Total area:
93,030 km2
Land area:
92,340 km2
Comparative area:
slightly smaller than Indiana
Land boundaries:
2,113 km; Austria 366 km, Slovenia 82 km, Czechoslovakia 676 km, Romania 443
km, Croatia 292 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Ukraine 103 km
Coastline:
none - landlocked
Maritime claims:
none - landlocked
Disputes:
Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Czechoslovakia
Climate:
temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers
Terrain:
mostly flat to rolling plains
Natural resources:
bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils
Land use:
arable land 54%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 14%; forest and
woodland 18%; other 11%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment:
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
:Hungary People
Population:
10,333,327 (July 1992), growth rate - 0.1% (1992)
Birth rate:
12 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
13 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
14 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
66 years male, 75 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Hungarian(s); adjective - Hungarian
Ethnic divisions:
Hungarian 96.6%, Gypsy 5.8%, German 1.6%, Slovak 1.1%, Southern Slav 0.3%,
Romanian 0.2%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20.0%, Lutheran 5.0%, atheist and other 7.5%
Languages:
Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%
Literacy:
99% (male 99%, female 98%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
Labor force:
5.4 million; services, trade, government, and other 43.2%, industry 30.9%,
agriculture 18.8%, construction 7.1% (1991)
Organized labor:
45-55% of labor force; Central Council of Hungarian Trade Unions (SZOT)
includes 19 affiliated unions, all controlled by the government; independent
unions legal; may be as many as 12 small independent unions in operation
:Hungary Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Hungary
Type:
republic
Capital:
Budapest
Administrative divisions:
19 counties (megyek, singular - megye) and 1 capital city* (fovaros);
Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest*, Csongrad,
Fejer, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok,
Komarom-Esztergom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Tolna, Vas,
Veszprem, Zala
Independence:
1001, unification by King Stephen I
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
National holiday:
October 23 (1956); commemorates the Hungarian uprising
Executive branch:
president, prime minister
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court, may be restructured as part of ongoing government overhaul
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Arpad GONCZ (since 3 August 1990; previously interim President
from 2 May 1990)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Jozsef ANTALL (since 23 May 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Forum, Jozsef ANTALL, chairman; Dr. Lajos FUR, acting president;
Free Democrats, Peter TOLGYESSY, chairman; Independent Smallholders, Jozsef
TORGYAN, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP), Gyula HORN, chairman;
Young Democrats, Gabor FODOR, head; Christian Democrats, Dr. Lazlo SURJAN,
president; note - the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party (MSZMP)
renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) in
October 1989; there is still a small (fringe) MSZMP
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
President:
last held 3 August 1990 (next to be held August 1994); results - President
GONCZ elected by popular vote; note - President GONCZ was elected by the
National Assembly with a total of 294 votes out of 304 as interim President
from 2 May 1990 until elected President
National Assembly:
last held on 25 March 1990 (first round, with the second round held 8 April
1990); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (386 total) Democratic
Forum 162, Free Democrats 90, Independent Smallholders 45, Hungarian
Socialist Party (MSP) 33, Young Democrats 22, Christian Democrats 21,
independents or jointly sponsored candidates 13
Communists:
fewer than 100,000 (December 1989)
:Hungary Government
Member of:
BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, ECE, FAO, G-9, GATT, HG, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, NSG,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Pal TAR; Chancery at 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC
20008; telephone (202) 362-6730; there is a Hungarian Consulate General in
New York
US:
Ambassador Charles THOMAS; Embassy at V. Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest (mailing
address is APO AE 09213-5270); telephone [36] (1) 112-6450; FAX 132-8934
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green
:Hungary Economy
Overview:
Hungary is in the midst of a difficult transition between a command and a
market economy. Agriculture is an important sector, providing sizable export
earnings and meeting domestic food needs. Industry accounts for about 40% of
GDP and 30% of employment. Hungary claims that less than 20% of foreign
trade is now with former CEMA countries, while about 70% is with OECD
members. Hungary's economic reform programs during the Communist era gave it
a head start in creating a market economy and attracting foreign investment.
In 1990, Hungary received half of all foreign investment in Eastern Europe
and in 1991 received the largest single share. The growing private sector
accounts for one-quarter to one-third of national output according to
unofficial estimates. Privatization of state enterprises is progressing,
although excessive redtape, bureaucratic oversight, and uncertainties about
pricing have slowed the process. Escalating unemployment and high rates of
inflation may impede efforts to speed up privatization and budget reform,
while Hungary's heavy foreign debt will make the government reluctant to
introduce full convertability of the forint before 1993.
GDP:
purchasing power equivalent - $60.1 billion, per capita $5,700; real growth
rate - 7% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
34% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
8.0% (1991)
Budget:
revenues $12.7 billion; expenditures $13.6 billion (1992 planned)
Exports:
$10.2 billion (f.o.b. 1991)
commodities:
capital goods 25.9%, foods 23%, consumer goods 16.5%, fuels 2.4%, other
32.2%
partners:
USSR and Eastern Europe 31.9%, EC 32.2%, EFTA 12% (1990)
Imports:
$11.7 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
capital goods 31.6%, fuels 13.8%, manufactured consumer goods 14.6%,
agriculture 6%, other 34.0%
partners:
USSR and Eastern Europe 34%, EC 31%, EFTA 15.4%
External debt:
$22.7 billion (January 1991)
Industrial production:
growth rate - 20% (1991 est.)
Electricity:
6,967,000 kW capacity; 28,376 million kWh produced, 2,750 kWh per capita
(1990)
Industries:
mining, metallurgy, engineering industries, processed foods, textiles,
chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), trucks, buses
Agriculture:
including forestry, accounts for about 15% of GDP and 19% of employment;
highly diversified crop-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 transiting the Balkan route
:Hungary Economy