Index.hu notes that per capita “Community Economic Strength” (Települési Gazdasági Erő) in the specially designated Lake Balaton Resort Area (BKÜ) is gradually declining compared to the national average, signifying a steady weakening of the Balaton Region’s economic position.

In 2013, the economic strength of the region already reached barely 80% of the per capita national average. The index.hu report recalled that this emerged from a survey conducted by the Lake Balaton Development Council pertaining to the period 1994–2013, drawn up within the framework of a long-term Balaton development concept. 

The Development Council’s survey revealed huge differences between areas along the lakeshore and those further away. Although the economic strength index of areas away from the shore remained considerably lower than that of lakeside areas, a steep observed decline in the latter saw the two categories increasingly converge, so that even the average development level along the shores of Lake Balaton had fallen below the national average by 2013.