Hungary

 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



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GEOGRAPHY

Location

Central Europe, northwest of Romania

Area

Total area: 93,030 sq km
Land area: 92,340 sq km
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land Boundaries

Total 1,989 km, Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km (all with Serbia), Slovakia 515 km, Slovenia 82 km, Ukraine 103 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime Claims

None; landlocked

International Disputes

Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Slovakia

Climate

Temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

Terrain

Mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border
lowest point: Tisza River 78 m
highest point: Kekes 1,014 m

Natural Resources

Bauxite
Coal
Natural gas
Fertile soils

Land Use

Arable land: 50.7%
Permanent crops: 6.1%
Meadows and pastures: 12.6%
Forest and woodland: 18.3%
Other: 12.3%

Irrigated Land

1,750 sq km (1989)

Environment

Current issues: air pollution; industrial and municipal pollution of Lake Balaton
Natural hazards: levees are common along many streams, but flooding occurs almost every year

Note: Landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin

PEOPLE

Population

10,002,541 (July 1996 est.)
10,318,838 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

18% (male 907,963; female 867,536) (July 1996 est.) 18% (male 958,027; female 918,281) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

68% (male 3,325,529; female 3,464,588) (July 1996 est.)
68% (male 3,440,036; female 3,534,218) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

14% (male 538,106; female 898,819) (July 1996 est.)
14% (female 914,221; male 554,055) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

-0.68% (1996 est.)
0.02% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

10.72 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
12.65 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

15.06 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
12.44 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-2.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 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
all ages: 0.91 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

12.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 69.02 years (1996 est.), 71.9 years (1995 est.)
Male: 64.23 years (1996 est.), 67.94 years (1995 est.)
Female: 74.04 years (1996 est.), 76.06 years (1995 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

1.51 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Hungarian(s)
Adjective: Hungarian

Ethnic Divisions

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

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1980)

Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 98%

Labor Force

4.8 million (1995)

By occupation:

Services, trade, government, and other 47.2%
Industry 29.7%
Agriculture 16.1%
Construction 7.0% (1991)

GOVERNMENT

Names

Conventional long form: Republic of Hungary
Conventional short form: Hungary
Local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag
Local short form: Magyarorszag

Digraph

Type

Republic

Capital

Budapest

Administrative Divisions

38 counties (megyek, singular - megye) 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, Zala, Zalaegerszeg

Independence

1001 (unification by King Stephen I)

National Holiday

St. Stephen's Day (National Day), 20 August (commemorates the founding of Hungarian state circa 1000 A.D.)

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 Arpad GONCZ (since 3 August 1990; previously interim president from 2 May 1990) was elected for a four-year term by the National Assembly; election last held 19 June 1995 (next to be held NA 1999); results - President GONCZ elected by parliamentary vote with a total of 259 votes out of 335
Head of government: Prime Minister Gyula HORN (since 15 July 1994)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers; elected by the National Assembly on recommendation of the president

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

National Assembly (Orszaggyules)

Elections last held on 8 and 29 May 1994 (next to be held spring 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (386 total) MSzP 209, SzDSz 70, MDF 37, FKgP 26, KDNP 22, FiDeSz 20, other 2

Judicial Branch

Constitutional Court

Political Parties and Leaders

Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), Lajos FUR, chairman; Independent Smallholders (FKgP), Jozsef TORGYAN, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP), Gyula HORN, president; Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP), Gyorgy GICZY, president; Federation of Young Democrats (FiDeSz), Viktor ORBAN, chairman; Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz), Ivan PETO, chairman

Note: The Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party (MSzMP) renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP) in October 1989; there is still a small MMP

Member of

Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, 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, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

