Hungary

§1. Hungary Introduction

Background:
  Hungary was 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 announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact
  were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. In the more open
  GORBACHEV years, Hungary led the movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact and
  steadily shifted toward multiparty democracy and a market-oriented economy.
  Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Hungary developed close
  political and economic ties to Western Europe. It joined NATO in 1999 and
  is a frontrunner in a future expansion of the EU.

§2. Hungary Geography

Location:
  Central Europe, northwest of Romania

Geographic coordinates:
  47 00 N, 20 00 E

Map references:
  Europe

Area:
  total: 93,030 kmē
  land: 92,340 kmē
  water: 690 kmē

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries:
  total: 2,009 km border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania
    443 km, Yugoslavia 151 km, 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, arable land

Land use:
  arable land: 51%
  permanent crops: 3.6%
  permanent pastures: 12.4%
  forests and woodland: 19%
  other: 14% (1999)

Irrigated land:
  2,060 kmē (1993 est.)

Environment - current issues:
  the approximation of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy
  efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution with environmental
  requirements for EU accession will require large investments

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, Desertification, Endangered
    Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping,
    Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
  signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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

§3. Hungary People

Population:
  10,106,017 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 16.63% (male 862,468; female 818,052)
  15-64 years: 68.66% (male 3,406,717; female 3,532,008)
  65 years and over: 14.71% (male 546,992; female 939,780) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:
  -0.32% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  9.32 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  8.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 71.63 years male: 67.28 years
  female: 76.3 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  0.05% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  2,500 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  less than 100 (1999 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Hungarian(s)
  adjective: Hungarian

Ethnic groups:
  Hungarian 89.9%, Roma 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.)

§4. Hungary Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Republic of Hungary
  conventional short form: Hungary
  local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag
  local short form: Magyarorszag

Government type:
  parliamentary democracy

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, 20 August

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; 1997 amendment streamlined the
  judicial system

Legal system:
  rule of law based on Western model

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Ferenc MADL (since NA August 2000) head of government:
    Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 6 July 1998)
  cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly on the
    recommendation of the president
  elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term;
    election last held 6 June 2000 (next to be held by June 2005); prime
    minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the
    president
  election results: Ferenc MADL elected president; percent of legislative
    vote - NA% (but by a simple majority in the third round of voting);
    Viktor ORBAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA%
  note: to be elected, the president must win two-thirds of legislative vote
    in the first two rounds or a simple majority in the third round

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)
  elections: last held on 10 and 24 May 1998 (next to be held May/June 2002)
  election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote required
    for parliamentary representation in the first round) - MSZP 32.0%, FIDESZ
    28.2%, FKGP 13.8%, SZDSZ 7.9%, MIEP 5.5%, MMP 4.1%, MDF 2.8%, KDNP 2.3%,
    MDNP 1.5%; seats by party - MSZP 134, FIDESZ 148, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF
    17, MIEP 14, independent 1; note - seating as of 2000 by party - MSZP
    136, FIDESZ 141, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 16, MIEP 12, independents 9

Judicial branch:
  Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for
  nine-year terms)

Political parties and leaders:
  Alliance of Free Democrats or SZDSZ [Gabor DEMSZKY]; Christian Democratic
  People's Party or KDNP [Gyorgy GICZY, president]; Federation of Young
  Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party or FYD-HCP [Laszlo KOVER]; note - used to
  be Hungarian Civic Party or FIDESZ; Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF
  [Ibolya DAVID]; Hungarian Democratic People's Party or MDNP [Erzsebet
  PUSZTAI, chairman]; Hungarian Justice and Life Party or MIEP [Istvan
  CSURKA, chairman]; Hungarian Socialist Party or MSZP [Laszlo KOVACS,
  chairman]; Hungarian Workers' Party or MMP [Gyula THURMER, chairman];
  Independent Smallholders or FKGP [Jozsef TORGYAN, president]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

International organization participation:
  ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU
  (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
  MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE,
  PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK,
  UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
  WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Geza JESZENSZKY chancery: 3910 Shoemaker
    Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730
  FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135
  consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Peter F. TUFO embassy: Szabadsag Ter 12,
    H.-1054 Budapest
  mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Budapest, 5270 Budapest Place,
    Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270
  telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400, 475-4703 (after hours)
  FAX: [36] (1) 475-4764

