Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast
Insight and inspiration on making the right choices for people and planet. We feature bold conversations with global leaders and innovators from government, businesses, community advocacy, foundations, and more who are charting a path for inclusive growth and sustainability. Hosted by Michael Green, CEO at Social Progress Imperative, we explore how the world must move beyond GDP metrics and economic growth to truly improve the social and environmental wellbeing of communities. ©Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast is an essential listening for decision-makers ready to do things differently.
Beyond GDP: The Social Progress Podcast
The Fall of Viktor Orbán? 15 Years of Data Reveals Hungary’s Reality
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As Hungary prepares for the high-stakes April 12, 2026, general election, the world is watching to see if Viktor Orbán’s 16-year tenure will finally come to an end. What does nearly fifteen years of “Orbánism” actually look like for Hungarians?
Using the Global Social Progress Index, we track Hungary’s trajectory in education, rights, health, housing and overall quality of life. While neighbors in Central and Eastern Europe have surged forward, Hungary’s progress has stalled. Michael Green, CEO at Social Progress Imperative, explores the erosion of civil liberties and Hungary’s decline in educational standards, to provide an audit of a populist legacy.
But what happens if the opposition wins? We outline a strategic roadmap for a potential successor, identifying “quick wins”.
Chapters:
- How Hungary dropped to 40th in the world for social progress.
- Analyzing the 15-point drop in personal rights and freedom.
- Why Hungary ranks 107th for NGO treatment.
- Can a new government fix education and healthcare?
- Election Integrity
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In a few days' time, the people of Hungary will vote in a general election. That, if the opinion polls are correct and the ballots are not rigged, will see the ouster of long-standing Prime Minister Victor Auburn. In this video, we're going to look at his legacy and what his success's priority should be to advance social progress in Hungary. If his rule comes to an end this time round, he'll have been Prime Minister of Hungary for 16 years. Now this almost perfectly aligns with the time series we have for the Social Progress Index, starting in 2011. So we can see in the date, what we see in the Social Progress Index data is squarely Mr. Auburn's responsibility. And his legacy? Not very good. Social progress in Hungary has only inched forward in the last 15 years, and the country has dropped six places to 40th in the world. Its EU neighbours are leaving it for dust, and Hungary is one of only a small minority of EU countries that still have lower social progress than the United States. As part of these problems, rights have plummeted in Hungary in the last 15 years by in fact 15 points. Education has got worse, and Hungary ranks 107th in the world for the treatment of NGOs and other civil society organisations. So if Viktor Orban loses the Hungarian general election and a new government is formed in Hungary, what should its priorities be? Well the first task for any new government in Hungary is to restore rights and due process of law. This can actually be done quite quickly, giving a rapid boost to social progress. That's what we saw in Brazil and Poland when populist parties were ejected from power. Other problems will take more time to fix. Education has deteriorated under Mr. Orban, but quality of schools and equal access to education are tough issues. There is a quick fix available in higher education, where lifting restrictions on academic freedom could give a quick boost to social progress, but school reform's going to take time. So too is the second problem of healthcare, where equal access to healthcare, quality of health care are issues for Hungary, and that's going to take time and effort to resolve. Even harder, I think, is going to be the issue of the unaffordable cost of housing. Hungary shares this problem with many other rich countries, and it's proven a tough problem, even for otherwise successful countries. So apart from restoring rights, don't expect quick wins from whoever the new Hungarian government is. There is an old joke that a Hungarian can follow you into a revolving door and come out first. So don't write off Mr. Orban yet. If he is returned to power, which current polling suggests would only be through some kind of skullduggery, there could be dark times ahead for Hungary. If there's a country you'd like us to talk about using social progress index data, do let me know. In the meantime, please do like and subscribe and hopefully see you again. Goodbye.