National Anthem

Flag

Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green

ECONOMY

Overview

Hungary, probably the most Western-oriented economy in East Europe before the transition to a market system began in 1990, 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 1995 resulted in more than $3 billion worth of sales of state firms to foreign investors - money that will be used to reduce Hungary's large foreign debt. As for other macroeconomic developments, real GDP increased 2.9% in 1994 - following several years of steep decline - and about 1.5% in 1995. Unemployment reached 14% in early 1993 before gradually falling back to 10% in 1995. Inflation has oscillated; it reached 40% in mid-1991, dropped to 17% in early 1994, and then jumped back to 31% by mid-1995. Prospects for 1996 are good. With the government still committed to austerity, both the budget and current account deficits should fall to about 4% of GDP. Economic growth is expected to be about 2% and unemployment at about 10%, with inflation falling to 20% by yearend. In March 1996 the IMF signed a new standby loan agreement with Budapest, and the OECD approved Hungary's application for admission.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $72.5 billion (1995 est.), $58.8 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

4.0% (1997)
1.5% (1995)
3% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$7,000 (1995 est.)
$5,700 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

18.2% (1997)
28.3% (1995)
21% (1994)

Unemployment Rate

10.1% (1997)
10.4% (yearend 1995)
10.4% (yearend 1994)

Budget

Revenues: $12.6 billion (1995 est.), $11.3 billion (1994)
Expenditures: $13.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995), $14.2 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1994)

Exports

$13 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$10.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Raw materials and semi-finished goods 36.4%
Consumer goods 26.7%
Food and agriculture 20.5%
Capital goods 13.1 %
Fuels and energy 3.3% (1994)

Partners:

Germany 28.2%
Austria 10.9%
Italy 8.5%
Russia 7.5%
U.S. 4.0% (1994)

Imports

$15 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$14.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Fuels and energy 11.0%
Raw materials and semi-finished goods 36.9%
Capital goods 23.3%
Consumer goods 22.0%
Food and agriculture 6.8% (1994)

Partners:

Germany 23.4%
Russia 12.0%
Italy 7.0%
Austria 12.0%
U.K. 4.0% (1994)

External Debt

$32.7 billion (October 1995)
$27 billion (September 1994)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 6% (1995 est.), 7% (1994 est.)

Electricity

Capacity: 6,740,000 kW
Production: 31 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 3,012 kWh (1993)

Industries

Mining
Metallurgy
Construction materials
Processed foods
Textiles
Chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals)
Buses
Automobiles

Agriculture

Including forestry, accounts for 15% of GDP and 16% of employment; highly diversified crop and livestock farming; principal crops - wheat, corn, sunflowers, potatoes, sugar beets; livestock - hogs, cattle, poultry, dairy products; self-sufficient in food output

Illicit Drugs

Transshipment point for Southeast Asia heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals

Economic Aid

Recipient: assistance pledged by OECD countries since 1989 about $9 billion

Currency

1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler

Exchange Rates

Forints per US$1 - 144 (January 1996), 125.681 (1995),105.160 (1994), 91.933 (1993), 78.988 (1992), 74.735 (1991), 63.21 (1990), 59.07 (1989)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Total: 7,685 km
Broad gauge: 35 km 1.524-m gauge
Standard gauge: 7,574 km 1.435-m gauge (2,162 km electrified; 1,236 km double track)
Narrow gauge: 176 km mostly 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: 158,711 km
Paved: 69,992 km (441 km expressways)
Unpaved: 88,719 km (1992)

Inland Waterways

1,622 km (1988)

Pipelines

Crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991)

Ports

Budapest, Dunaujvaros

Merchant Marine

Total: 10 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 46,121 GRT/61,613 DWT

Airports

Total: 78
With paved runways over 3,047 m: 2
With paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
With paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
With unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 9
With unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 14
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 34

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

1.52 million phones (1993 est.); 14.7 telephones/100 inhabitants (1993); 14,213 telex lines; automatic telephone network based on microwave radio relay system; 608,000 telephones on order; 12-15 year wait for a telephone; 49% of all phones are in Budapest (1991 est.); 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; nationawide GSM mobile phone system
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.)

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guard, Territorial Defense

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 2,552,794; males fit for military service 2,036,399; males reach military age (18) annually 82,040 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

$620 million, 1.7% of GDP (1995)

History
World Atlas

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