Basic Facts
Basic Facts
Geography: Area: 93,036 km2. Location: Central Europe, in the Carpathian Basin. Neighbors: Slovakia (N), Austria (W), Slovenia, Croatia and Yugoslavia (S), Romania and the Ukraine (E). Surface features: fertile plain (Great Plain) on the eastern part of the area divided by the Danube, rolling hills to the west (Transdanubia, with medium-altitude mountain ranges at its center and to its south), and medium-altitude mountain ranges to the north. Highest point: Kékes (1,014 m). Major rivers: Danube, Tisza and Dráva. Largest lakes: Balaton, Velencei-tó and Fertő tó.
Population: Population (2000): 10,044,000. Breakdown by age: 0-14: 19.4%, 15-59: 61.4%, 60 and over: 19.2%. Population density: 111.1/km2. Ethnic groups: Hungarian 97.7%, Roma 1.4%, German 0.3%, Slovak 0.1%, Croat 0.1%, Romanian 0.1%. Language: Hungarian. Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Greek Orthodox. Metropolitan inhabitants: 62.6%. Capital: Budapest (2000): 1,815,000. Cities (2000): Debrecen 204,000, Miskolc 173,000, Szeged 158,000, Pécs 158,000, Győr 128,000.
Form of Government: President of the Republic: Ferenc Mádl (as of June 2000). Prime Minister: Viktor Orbán (as of July 1998). National holidays: 15 March, 23 October.
Economy: Currency: the forint (HUF 289 = USD 1) (January 2001). GDP (1996): USD 43.47 billion. Per Capita GDP (1999): USD 4,808. Economic growth (1999): 4.5 %. National debt as a percentage of the GDP (1992): 12.2. National debt as a percentage of convertibly accountable exports (1992): 40.3. Defense spending as a percentage of the GDP (1999): 1.6. Consumer price variation (1994): 10.4%. Unemployment rate (1999): 7.0%. Workforce distribution (1995): agriculture 8.6%, industry and construction industry: 32.5%, commerce and services: 16.7%. Export (1995): HUF 1,622 billion. Main export items: foods, pharmaceuticals, rolled steel, aluminum products, plastic raw material, semi-finished and finished products, petroleum derivatives, machinery, equipment, electrical products and consumer electronics, coaches, building materials, clothing, upholstery. Main export partners (1999): Germany, Austria, Italy, USA, Holland, France, Great Britain. Imports (1995): HUF 1,936.4 billion. Main import items: heating fuel, industrial raw materials and semi-finished products, machinery, consumables, and fodder. Main import partners (1999): Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, France, Japan, USA.
Transportation: Railway network (1998): 7,873 km, of which 30.5% is electrified. Public road network (1995): 157,403 km, nationwide road network: 30,267 km, of which motorways (1999) comprise 448 km. Motor vehicles (1991): automobiles (privately owned): 2,052,891, other motor vehicles: 252,405. Telecommunications: number of inhabitants per set: television: 3.4, radio: 1.6, telephone: 5.2. Dailies (1992): 282/1,000 persons.
Health Care: Life expectancy at birth (1998): men: 66.1 years, women: 75.2 years. Birth rate (1995): 11.7‰. Death rate (1995): 14.2‰. Population growth (1995): -3.2‰. Infant mortality rate (1995): 10.7‰. Number of inhabitants per one hospital bed: 99. Number of inhabitants per physician: 292.
Education: Literacy rate (1990): 78.1% of the population over the age of fifteen has completed elementary school. School age: 6 to 16 years.
Member of the United Nations since 1955.
Member state of the Central European Initiative (CEI) since 1989. Member of the Council of Europe (CE) since 1990. Member of the Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA) since 1992. Associate member of the Western European Union (WEU) since 1994. Member of the European Organization for Security and Cooperation (EOSC) since 1995. Member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) since 1996. Member of the NATO since 1999.
