About Hungary

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. 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 in 2004.

Formal country name
Republic of Hungary

Location
Central Europe, northwest of Romania

Area
total: 93,030 sq km
land: 92,340 sq km
water: 690 sq km

Land boundaries
total: 2,171 km
border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Serbia 151 km, Slovakia 677 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km

Coastline
0 km (landlocked)

Climate
temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

Terrain
mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border

Natural resources
bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land

Natural hazards

Population
9,981,334 (July 2006)

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.6% (male 799,163/female 755,389)
15-64 years: 69.2% (male 3,403,375/female 3,505,640)
65 years and over: 15.2% (male 550,297/female 967,470) (2006)

Median age
total: 38.7 years
male: 36.3 years
female: 41.4 years (2006)

Population growth rate
-0.25% (2006)

Birth rate
9.72 births/1,000 population (2006)

Death rate
13.11 deaths/1,000 population (2006)

Net migration rate
0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006)

Infant morality rate
total: 8.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.09 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.66 years
male: 68.45 years
female: 77.14 years (2006)

Total fertility rate
1.32 children born/woman (2006)

Ethnic groups
Hungarian 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, other or unknown 5.8% (2001 census)

Religions
Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinist 15.9%, Lutheran 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, other Christian 1%, other or unspecified 11.1%, unaffiliated 14.5% (2001 census)

Languages
Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)

Government type
parliamentary democracy

Capital city
Budapest

Independence
1001 (unification by King Stephen I)

GDP - real growth rate
4.1% (2005)

GDP - per capita
$16,300 (2005)

Unemployment rate
7.2% (2005)

Population below poverty line
8.6% (1993)