Hungary became a Christian kingdom in A.D. 1000 and for many centuries served as a bulwark against Ottoman Turkish expansion in Europe. The kingdom eventually became part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed during World War I. The country fell under communist rule following World War II. In 1956, a revolt and an announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. Under the leadership of Janos KADAR in 1968, Hungary began liberalizing its economy, introducing so-called "Goulash Communism." Hungary held its first multiparty elections in 1990 and initiated a free market economy. It joined NATO in 1999 and the EU five years later.
Central Europe, northwest of Romania
47 00 N, 20 00 E
Europe
total: 93,028 sq km
land: 89,608 sq km
water: 3,420 sq km
slightly smaller than Virginia; about the same size as Indiana
total: 2,106 km
border countries (7): Austria 321 km, Croatia 348 km, Romania 424 km, Serbia 164 km, Slovakia 627 km, Slovenia 94 km, Ukraine 128 km
0 km (landlocked)
none (landlocked)
temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers
mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border
mean elevation: 143 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Tisza River 78 m
highest point: Kekes 1,014 m
bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land
agricultural land: 58.9%
arable land 48.5%; permanent crops 2%; permanent pasture 8.4%
forest: 22.5%
other: 18.6% (2011 est.)
1,721 sq km (2012)
the upgrading of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution to meet EU requirements will require large investments
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin; the north-south flowing Duna (Danube) and Tisza Rivers divide the country into three large regions
-0.24% (2016 est.)
9,874,784 (July 2016 est.)
noun: Hungarian(s)
adjective: Hungarian
Hungarian 85.6%, Roma 3.2%, German 1.9%, other 2.6%, unspecified 14.1%
note: percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were able to identify more than one ethnic group (2011 est.)
Hungarian (official) 99.6%, English 16%, German 11.2%, Russian 1.6%, Romanian 1.3%, French 1.2%, other 4.2%
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; Hungarian is the mother tongue of 98.9% of Hungarian speakers (2011 est.)
7.4% of GDP (2014)
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.)
0-14 years: 14.76% (male 750,516/female 706,780)
15-24 years: 11.19% (male 570,097/female 534,856)
25-54 years: 41.74% (male 2,071,865/female 2,049,939)
55-64 years: 13.66% (male 620,362/female 728,387)
65 years and over: 18.65% (male 693,609/female 1,148,373) (2016 est.)
total dependency ratio: 47.9%
youth dependency ratio: 21.5%
elderly dependency ratio: 26.3%
potential support ratio: 3.8% (2015 est.)
total: 41.8 years
male: 39.9 years
female: 44.1 years (2016 est.)
9.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
12.8 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations
urban population: 71.2% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 0.47% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
BUDAPEST (capital) 1.714 million (2015)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.85 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
17 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
total: 5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.2 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
total population: 75.9 years
male: 72.2 years
female: 79.8 years (2016 est.)
1.44 children born/woman (2016 est.)
3.1 physicians/1,000 population (2012)
7.2 beds/1,000 population (2011)
improved:
urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2015 est.)
improved:
urban: 97.8% of population
rural: 98.6% of population
total: 98% of population
unimproved:
urban: 2.2% of population
rural: 1.4% of population
total: 2% of population (2015 est.)
NA
NA
100 (2013 est.)
degree of risk: intermediate
vectorborne diseases: tickborne encephalitis (2016)
26% (2014)
4.2% of GDP (2013)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.1%
male: 99.1%
female: 99% (2015 est.)
total: 16 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2014)
28.2 (2013 est.)
total: 20.4%
male: 20%
female: 20.9% (2014 est.)