Flag description:
  three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green

§5. Hungary Economy

Economy - overview:
  Hungary continues to demonstrate strong economic growth and to work toward
  accession to the European Union. The private sector accounts for over 80%
  of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms is
  widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling $23 billion
  by 2000. Hungarian sovereign debt was upgraded in 2000 to the
  second-highest rating among all the Central European transition economies.
  Inflation - a top economic concern in 2000 - is still high at almost 10%,
  pushed upward by higher world oil and gas and domestic food prices.
  Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local
  government financing have not yet been addressed by the ORBAN government.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $113.9 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  5.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 5% industry: 35%
  services: 60% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  8.6% (1993 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 24.8% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  9.8% (1999 est.)

Labor force:
  4.2 million (1997)

Labor force - by occupation:
  services 65%, industry 27%, agriculture 8% (1996)

Unemployment rate:
  9.4% (2000 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $13 billion
  expenditures: $14.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000
    est.)

Industries:
  mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles,
  chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles

Industrial production growth rate:
  18% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
  36.75 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 61.09% hydro: 0.51%
  nuclear: 38.4%
  other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  35.234 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  2.35 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  3.406 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
  wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry,
  dairy products

Exports:
  $25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities:
  machinery and equipment 59.5%, other manufactures 29.4%, food products
  6.9%, raw materials 2.4%, fuels and electricity 1.8% (2000)

Exports - partners:
  Germany 37%, Austria 9%, Italy 6%, Netherlands 5% (2000)

Imports:
  $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities:
  machinery and equipment 51.1%, other manufactures 35.9%, fuels and
  electricity 8.1%, food products 2.8%, raw materials 2.1% (2000)

Imports - partners:
  Germany 25%, Russia 8%, Austria 7%, Italy 7% (2000)

Debt - external:
  $29.6 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $122.7 million (1995)

Currency:
  forint (HUF)

Currency code:
  HUF

Exchange rates:
  forints per US dollar - 282.240 (January 2001), 282.179 (2000), 237.146
  (1999), 214.402 (1998), 186.789 (1997), 152.647 (1996)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Hungary Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  3.095 million (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  1.269 million (July 1999)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: the telephone system has been modernized and is capable
    of satisfying all requests for telecommunication service
  domestic: the system is digitalized and highly automated; trunk services
    are carried by fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay; a
    program for fiber-optic subscriber connections was initiated in 1996;
    heavy use is made of mobile cellular telephones
  international: 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 terminal (VSAT) system of ground
    terminals

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 17, FM 57, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios:
  7.01 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
  35 (plus 161 low-power repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
  4.42 million (1997)

Internet country code:
  .hu

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  16 (2000)

Internet users:
  650,000 (2000)

§7. Hungary Transportation

Railways:
  total: 7,606 km
  broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge
  standard gauge: 7,394 km 1.435-m gauge (2,270 km electrified; 1,236 km
    double track)
  narrow gauge: 176 km 0.760-m gauge (1998)
  note: Hungary and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge
    railway connecting Gyor, Sopron, and Ebenfurt (Gysev railroad) a distance
    of about 101 km in Hungary and 65 km in Austria

Highways:
  total: 188,203 km
  paved: 81,680 km (including 448 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 106,523 km (1998 est.)

Waterways:
  1,373 km (permanently navigable) (1997)

Pipelines:
  crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991)

Ports and harbors:
  Budapest, Dunaujvaros

Merchant marine:
  total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,199 GRT/1,050 DWT
  ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.)

Airports:
  43 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 16 over 3,047 m: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
  914 to 1,523 m: 1
  under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 27 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
  914 to 1,523 m: 12
  under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.)

Heliports:
  5 (2000 est.)

§8. Hungary Military

Military branches:
  Ground Forces, Air Force; note - there is a paramilitary Border Guard which
  is under the Ministry of Interior

Military manpower - military age:
  18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 2,573,119 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 2,050,404 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 64,121 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $822 million (FY00)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  1.6% (FY00)

§9. Hungary Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Slovakia is before the ICJ

Illicit drugs:
  major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and
  transit point for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe;
  limited producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and
  methamphetamine
