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 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 in 2004.

Population
9,956,108 (July 2007 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.3% (male 785,643/female 741,907)
15-64 years: 69.3% (male 3,399,926/female 3,498,403)
65 years and over: 15.4% (male 554,356/female 975,873) (2007 est.)

Population growth rate
-0.253% (2007 est.)

Birth rate
9.66 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate
0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Infant morality rate
total: 8.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.91 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate
1.33 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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)

GDP - real growth rate
3.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita
$17,300 (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate
7.4% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line
8.6% (1993 est.)