Published: 15/02/2021

The Visegrad Group was established on 15 February 1991. In 1991–2019, its GDP rose by 155 per cent. Between 1995 and 2019, the value of exports of goods went up more than 19 times, that of imports – 16 times, whereas fixed capital formation rose 3 times faster than in the EU-15.

At the same time, over the past 30 years, the V4 population has dropped by 1 per cent, whereas that of the EU has risen by 12 per cent. A major outflow of young and well-educated citizens from the V4 countries in the first years after joining the EU deteriorated the region’s population forecasts. Migration trends concurred with socio-cultural changes, which resulted in developments such as negative population growth rates.

The V4 countries’ economic transition favourable for the climate

A radical shift in the economic model in the V4 countries involved significant social costs, mostly caused by structural unemployment due to shut-downs in unprofitable industries. However, apart from such adverse social effects, the past 30 years have resulted in a considerable reduction (by 23 per cent) in greenhouse gas emissions. The key drivers included industry and energy modernisation and transition to the market economy and a greater role played by the service sector.