and interventions through which the government will contribute to poverty reduction. Therefore, the government adopted the Action Plan 2021-2024 for the Implementation of the NSIS 2030 and set the tasks of the relevant actors. The responsible minister has to prepare regular reports on the results of the implementation of the strategy, the first time in May 2023, then every two years.

Act CXXV of 2003 on equal treatment

The Act CXXV of 2003 on equal treatment and the promotion of equal opportunities defines the specific groups that are at risk of suffering from discrimination and also determines the possible sanctions for the different forms of discrimination. The NSIS 2030 emphasizes four main specific groups from the Act that have higher priority in the Strategy:

  • nationality,
  • social origin,
  • financial background,
  • settlement.
Parliament Decree 47/2007 on 'Be Better for Children!' National Strategy 2007-2032

Parliament Decree 47/2007 on 'Be Better for Children!' National Strategy 2007-2032 ('Legyen jobb a gyermekeknek!' Nemzeti Stratégia, 2007-2032) includes a 25-year plan for the improvement of the situation of children. The creation of opportunities for children is an important priority of the document. These aims primarily mean

  • reduction of poverty,
  • social integration and
  • elimination or reduction of reproductive poverty.

According to ministry information, part of the strategy was the establishment of a technical committee made up of experts delegated by the government, professional and civic organisations and experts. The task of the committee is to monitor the implementation of the strategy, develop it further and analyse the data. The committee has 33 members and meets twice a year.

National Crime Prevention Strategy

The main objectives of the previous National Crime Prevention Strategy are to prevent juvenile delinquency, improve public safety, prevent victimisation, support victims and prevent recidivism. Youth is not considered as a specific target group. From the beginning of 2024, a new strategy (Nemzeti Bűnmegelőzési Stratégia 2024-2034) was formulated taking into account current social processes and the results of a series of research.

The priority areas for action in the strategy are:

  • environmental development: environmental safety, public safety;
  • education: prevention, child and youth protection, complex family protection, offender prevention, training of professionals;
  • horizontal measures: crime prevention councils, crime prevention projects.

Every 2 years, action plans help to achieve the strategic objectives.

The Public Education Strategy 2021 - 2030

The main objectives of the strategy include the development and support of underperforming and disadvantaged students in formal education, thus prevent them from early school-leaving. [For more information on the strategy, see 6.3 Preventing early leaving from education and training (ELET)]

National Action Plan 2030 on the Child Guarantee

The National Action Plan 2030 on the Child Guarantee (A gyermekek jogainak garanciáit biztosító nemzeti cselekvési terv 2030) aims at improving the well-being of children and reducing poverty through the development of the existing strategies, programmes, initiatives and planning new ones.

The target group of the Action Plan are children at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE) including:

  • children who have become homeless,
  • children with disabilities,
  • children with mental health problems,
  • children receiving alternative care and
  • children from third countries in vulnerable situations.

The responsible ministry for the implementation is the Ministry of Interior (Belügyminisztérium), and they cooperate closely with the 

The first monitoring of the Action Plan take place in 2025 at the latest, and then, every two years.

Catching-up Settlements programme

In 2019, the Hungarian government launched a long-term programme, the Catching-up Settlements programme (Felzárkózó települések program), for the social inclusion of disadvantaged settlements and people living there. The aim of this comprehensive programme is to reach the 300 most disadvantaged settlements, with a focus on children and youth. Another objective is to improve the living conditions of the people living in these settlements and to develop their social and infrastructural facilities in a complex way.

Charities and NGOs are also involved in the implementation of the programme. The main coordinator is the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta. The number of settlements that were included in the programme was 238 in 2024.

A variety of measures is used depending on local conditions:

  • social assistance,
  • early childhood development and health care services,
  • education and training activities,
  • work socialisation and skills development,
  • housing interventions/measures,
  • crime prevention, reduction of drug use, victim assistance, and
  • necessary infrastructural investments.

From 2023, the programme basically relies on European Union funds.

Responsible authority

The State Secretariat for Social Opportunities and Roma Relations of the Ministry of Interior (Belügyminisztérium) and its Deputy State Secretariat for Social Opportunities is the responsible authority for implementing the NSIS 2030 and also the 'Be Better for Children!' National Strategy 2007-2032 ('Legyen jobb a gyermekeknek!' Nemzeti Stratégia, 2007-2032). (For more information, see 4.2 Administration and Governance.) 

The first monitoring report of the NSIS 2030 strategy was prepared in 2023. The indicators of the strategy showed development in the following objectives in 2021 compared to the previous years:

  • the number of children in Sure Start Children Centres increased,
  • rate of people living in financial and social deprivation decreased,
  • rate of early school leavers among Roma decreased,
  • employment rate of Roma aged 15-64 increased.

Revisions/Updates

The NSIS 2030 has not undergone major revisions/updates since it was adopted.