Hungary

mixed system of state-supported public service broadcast media and private broadcasters; the 3 publicly-owned TV channels and the 2 main privately-owned TV stations are the major national broadcasters; a large number of special interest channels; highly developed market for satellite and cable TV services with about two-thirds of viewers utilizing their services; 3 state-supported public-service radio networks and 2 major national commercial stations; a large number of local stations including commercial, public service, nonprofit, and community radio stations; digital transition postponed to the end of 2014 (2007)

.hu

3.145 million (2012) country comparison to the world: 33

6.176 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 41

general assessment: the telephone system has been modernized; the system is digital and highly automated; trunk services are carried by fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay; a program for fiber-optic subscriber connections was initiated in 1996 domestic: competition among mobile-cellular service providers has led to a sharp increase in the use of mobile-cellular phones since 2000 and a decrease in the number of fixed-line connections international: country code - 36; Hungary has fiber-optic cable connections with all neighboring countries; the international switch is in Budapest; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Inmarsat, 1 very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system of ground terminals

2.933 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 52

11.69 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 67

wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products

revenues: $55.05 billion expenditures: $58.55 billion (2012 est.)

-2.7% of GDP country comparison to the world: 94 note: in 2011, the Government decided to redirect funds from the country's obligatory private pension scheme into state coffers in order to pay off government debt, effectively renationalizing the private pension system; the 2.9% deficit shown here does not include this change; including this change would result in a budget surplus of 3.6%; the EU renewed its Excessive Deficit Procedure against Hungary in January 2012, because it expects the 2013 deficit to reach 3.7%; the primary criticism of Hungary's deficit reductions in 2011 and 2012 was that they were not achieved in a sustainable manner (2012 est.)

5.75% (18 December 2012) country comparison to the world: 41 7% (31 December 2011)

8.5% (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 115 8.34% (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.146 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 38 $2.055 billion (2011 est.)

$170 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 33 $185 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

24.7 (2009) country comparison to the world: 134 24.4 (1998)

Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy, with a per capita income nearly two-thirds that of the EU-27 average. The private sector accounts for more than 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment worth more than $70 billion. In late 2008, Hungary's impending inability to service its short-term debt - brought on by the global financial crisis - led Budapest to obtain an IMF/EU/World Bank-arranged financial assistance package worth over $25 billion. The global economic downturn, declining exports, and low domestic consumption and fixed asset accumulation, dampened by government austerity measures, resulted in an economic contraction of 6.8% in 2009. In 2010 the new government implemented a number of changes including cutting business and personal income taxes, but imposed "crisis taxes" on financial institutions, energy and telecom companies, and retailers. The IMF/EU bail-out program lapsed at the end of the year and was replaced by Post Program Monitoring and Article IV Consultations on overall economic and fiscal processes. The economy began to recover in 2010 with a big boost from exports, especially to Germany, and achieved growth of approximately 1.7% in 2011. At the end of 2011 the government turned to the IMF and the EU to obtain financial backstop to support its efforts to refinance foreign currency debt and bond obligations in 2012 and beyond, but Budpest's rejection of EU and IMF economic policy recommendations led to a breakdown in talks with the lenders in late 2012. Since joining the EU in 2004, Hungary has been subject to the European Commisssion's Excessive Deficit Procedure; Brussels has requested that the government outline measures to sustainably reduce the budget deficit to under 3% of GDP. Ongoing economic weakness in Western Europe caused a GDP to fall 1% in 2012. Unemployment remained high, at more than 11%.

forints (HUF) per US dollar - 229.5 (2012 est.) 201.05 (2011 est.) 207.94 (2010 est.) 202.34 (2009) 171.8 (2008)

$105.1 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 39 $107.1 billion (2011 est.)

machinery and equipment 55.3%, other manufactures 30.6%, food products 7.4%, raw materials 3.2%, fuels and electricity 3.3% (2009 est.)

Germany 25%, Romania 5.7%, Austria 5.4%, Slovakia 5.4%, Italy 5%, France 4.8%, UK 4.6% (2011)

calendar year

$128.8 billion (2012 est.)

$196.8 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 56 $198.8 billion (2011 est.) $195.5 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars

agriculture: 4.2% industry: 30.1% services: 65.7% (2012 est.)

$19,800 (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 65 $19,900 (2011 est.) $19,500 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars

-1% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 199 1.7% (2011 est.) 1.3% (2010 est.)

lowest 10%: 3.1% highest 10%: 22.6% (2009)

$100.8 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 35 $101.5 billion (2011 est.)

machinery and equipment 44.7%, other manufactures 41.3%, fuels and electricity 5.1%, food products, raw materials 6.7%

Germany 24.7%, Russia 8.6%, China 8.4%, Austria 6.2%, Slovakia 4.9%, Poland 4.7%, Netherlands 4.4%, Italy 4.3% (2011)

5.4% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 61

5.6% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 153 3.9% (2011 est.)

15.6% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 135

4.178 million (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 89

agriculture: 4.7% industry: 30.9% services: 64.4% (2010 est.)

$18.77 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 59 $27.71 billion (31 December 2010) $28.29 billion (31 December 2009)

13.9% (2010)

81.3% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 25 80.8% of GDP (2011 est.) note: general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities: currency and deposits, securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives, and government, state government, local government, and social security funds.