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Hungary
local long form: none
local short form: Magyarorszag
etymology: the Byzantine Greeks refered to the tribes that arrived on the steppes of Eastern Europe in the 9th century as the "Oungroi," a name that was later Latinized to "Ungri" and which became "Hungari"; the name originally meant an "[alliance of] ten tribes"; the Hungarian name "Magyarorszag" means "Land of the Magyars"; the term may derive from the most prominent of the Hungarian tribes, the Megyer
parliamentary republic
name: Budapest
geographic coordinates: 47 30 N, 19 05 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
19 counties (megyek, singular - megye), 23 cities with county rights (megyei jogu varosok, singular - megyei jogu varos), and 1 capital city (fovaros)
counties: Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Komarom-Esztergom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala
cities with county rights: Bekescsaba, Debrecen, Dunaujvaros, Eger, Erd, Gyor, Hodmezovasarhely, Kaposvar, Kecskemet, Miskolc, Nagykanizsa, Nyiregyhaza, Pecs, Salgotarjan, Sopron, Szeged, Szekesfehervar, Szekszard, Szolnok, Szombathely, Tatabanya, Veszprem, Zalaegerszeg
capital city: Budapest
16 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date); 30 March 1867 (Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy established)
Saint Stephen's Day, 20 August; note - commemorates the date when his remains were transferred to Buda (now Budapest)
history: previous 1949 (heavily amended in 1989 following the collapse of communism); latest approved 18 April 2011, signed 25 April 2011, effective 1 January 2012
amendments: proposed by the president of the republic, by the government, by parliamentary committee, or by Parliament members; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament members and approval by the president; amended several times, last in 2013 (2016)
civil legal system influenced by the German model
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Hungary
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years
18 years of age, 16 if married; universal
chief of state: Janos ADER (since 10 May 2012)
head of government: Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 29 May 2010)
cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers proposed by the prime minister and appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly with two-thirds majority vote in first round or simple majority vote in second round for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 2 May 2012 (next to be held by May 2017); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president
election results: Janos ADER (Fidesz) elected president; National Assembly vote - 262 to 40; Viktor ORBAN (Fidesz) elected prime minister; National Assembly vote - 130 to 57 (in 2014)
description: unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (199 seats; 106 members directly elected in single-member constituencies by simple majority vote and 93 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by party list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: last held on 6 April 2014 (next to be held by April 2018)
election results: percent of vote by party - Fidesz-KDNP 44.5%, Unity 26%, Jobbik 20.5%, LMP 5.3%, other 3.7%; seats by party - Fidesz-KDNP 133, Unity 38, Jobbik 23, LMP 5
highest court(s): Curia or Supreme Judicial Court (consists of the Curia president, vice president, and approximately 76 judges organized into 16 civil chambers, 3 criminal chambers, and 4 administrative chambers); Constitutional Court (consists of 15 judges including the court president and 2 vice-presidents)
judge selection and term of office: Curia president elected from among its members for 9 years by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president of the republic; other Curia judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, a separate 15-member administrative body; judge tenure based on interim evaluations until normal retirement age; Constitutional Court judges elected by two-thirds vote of the National Assembly; members serve single renewable 12-year terms with mandatory retirement at age 70
subordinate courts: 5 regional courts of appeal; 19 regional or county courts (including Budapest Metropolitan Court); 20 administrative and labor courts; 111 district or local courts
Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Zsolt SEMJEN]
Democratic Coalition or DK [Ferenc GYURCSANY]
Dialogue for Hungary or PM [Javor BENEDEK, Timea SZABO, co-chairs]
Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance or Fidesz [Viktor ORBAN]
Hungarian Liberal Party or MLP [Gabor FODOR]
Hungarian Socialist Party or MSZP [Jozsef TOBIAS]
Movement for a Better Hungary or Jobbik [Gabor VONA]
Politics Can Be Different or LMP [Andras SCHIFFER, Bernadett SZEL]
Together 2014 or Egyutt [Peter JUHASZ, Peter KONYA, Viktor SZIGETVARI]
Civil Osszefogas Forum ("Civil Unity Forum," nominally independent organization that serves as the steering committee for the pro-government mass organization Bekemenet (Peace March), supporting ORBAN government's policies)
Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (Tarsasag a Szabadsagjogokert) or TASZ (freedom of expression, information privacy)
Hungarian Helsinki Committee (asylum seekers' rights, human rights in law enforcement and the judicial system)
MigSzol (Migrant Solidarity Group of Hungary) (independent advocacy group on migration crisis)
MostMi ("Now Us") [Bori TAKACS, Zsolt VARADY](Facebook group that was a major participant at anti-government demonstrations in late 2014-early 2015; pro-Europe, anti-establishment movement that blames Fidesz for the state of the country, but also blames all established political parties for perceived political and economic failures since the fall of communism)
Okotars (empowerment of civil society in Hungary)
other:
Energy Club (Energia Klub)
Greenpeace Hungary (Greenpeace Magyarorszag)
Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
chief of mission: Ambassador Reka SZEMERKENYI (since 23 February 2015)
chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730
FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
consulate(s): Boston
chief of mission: Ambassador Colleen Bradley BELL (since 21 January 2015)
embassy: Szabadsag ter 12, H-1054 Budapest
mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Budapest, 5270 Budapest Place, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270
telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400
FAX: [36] (1) 475-4764
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green; the flag dates to the national movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, and fuses the medieval colors of the Hungarian coat of arms with the revolutionary tricolor form of the French flag; folklore attributes virtues to the colors: red for strength, white for faithfulness, and green for hope; alternatively, the red is seen as being for the blood spilled in defense of the land, white for freedom, and green for the pasturelands that make up so much of the country
Holy Crown of Hungary (Crown of Saint Stephen); national colors: red, white, green
name: "Himnusz" (Hymn)
lyrics/music: Ferenc KOLCSEY/Ferenc ERKEL
note: adopted 1844
3.3% (2016 est.)
Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy, with a per capita income nearly two-thirds that of the EU-28 average.
In late 2008, Hungary's impending inability to service its short-term debt - brought on by the global financial crisis - led Budapest to obtain an IMF/EU/World Bank-arranged financial assistance package worth over $25 billion. The global economic downturn
Hungary’s progress reducing its deficit to under 3% of GDP led the European Commission in 2013 to permit Hungary for the first time since joining the EU in 2004 to exit the Excessive Deficit Procedure. The government remains committed to keeping the budge
$267.6 billion (2016 est.)
$262.4 billion (2015 est.)
$254.9 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
$117.1 billion (2015 est.)
2% (2016 est.)
2.9% (2015 est.)
3.7% (2014 est.)
$27,200 (2016 est.)
$26,600 (2015 est.)
$25,800 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
25.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
26.4% of GDP (2015 est.)
24.3% of GDP (2014 est.)
household consumption: 50.3%
government consumption: 20%
investment in fixed capital: 20.4%
investment in inventories: 0.6%
exports of goods and services: 94.3%
imports of goods and services: -85.6% (2016 est.)
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 31.8%
services: 64.7% (2016 est.)
wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products
mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles
4.564 million (2016 est.)
agriculture: 7.1%
industry: 29.7%
services: 63.2% (2011)
6.6% (2016 est.)
6.8% (2015 est.)
14.9% (2015 est.)
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 22.6% (2009)
30.6 (2013 est.)
24.7 (2009)
revenues: $57.32 billion
expenditures: $60.08 billion (2016 est.)
49% of GDP (2016 est.)
-2.4% of GDP
note: Hungary has been under the EU Excessive Deficit Procedure since it joined the EU in 2004; in March 2012 the EU elevated its Excessive Deficit Procedure against Hungary and proposed freezing 30% of the country's Cohesion Funds because 2011 deficit reductio (2016 est.)
75.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
75.3% of GDP (2015 est.)
note: general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities: currency and deposits, securities o
calendar year
0.1% (2016 est.)
-0.1% (2015 est.)
1.35% (22 July 2015)
2.1% (23 July 2014)
2.3% (31 December 2016 est.)
2.9% (31 December 2015 est.)
$48.2 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$46.14 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$68.87 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$66.91 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
$68.82 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$69.85 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$17.69 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$14.51 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
$19.8 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
$5.72 billion (2016 est.)
$5.291 billion (2015 est.)
$91.78 billion (2016 est.)
