Those holding degrees from higher education institutions have a 20% longer life expectancy than those not, recent surveys revealed in an MTI report presented by gazdasagiradio.hu. People with higher education degrees also earn approximately double what those without the degrees make. This difference is the largest among the OECD countries in Hungary, as the gap in most Western European states is around 30%.

Unemployment among college graduates held steady at 3-4%, although the length of time spent searching for a job increased, Gábor Kerekes, Educatio Kht CEO (a part of the Ministry of Education) said. Despite this, the number of applicants to universities and colleges dropped over the past few years, with this year seeing only 97,000 applying in comparison to 167,000 in 2004.