Country profile

Land boundaries: total: 2,009 km border.

Neighbouring countries and lenght of borders:Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Yugoslavia 151 km, Slovakia 515 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km

Capital and largest city: Budapest (2.008.546)

Geography
This central European country is the size of Indiana. Most of Hungary is a fertile, rolling plain lying east of the Danube River and drained by the Danube and Tisza Rivers. In the extreme northwest is the Little Hungarian Plain. South of that area is Lake Balaton (250 sq mi; 648 sq km).

Lowest point: Tisza River 78 m

Highest point: Kékes 1,014 m

Other large cities:

Debrecen (210.000)

Miskolc (182.000)

Szeged (169.000)

Pécs (163.000)

Administrative divisions:

19 counties (megyék, singular - megye)
20 urban counties* (singular - megyei város), and 1 capital city** (főváros);

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

Area: 35,919 sq mi (93,030 sq km) - land: 92,340 sq km; water: 690 sq km

Population (2002): 10,075,034 (average annual rate of natural increase: -0.4%);

Birth rate: 9.32 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.63 years
- male: 67.28 years
- female: 76.3 years (2001 est.)

Age structure: (2001 est.)

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)

Literacy rate: 98% (1980)

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

people living with HIV/AIDS: 2,500 (1999 est.)
deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Languages: Magyar (Hungarian), 98.2%; other, 1.8%

Literacy rate: 98% (1980)

Monetary unit: Forint (HUF)

Ethnicity/race:

Hungarian 89.9%
Roma 4%
German 2.6%
Serb 2%
Slovak 0.8%
Romanian 0.7%

Religions:

Religions: Roman Catholic 67.5%
Calvinist 20%
Lutheran 5%
atheist and other 7.5%

Prime Minister (2002.04.): Medgyessy Péter

President: Mádl Ferenc(2000)

Government type: parliamentary democracy

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: MÁDL Ferenc (since August 2000)

Head of government: Prime Minister ORBÁN Viktor(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: MÁDL Ferenc elected president; 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 Országgyűlés (386 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms)

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

Paries in Parlament (new in 2002):

Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party or FIDESZ [POKORNYI Zotán ]

Hungarian Socialist Party or MSZP [KOVÁCS Lászlo, chairman]

Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [ DÁVID Ibolya]

Alliance of Free Democrats or SZDSZ [KUNCZE Gábor]

Economic 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 ORBÁN 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)
Fiscal year: calendar year

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land.
Exports: $25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000): machinery and equipment, other manufactures, agriculture and food products, raw materials, fuels and electricity.
Imports: $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000): machinery and equipment, other manufactures, fuels and electricity, food products, raw materials.
Major trading partners: Germany, Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Russia

Land use:

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

Transportation:

Railways: total: 7,606.
Highways total: 188,203 km; paved: 81,680 km (including 438 km of expressways) unpaved: 106,523 km (1998 est.).
Waterways: 1,373 km permanently navigable (1997).
Ports and harbors: Budapest, Dunaujvaros.
Airports: 43 (2000 est.).

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)

Transnational Issues:

Disputes - international: Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Slovakia is before the ICJ (International Court Of Juttice)
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

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