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Cyprus
Cyprus is the richest of the ten new Member States which joined the EU in 2004 according to GDP per capita. In 2007, Cyprus had a growth rate of almost 4.4% and an unemployment rate of 4.2%, making it the fourth richest state in Europe (after the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Ireland). Since 2013, the Cypriot economy has been facing a major crisis which has called for a 10 billion euros rescue package allocated by the EU and the IMF until 2016. Cyprus has boosted growth since 2015 with forecasts of +2.5% in 2017 and +2.3% in 2018 and is experiencing a significant drop in unemployment. The tourist sector has experienced strong growth since 2016, with more than 3.4 M tourists in 2017, a sector very much affected by the pandemic. The Cypriot economy is experiencing structural weaknesses with a structurally loss-making trade balance (-5,270.7 million euros, i.e. 34% of GDP), due to the modest industrial fabric. The financial sector is hypertrophied, i.e. 40% of GDP. Cyprus' public debt represented 64.8% of the country's GDP in 2004. In 2018, the public debt increased to 100.6% of GDP.


 * Growth

The GDP growth rate was 4.1% annual change in 2018 with a forecast of 4% in 2021. The central geographical location between Europe, Asia and Africa favors the transshipment industry, the offshore financing pole and the rich and unexploited offshore natural gas deposits. The workforce is qualified and English-speaking and Cyprus has orchestrated a relatively successful management of the pandemic which has greatly favored the economy of this state. However, many factors are tainting the Cypriot economy, including the geopolitical division of the territory and the tense atmosphere with neighbouring countries. Also, the small internal market which isolates Cyprus from the rest of Europe and creates a strong dependence on Russia and the United Kingdom as export markets and sources of financing. The high indebtedness of the State, banks, enterprises and households and the weak industrial diversification (such as tourism, construction, natural gas or finance) play a major role.


 * Standard of living

The Cypriot standard of living according to Human Development Index is quite high, Cyprus ranks 23rd in the European HDI ranking. Life expectancy for men is about 78.9 years and 83.4 years for women. The poverty rate is 16%, which is equivalent to that of the EU-25. The World Bank estimates the GINI coefficient at 30.1 in 2004, which is very close to the average coefficient for the EU that is 30. Since 2004, the coefficient has gradually increased until it reached 32.7 in 2018. The standard of living in Cyprus is generally good and close to the European average.

Hungary
Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and the Schengen Area in 2007. It was the first country to join the Council of Europe in 1990, to conclude an association agreement with the EU in 1991 and to apply for EU membership in 1994.


 * Public debt and growth

The country is a middle power, its economy having been tertiarised in recent years. More than 600,000 people out of a population of less than 10 million have left Hungary since the beginning of 2010. The country is facing a labour shortage. Hungary's gross public debt in 2019 stood at 66.3% of GDP, which falls short of the 60% of GDP reference value required by the treaty. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the country, which is again experiencing a decline in economic activity. Health restrictions and the closure of borders directly affected the tourism sector, which represents 8 to 10% of the GDP and part of the employees (i.e. 420,000) were gradually laid off. Hungary came out of recession at the beginning of 2013, but the recovery will be weak. The GDP growth rate was 5.1% annual change in 2018. Hungary recorded a contraction of 14.5% according to the Statistical Institutes of the Central and Eastern European countries, representing the worst economic performance since the transition to a market economy after 1989. For the year 2020 as a whole, Hungary forecasts a contraction of 3% of its GDP.

The entry of Hungary into the EU has been positive to the Hungarian economy and its trade. Trade between the EU and Hungary accounts for 82% of Hungary's exports and 75% of Hungarian imports come from EU member states.


 * Unemployment rate

In 2020, the employment rate of the 15-74 and was 59.5%, a number down by 1.3% compared to 2019. The economically active population of this same age group was 4,622,400, representing an activity rate of 62.4%. Within this labour force, 4,408,200 people were employed, while 214,200 people were unemployed. The Hungarian unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the European Union with sustained GDP growth following the exports and emigration of a large number of Hungarians to the United Kingdom and Germany caused by low wages. In 2017, the average unemployment rate in Hungary was 4.2% and 3.7% in 2018. In 2019, the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points over a year. About 75% of men have paid employment, compared with 60% of women and 3% of employees work very long hours.


 * Standard of living

Well-being indicators show that the standard of living in Hungary is relatively good, particularly with regard to the balance between the private and professional sphere (social ties, education, income, security, health). Firstly, 84% of the 25-64 year olds in Hungary have completed upper secondary education or equivalent, which is above the OECD average of 78%, 86% of men have obtained such a degree, compared to 82% of women. Life expectancy at birth in Hungary is 76 years, 80 years for women compared to 73 years for men. However, the average adjusted net household disposable income per capita is below the OECD average of USD 33,604. In general, the Hungarian population is less satisfied with the standard of living in Hungary compared to citizens in OECD countries. The World Bank estimates the GINI coefficient at 29.9 in 2004, which is very close to the average coefficient for the EU, which is 30 according to Eurostat. Since 2004, the coefficient has gradually decreased until it reached 27 in 2009 and 29.6 in 2018. The standard of living in Hungary is close to the European average.


 * Structural economic transformations

In contrast, previous decades had been marked by the increasing importance given to the rest of the country due to industrial decentralization and the steady development of agriculture. Recently, Hungary has been undergoing transformation processes at different regional scales, creating and increasing several internal disparities. The main elements of the transformation processes are the rapid tertiarisation of the economy in Budapest and the increase in east/west disparities visible in the evolution of several socio-economic indicators. Several factors explain the important intra-regional differences, including the lack of favorable local natural resources, especially for agriculture, the crisis in the industrial sector, especially heavy industry highly concentrated in small regions, the archaic infrastructure, the lack of supplies and communication networks between town and country, the border situation (except for the western border), the environmental degradation of some regions, the demographic crisis (aging, depopulation) in rural areas.