$89.44 billion (2015 est.)
machinery and equipment 53.5%, other manufactures 31.2%, food products 8.7%, raw materials 3.4%, fuels and electricity 3.9% (2012 est.)
Germany 28%, Romania 5.4%, Slovakia 5.1%, Austria 5%, Italy 4.8%, France 4.7%, UK 4%, Czech Republic 4% (2015)
$86.61 billion (2016 est.)
$84.7 billion (2015 est.)
machinery and equipment 45.4%, other manufactures 34.3%, fuels and electricity 12.6%, food products 5.3%, raw materials 2.5% (2012)
Germany 25.8%, China 6.7%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.5%, Slovakia 5.3%, France 5%, Czech Republic 4.8%, Netherlands 4.6%, Italy 4.5% (2015)
$31.62 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$33.13 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$131.2 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$127.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$240.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$236.2 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$168.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$165.8 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
forints (HUF) per US dollar -
287.7 (2016 est.)
279.33 (2015 est.)
279.33 (2014 est.)
232.6 (2013 est.)
225.1 (2012 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2016)
28 billion kWh (2014 est.)
21.55 billion kWh (2015 est.)
5.378 billion kWh (2015 est.)
18.15 billion kWh (2015 est.)
9.289 million kW (2015 est.)
22% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
61% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
0.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
6.8% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
12,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
1,740 bbl/day (2015 est.)
134,700 bbl/day (2015 est.)
27.19 million bbl (1 January 2016 es)
159,300 bbl/day (2015 est.)
154,300 bbl/day (2015 est.)
47,900 bbl/day (2015 est.)
52,310 bbl/day (2015 est.)
1.505 billion cu m (2015 est.)
8.46 billion cu m (2015 est.)
226.6 million cu m (2015 est.)
8.167 billion cu m (2015 est.)
8.268 billion cu m (1 January 2016 es)
47 million Mt (2013 est.)
total subscriptions: 3,094,228
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 31 (July 2015 est.)
total: 11.786 million
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 119 (July 2015 est.)
general assessment: modern telephone system is digital and highly automated; trunk services are carried by fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay
domestic: competition among mobile-cellular service providers has led to a sharp increase in the use of mobile-cellular phones since 2000 and a decrease in the number of fixed-line connections
international: country code - 36; Hungary has fiber-optic cable connections with all neighboring countries; the international switch is in Budapest; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Inmarsat, 1 very small aperture termin (2015)
mixed system of state-supported public service broadcast media and private broadcasters; the 5 publicly owned TV channels and the 2 main privately owned TV stations are the major national broadcasters; a large number of special interest channels; highly d (2016)
.hu
total: 7.209 million
percent of population: 72.8% (July 2015 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 5
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 75
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 20,042,185
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km (2015)
HA (2016)
41 (2013)
total: 20
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 1 (2013)
total: 21
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 8
under 914 m: 11 (2013)
3 (2013)
gas 19,028 km; oil 1,007 km; refined products 842 km (2013)
total: 8,049 km
broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 7,794 km 1.435-m gauge (2,889 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 219 km 0.760-m gauge (2014)
total: 203,601 km
paved: 77,087 km (includes 1,582 km of expressways)
unpaved: 126,514 km (2014)
1,622 km (most on Danube River) (2011)
river port(s): Baja, Csepel (Budapest), Dunaujvaros, Gyor-Gonyu, Mohacs (Danube)
Hungarian Defense Forces: Land Forces, Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Legiero, ML) (2011)
18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; 6-month service obligation (2012)
0.8% of GDP (2015)
0.83% of GDP (2012)
0.99% of GDP (2011)
0.83% of GDP (2010)
bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working group negotiations continue in 2006 with Slovakia over Hungary's failure to complete its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary has implemented the strict Schengen border rules
refugees (countries of origin): 5,950 applicants for forms of legal stay other than asylum (Ukraine) (2015)
stateless persons: 132 (2015)
note: 410,338 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (2015 - November 2016)
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and methamphetamine; efforts to counter money laundering, related to organized crime and drug trafficking are improving but remain vulnerable; significant consumer of ecstasy
