Facts & Figures
- Official name: Hungary (Magyarország)Land area: 35,653 sq mi (92,341 sq km)Total area: 35,919 sq mi (93,030 sq km)Prime Minister: Viktor Orbán (Since 2010)President: Janos Ader (Since 2012)Capital:Budapest, pop. 1.737 millionCurrency: ForintNational Holiday:Saint Stephen's Day (8/20)Population: 9,850,845 (July 2017 est.)Population Change: Growth rate: -0.25%; 9 births/1,000 population, 12.8 deaths/1,000 population, 1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.); infant mortality rate: 4.9 deaths/1,000 live birthsLife Expectancy: 76.1 yearsNationality/Demonym: Hungarian (Magyar)Languages:Hungarian (official) 99.6%, English 16%, German 11.2%, Russian 1.6%, Romanian 1.3%, French 1.2%, other 4.2%Ethnicity/race:Hungarian 85.6%, Romani 3.2%, German 1.9%, other 2.6%, unspecified 14.1% (2011 est.)note: percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic group; Romani populations are usually underestimated in official statistics and may represent 5–10% of Hungary's populationReligions:Roman Catholic 37.2%, Calvinist 11.6%, Lutheran 2.2%, Greek Catholic 1.8%, other 1.9%, none 18.2%, unspecified 27.2% (2011 est.)Literacy rate: 99.1% (2015 est.)
Index
- Hungary Profile
Geography
Government
International Affairs:
Asylum Applications: 6,220 (2017)
Asylum Recognitions: 1,291 (2017)
Stateless Persons: 135 (2016)
Culture
Economy
Overview
Growth Rate: 3.2% (2017 est.)
Inflation: 2.5% (2017 est.)
Government Revenues: 48.2% of GDP (2017 est.)
Public Debt: 73.9% of GDP (2017 est.)
Employment by Occupation: Agriculture: 4.9%, Industry: 30.3%, Services: 64.5% (2015 est.)
Unemployment: 4.4% (2017 est.)
Population Below the Poverty Line: 14.9% (2015 est.)
Major Exports: machinery and equipment 53.4%, other manufactures 31.2%, food products 8.4%, raw materials 3.4%, fuels and electricity 3.9% (2012 est.)
Export Partners: Germany 28.2%, Romania 5.2%, Slovakia 5%, Austria 4.9%, France 4.8%, Italy 4.8%, Czech Republic 4.2%, Poland 4.2% (2016)
Major Imports: machinery and equipment 45.4%, other manufactures 34.3%, fuels and electricity 12.6%, food products 5.3%, raw materials 2.5% (2012)
Import Partners: Germany 26.3%, Austria 6.4%, China 6.3%, Poland 5.5%, Slovakia 5.3%, Netherlands 4.9%, Czech Republic 4.9%, France 4.8%, Italy 4.8% (2016)
Major Industries: mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles
Land Use: Agricultural land: 58.9% (arable land 48.5%; permanent crops 2%; permanent pasture 8.4%), Forest: 22.5%, Other: 18.6% (2011 est.)
Communications
Cell Phones: 11,779,908, 120 per 100 residents, (2016 est.)
International Country Code: 36
Internet Users: 7,826,695, 79.3% (2016 est.)
Transportation Infrastructure
With Paved Runways: 20
With Unpaved Runways: 21
Registered Aircraft: 75
Annual Passengers: 20,042,185
Broad Gauge: 36 km (1.524-m gauge)
Standard Gauge: 7,794 km (1.435-m gauge)
Narrow Gauge: 219 km (0.760-m gauge)
Paved: 77,087 km (includes 1,582 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 126,514 km (2014)
Ports and Terminals: Baja, Csepel (Budapest), Dunaujvaros, Gyor-Gonyu, Mohacs (Danube)
Pre-Hungarian History
The Magyar Conquest
The Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdoms of Hungary
Wars Cost Hungary Much of Its Land
Communist Party Takes Control
Hungary Makes Difficult Transition to Democracy
The Fidesz Party Forms a New Government
European Union Warns Hungary
New Amendment to the Constitution Causes Alarm
Hundreds of Migrants Held in Hungary During Crisis of 2015
Hungary
Index:
PEOPLE AND HISTORY
The provisional government, dominated by the Hungarian communist party (MKP), was replaced in November 1945 after elections which gave majority control of a coalition government to the Independent Smallholders' Party. The government instituted a radical land reform and gradually nationalized mines, electric plants, heavy industries, and some large banks. The communists ultimately undermined the coalition regime by discrediting leaders of rival parties and through terror, blackmail, and framed trials. In elections tainted by fraud in 1947, the leftist bloc gained control of the government. Postwar cooperation between the U.S.S.R. and the West collapsed, and the Cold War began. With Soviet support, Moscow-trained Matyas Rakosi began to establish a communist dictatorship.
Pressure for change reached a climax on October 23, 1956, when security forces fired on Budapest students marching in support of Poland's confrontation with the Soviet Union. The ensuing battle quickly grew into a massive popular uprising. Gero called on Soviet troops to restore order on October 24. Fighting did not abate until the Central Committee named Imre Nagy as prime minister on October 25, and the next day Janos Kadar replaced Gero as party first secretary. Nagy dissolved the state security police, abolished the one-party system, promised free elections, and negotiated with the U.S.S.R. to withdraw its troops.
In the early 1960s, Kadar announced a new policy under the motto of 'He who is not against us is with us.' He declared a general amnesty, gradually curbed some of the excesses of the secret police, and introduced a relatively liberal cultural and economic course aimed at overcoming the post-1956 hostility toward him and his regime. In 1966, the Central Committee approved the 'New Economic Mechanism,' through which it sought to overcome the inefficiencies of central planning, increase productivity, make Hungary more competitive in world markets, and create prosperity to ensure political stability. However, the reform was not as comprehensive as planned, and basic flaws of central planning produced economic stagnation. Over the next two decades of relative domestic quiet, Kadar's government responded to pressure for political and economic reform and to counterpressures from reform opponents. By the early 1980s, it had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political liberalization and pursued a foreign policy which encouraged more trade with the West. Nevertheless, the New Economic Mechanism led to mounting foreign debt incurred to shore up unprofitable industries.
Hungary's transition to a Western-style parliamentary democracy was the first and the smoothest among the former Soviet bloc, inspired by nationalism that long had encouraged Hungarians to control their own destiny. By 1987, activists within the party and bureaucracy and Budapest-based intellectuals were increasing pressure for change. Some of these became reform socialists, while others began movements which were to develop into parties. Young liberals formed the Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz); a core from the so-called Democratic Opposition formed the Association of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), and the neopopulist national opposition established the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF). Civic activism intensified to a level not seen since the 1956 revolution.
The first free parliamentary election, held in May 1990, was a plebiscite of sorts on the communist past. The revitalized and reformed communists performed poorly despite having more than the usual advantages of an 'incumbent' party. Populist, center-right, and liberal parties fared best, with the Democratic Forum (MDF) winning 43% of the vote and the Free Democrats (SZDSZ) capturing 24%. Under Prime Minister Jozsef Antall, the MDF formed a center-right coalition government with the Independent Smallholders' Party (FKGP) and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) to command a 60% majority in the parliament. Parliamentary opposition parties included SZDSZ, the Socialists (MSZP), and the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fidesz). Peter Boross succeeded as Prime Minister after Antall died in December 1993. The Antall/Boross coalition governments achieved a reasonably well-functioning parliamentary democracy and laid the foundation for a free market economy.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
ECONOMY
NATIONAL SECURITY
FOREIGN RELATIONS
U.S.-HUNGARIAN RELATIONS
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
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