Hungary

Hungary was an early leader in the post-communist block of countries intent on reform during the late 1980s and 1990s. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, all eyes were on the newest European democracies, and a dizzying sense of possibility was in the air across Central & Eastern Europe. Having been a member of the IMF and the World Bank for 10 years prior to the collapse of Communism, Hungary was vaunted as the natural tour de force in the region, but early promises of economic ‘stardom’ have so far failed to be fulfilled.

Despite the set-backs, Hungary has attracted more than 1 billion USD in FDI from General Electric corporation alone, and the US remains the leading investor in the country. Hungary has also led the way in shifting its focus away from low-cost manufacturing sector to a more knowledge-based economy, attracting investment in a variety of industries from biotech to IT.