Hungary is Europe’s biggest spender on recreation and sport

Hungarian spending on recreation and sport is the highest in the European Union, according to new figures from Eurostat.

Overall, the EU’s 28 member states spent 51.3 billion euros on recreation and sport and Hungary tops the list having invested 2.5 per cent of government spending. Hungary is followed by Estonia (1.4 per cent).

Despite having withdrawn its bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, Budapest was named as the European Capital of Sport in 2019 by the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation (ACES Europe). Hungary’s capital has also hosted several high-profile international tournaments, including the 2017 FINA World Championships and the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships.

Four emerging European countries spend less than the EU average of 0.7 per cent on recreation and sport: Lithuania, Bulgaria (0.6 per cent), Slovakia (0.4 per cent) and Croatia – which has the lowest expenditure in the EU, at just 0.2 per cent.