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Communications

Airports [time series]

90 total, 90 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

22 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

130,000 km total; 29,701 km national highway system--26,727 km asphalt and bitumen, 146 km concrete, 55 km stone and road brick, 2,345 km macadam, 428 km unpaved; 58,495 km country roads (66% unpaved), and 41,804 km (est.) other roads (70% unpaved) (1987)

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

1,622 km (1986)

Merchant marine [time series]

16 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 77,141 GRT/103,189 DWT

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil, 1,204 km; refined products, 600 km; natural gas, 3,800 km (1986)

Ports [time series]

Budapest and Dunaujvaros are river ports on the Danube; maritime outlets are Rostock (GDR), Gdansk (Poland), Gdynia (Poland), Szczecin (Poland), Galati (Romania), and Braila (Romania)

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

7,770 km total; 7,513 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 222 km narrow gauge (mostly 0.760-meter), 35 km 1.524-meter broad gauge; 1,138 km double track, 2,088 km electrified; all government owned (1987)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

stations--13 AM, 11 FM, 21 TV; 8 Soviet TV relays; 3,500,000 TV sets; 5,500,000 receiver sets; at least 1 satellite earth station

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Hungarian People's Army, Frontier Guard, Air and Air Defense Command

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

43.7 billion forints, NA% of total budget (1989); note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 2,645,016; 2,112,651 fit for military service; 86,481 reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

including forestry, accounts for about 15% of GNP and 19% of employment; highly diversified crop-livestock farming; principal crops--wheat, corn, sunflowers, potatoes, sugar beets; livestock--hogs, cattle, poultry, dairy products; self-sufficient in food output

Aid [time series]

donor--$1.8 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1962-88)

Budget [time series]

revenues $14.0 billion; expenditures $14.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $944 million (1988)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

forint (plural--forints); 1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler

Electricity [time series]

7,250,000 kW capacity; 30,300 million kWh produced, 2,870 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

forints (Ft) per US$1--62.5 (January 1990), 59.2 (1989), 50.413 (1988), 46.971 (1987), 45.832 (1986), 50.119 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$19.1 billion (f.o.b. 1988); commodities--capital goods 36%, foods 24%, consumer goods 18%, fuels and minerals 11%, other 11%; partners USSR 48%, Eastern Europe 25%, developed countries 16%, less developed countries 8% (1987)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$19.6 billion (1989)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

GNP [time series]

$64.6 billion, per capita $6,108; real growth rate - 1.3% (1989 est.)

Imports [time series]

$18.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--machinery and transport 28%, fuels 20%, chemical products 14%, manufactured consumer goods 16%, agriculture 6%, other 16%; partners--USSR 43%, Eastern Europe 28%, less developed countries 23%, US 3% (1987)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 0.6% (1988)

Industries [time series]

mining, metallurgy, engineering industries, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

18% (1989 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Hungary's postwar Communist government spurred the movement from a predominantly agricultural to an industrialized economy. The share of the labor force in agriculture dropped from over 50% in 1950 to under 20% in 1989. Agriculture nevertheless remains an important sector, providing sizable export earnings and meeting domestic food needs. Industry accounts for about 40% of GNP and 30% of employment. Nearly three-fourths of foreign trade is with the USSR and Eastern Europe. Low rates of growth reflect the inability of the Soviet-style economy to modernize capital plant and motivate workers. GNP grew about 1% in 1988 and declined by 1% in 1989. Since 1985 external debt has more than doubled, to nearly $20 billion. In recent years Hungary has moved further than any other East European country in experimenting with decentralized and market-oriented enterprises. These experiments have failed to jump-start the economy because of: limitations on funds for privatization; continued subsidization of insolvent state enterprises; and the leadership's reluctance to implement sweeping market reforms that would cause additional social dislocations in the short term.

Unemployment rate [time series]

0.4% (1989)

Geography

Climate [time series]

temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

Coastline [time series]

none--landlocked

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than Indiana

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

Transylvania question with Romania; Nagymaros Dam dispute with Czechoslovakia

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

levees are common along many streams, but flooding occurs almost every year

Land boundaries [time series]

2,251 km total; Austria 366 km, Czechoslovakia 676 km, Romania 443 km, USSR 135 km, Yugoslavia 631 km

Land use [time series]

54% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 14% meadows and pastures; 18% forest and woodland; 11% other; includes 2% irrigated

Maritime claims [time series]

none--landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils

Note [time series]

landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between USSR and Mediterranean basin

Terrain [time series]

mostly flat to rolling plains

Area (Total area) [time series]

93,030 km2; land area: 92,340 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

19 counties (megyek, singular--megye) and 1 capital city* (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest*, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Komarom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar, Szolnok, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala

Capital [time series]

Budapest

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

fewer than 100,000 (December 1989)

Constitution [time series]

18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972 and 18 October 1989

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Dr. Peter VARKONYI; Chancery at 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 362-6730; there is a Hungarian Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador-designate Charles THOMAS; Embassy at V. Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [36] (1) 126-450

Executive branch [time series]

president, premier, Council of Ministers

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

1001, unification by King Stephen I

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State--President-designate Arpad GONCZ (since 2 May 1990); Head of Government--Prime Minister Jozsef ANTALL (since 23 May 1990)

Legal system [time series]

based on Communist legal theory, with both civil law system (civil code of 1960) and common law elements; Supreme Court renders decisions of principle that sometimes have the effect of declaring legislative acts unconstitutional; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Hungary

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

CCC, CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, IBEC, ICAC, ICAO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

National holiday [time series]

Anniversary of the Liberation, 4 April (1945)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Democratic Forum, Jozsef Antall, chairman; Free Democrats, Janos Kis, chairman; Independent Smallholders, Istvan Prepeliczay, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP), Rezso Nyers, chairman; Young Democrats; Christian Democrats, Sandor Keresztes, president; note--the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party (MSZMP) renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) in October 1989

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 National Assembly--last held on 25 March 1990 (first round, with the second round held 8 April 1990); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(394 total) Democratic Forum 165, Free Democrats 92, Independent Smallholders 43, Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) 33, Young Democrats 21, Christian Democrats 21, independent candidates or jointly sponsored candidates 19; an additional 8 seats will be given to representatives of minority nationalities

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

12 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

96.6% Hungarian, 1.6% German, 1.1% Slovak, 0.3% Southern Slav, 0.2% Romanian

Infant mortality rate [time series]

15 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

4,860,000; 43.2% services, trade, government, and other, 30.9% industry, 18.8% agriculture, 7.1% construction (1988)

Languages (Language) [time series]

98.2% Hungarian, 1.8% other

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

67 years male, 75 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

99%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Hungarian(s); adjective--Hungarian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

96.5% of labor force; Central Council of Hungarian Trade Unions (SZOT) includes 19 affiliated unions, all controlled by the government; independent unions legal; may be as many as 12 small independent unions in operation

Population [time series]

10,568,686 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.1% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

67.5% Roman Catholic, 20.0% Calvinist, 5.0% Lutheran, 7.5% atheist and other

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.8 children born/woman (1990)