(You can read much more on our Hungary Info Page!)
Location: Central Europe, east of Austria, northwest of Romania
Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 93,030 sq km
land: 92,340 sq km
water: 690 sq km
Land boundaries:
total: 2,009 km
border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km,
Serbia and Montenegro 151 km (all with Serbia), Slovakia 515 km,
Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the
Slovakian border
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Tisza River 78 m
highest point: Kekes 1,014 m
Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils
Land use:
arable land: 51%
permanent crops : 2%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 15% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 2,060 sq km (1993 est.)
Environment - current issues: an early-1996 government study
identified 179 areas that suffer from air pollution, 54 areas with
polluted soil, and 32 areas with polluted underground water; the study
estimated clean-up costs at $350 million, but the 1996 government
budget allocated only about $7 million for this purpose
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: landlocked; strategic location astride main land
routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between
Ukraine and Mediterranean basin
Population: 10,232,404 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 924,864; female 881,728)
15-64 years: 68% (male 3,419,485; female 3,541,823)
65 years and over: 14% (male 549,091; female 915,413) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.25% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 10.73 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 13.67 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.48 years
male : 66.06 years
female: 75.13 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality:
noun : Hungarian(s)
adjective: Hungarian
Ethnic groups: Hungarian 89.9%, Gypsy 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak
0.8%, Romanian 0.7%
Religions: Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, atheist
and other 7.5%
Languages: Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female : 98% (1980 est.)
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Hungary
conventional short form: Hungary
local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag
local short form: Magyarorszag
Data code: HU
Government type: republic
National capital: Budapest
Administrative divisions: 19 counties (megyek, singular - megye), 20
urban counties* (singular - megyei varos), and 1 capital city**
(fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Bekescsaba*,
Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest**, Csongrad, Debrecen*, Dunaujvaros*,
Eger*, Fejer, Gyor*, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves,
Hodmezovasarhely*, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvar*, Kecskemet*,
Komarom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nograd, Nyiregyhaza*,
Pecs*, Pest, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Szeged*,
Szekesfehervar*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabanya*, Tolna, Vas,
Veszprem, Veszprem*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg*
Independence: 1001 (unification by King Stephen I)
National holiday: St. Stephen's Day (National Day), 20 August
(commemorates the coronation of King Stephen in 1000 AD)
Constitution: 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19
April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for
individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime
minister and also established the principle of parliamentary oversight
Legal system: in process of revision, moving toward rule of law based
on Western model
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ferenc Mádl
head of government : Prime Minister Péter Medgyessi (since 2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly on the
recommendation of the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (386
seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of
proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms)
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are elected by the
National Assembly
International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, CCC,
CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer),
OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WEU (associate partner),
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white,
and green
Economy - overview: Hungary probably had the most Western-oriented economy in East Europe before the transition to a market system began in 1990, and Budapest made good progress in the initial years of transition. The reform process slowed in 1993-94, however, in part because of the May 1994 elections and the resulting change in government. By 1994 the privatization of state firms had ground to a halt, while both the budget and current account deficits soared to unsustainable levels - about 8% and 10% of GDP, respectively.
The situation improved sharply in 1995: an austerity program
introduced in March reduced both deficits; and a renewed privatization effort
later in the year resulted in more than $3 billion worth of sales of state
firms to foreign investors - money used mostly to reduce Hungary's large foreign
debt. Real GDP increased 2.9% in 1994 - following several years of steep decline
- and about 1.5% in 1995 and only 0.5% in 1996.
Unemployment reached 14% in early 1993 before gradually falling back to 11% in 1996. Inflation has oscillated; it reached 40% in mid-1991, dropped to 17% in early 1994, jumped back to 31% by mid-1995, and settled at 20% in 1996. Prospects for 1997 and 1998 are good compared with the situation earlier. Most forecasters expect 2% to 3% GDP growth in 1997 and slightly higher growth in 1998. Inflation and unemployment are edging down. With the government still committed to reform, both the budget and current account deficits are at IMF target levels - about 4% of GDP. Budapest also is making good progress in restructuring the pension, health, tax, education, and other systems as part of the effort to decrease the role of government.
This dramatic shift in economic policy was rewarded in 1996 by the IMF, which finally signed the standby agreement Budapest had sought, and by the OECD, which welcomed Hungary as a member.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $74.7 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0.5% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,500 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.3%
industry : 31.9%
services: 60.8% (1994)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 12% (1999 est.)
Labor force:
total: 6.2 million (1996)
by occupation: services 58.7%, industry 34.7%, agriculture 6.6 (1996
est.)
Unemployment rate: 11% (1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $10.2 billion
expenditures : $11 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995)
Industries: mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed
foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor
vehicles
Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1996 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 6.98 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 31.63 billion kWh (1994)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 3,200 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar
beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products
Exports:
total value: $14.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: raw materials 39.5%, consumer goods 25.0%, agriculture
and food products 21.8%, machinery and equipment 11.3%, fuels and
electricity 2.4% (1995)
partners : EU 63.3% (Germany 28.8%, Austria 10.0%), Eastern Europe
19.7%, Russia 10.7% (1995)
Imports:
total value : $16.8 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: raw materials 42.3%, consumer goods 20.9%, machinery and
equipment 20.1%, fuels and electricity 10.8%, agricultural and food
products 5.9% (1995)
partners: EU 61.6% (Germany 23.6%, Austria 11.9%), Eastern Europe
22.2%, Russia 14.7% (1995)
Debt - external: $27.5 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $136 million (1993)
note : assistance received from OECD countries and international
organizations, $3,700 million (1990-93)
Currency: 1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler
Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones: 2.16 million (1 January 1996) - there are 21.1 per
100 inhabitants, 54.1 per 100 households; mobile telephone services are used by
267,000 subscribers
Telephone system: 14,213 telex lines; automatic telephone network based on
microwave radio relay system; the average waiting time for telephones is
expected to drop to one year by the end of 1997 (down from over 10 years in the
early 1990's); note - the former state-owned telecommunications firm MATAV - now
privatized and managed by a US/German consortium - has ambitious plans to
upgrade the inadequate system, including a contract with the German firm Siemens
and the Swedish firm Ericsson to provide 600,000 new phone lines during 1996-98
domestic : microwave radio relay
international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and 1
Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 32, FM 15, shortwave 0
Radios: 6 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 41 (Russian repeaters 8)
Televisions: 4.38 million (1993 est.)
Railways:
total: 7,619 km
broad gauge: 35 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 7,408 km 1.435-m gauge (2,216 km electrified; 1,236 km
double track)
narrow gauge : 176 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)
note: Hungry and Austria jointly manage the cross-border
standard-gauge railway between Gyor, Sopron, Ebenfurti, and Vasut, a
distance of about 100 km
Highways:
total: 158,633 km
paved: 69,957 km (including 378 km of expressways)
unpaved: 88,676 km (1995 est.)
Waterways: 1,622 km (1988)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991)
Ports and harbors: Budapest, Dunaujvaros
Merchant marine:
total: 11 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 51,076 GRT/67,498
DWT (1996 est.)
Airports: 78 (1994 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total : 14
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (1994 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 64
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m : 34 (1994 est.)