$44.9 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 40 $48.84 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$74.5 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 60 $80.68 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$26.39 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 42 $24.59 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$76.62 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 45 $74.46 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$85.67 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 56 $88.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$30.63 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 57 $30.51 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

42.7% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 40

11.2% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 122 10.9% (2011 est.)

50.39 million Mt (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 62

0 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 128

108,500 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 46

22,560 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 69

31.72 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 85

36.3 billion kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 55

8 billion kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 23

72% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 104

1% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 143

20% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 12

7% of total installed capacity (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 29

15.7 billion kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 12

9.9 million kW (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 57

36.2 billion kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 62

11.24 billion cu m (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 45

566 million cu m (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 42

8.019 billion cu m (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 30

2.464 billion cu m (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 57

8.013 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 82

141,100 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 71

49,010 bbl/day (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 61

171,600 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 32

167,900 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 60

total: 93,028 sq km country comparison to the world: 110 land: 89,608 sq km water: 3,420 sq km

slightly smaller than Indiana

temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

0 km (landlocked)

lowest point: Tisza River 78 m highest point: Kekes 1,014 m

the upgrading of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution to meet EU requirements will require large investments

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

total: 21.03 cu km/yr (9%/59%/32%) per capita: 2,082 cu m/yr (2001)

47 00 N, 20 00 E

landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin; the north-south flowing Duna (Danube) and Tisza Rivers divide the country into three large regions

1,400 sq km (2003)

total: 2,185 km border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Serbia 166 km, Slovakia 676 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km

arable land: 49.58% permanent crops: 2.06% other: 48.36% (2005)

Central Europe, northwest of Romania

Europe

none (landlocked)

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

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

120 cu km (2005)

19 counties (megyek, singular - megye), 23 urban counties (singular - megyei varos), and 1 capital city (fovaros) counties: Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Komarom-Esztergom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala urban counties: Bekescsaba, Debrecen, Dunaujvaros, Eger, Erd, Gyor, Hodmezovasarhely, Kaposvar, Kecskemet, Miskolc, Nagykanizsa, Nyiregyhaza, Pecs, Salgotarjan, Sopron, Szeged, Szekesfehervar, Szekszard, Szolnok, Szombathely, Tatabanya, Veszprem, Zalaegerszeg capital city: Budapest

name: Budapest geographic coordinates: 47 30 N, 19 05 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

25 April 2011, effective 1 January 2012

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Hungary local long form: none local short form: Magyarorszag

chief of mission: Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos KOUNALAKIS embassy: Szabadsag ter 12, H-1054 Budapest mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Budapest, 5270 Budapest Place, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270 telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400 FAX: [36] (1) 475-4764

chief of mission: Ambassador Gyorgy SZAPARY chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

chief of state: Janos ADER (since 10 May 2012) head of government: Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 29 May 2010) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president; other ministers proposed by the prime minister and appointed and relieved of their duties by the president (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website) elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 2 May 2012 (next to be held by May 2017); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president; election last held 29 May 2010 election results: Janos ADER elected president; National Assembly vote - 262 to 40; Viktor ORBAN elected prime minister; National Assembly vote - 261 to 107 note: to be elected, the president must win two-thirds of legislative vote in the first round or a simple majority in the second round

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green; the flag dates to the national movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, and fuses the medieval colors of the Hungarian coat of arms with the revolutionary tricolor form of the French flag; folklore attributes virtues to the colors: red for strength, white for faithfulness, and green for hope; alternatively, the red is seen as being for the blood spilled in defense of the land, white for freedom, and green for the pasturelands that make up so much of the country

parliamentary democracy

16 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date); 30 March 1867 (Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy established)

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms); Curia (highest court; head of Curia elected by National Assembly, the other judges elected by the president on recommendation of the head of the National Office of the Courts, a separate administrative body); Regional Courts of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president)

civil legal system influenced by the German model

unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (386 seats; members elected by popular vote under a system of proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms) elections: last held on 11 and 25 April 2010 (next to be held in April 2014) election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote required for parliamentary representation in the first round) - Fidesz 52.7%, MSzP 19.3%, Jobbik 16.7%, LMP 7.5%; seats by party - Fidesz 263, MSzP 59, Jobbik 47, LMP 16, independent 1 note: current composition - seats by party - Fidesz-KDNP 263, MSzP 48, Jobbik 46, LMP 15, Democratic Coalition 10, independent 4

name: "Himnusz" (Hymn) lyrics/music: Ferenc KOLCSEY/Ferenc ERKEL note: adopted 1844

Saint Stephen's Day, 20 August; note - commemorates the date when his remains were transferred to Buda (now Budapest)

Holy Crown of Hungary (Crown of Saint Stephen); turul (falcon)

Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Zsolt SEMJEN]; Democratic Coalition [Ferenc GYURCSANY]; Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance or Fidesz [Viktor ORBAN, chairman]; Hungarian Socialist Party or MSzP [Attila MESTERHAZY]; Movement for a Better Hungary or Jobbik [Gabor VONA]; Politics Can Be Different or LMP [13-member leadership]

Air Work Group (works to reduce air pollution in towns and cities); Danube Circle (protests the building of the Gabchikovo-Nagymaros dam); Fourth Republic (Negyedik Koztarsasag) or 4K! (anti-Orban, pro-democracy Facebook movement emerged from a Facebook group, One Million for Freedom of the Press or "Milla," and plans to form a leftist political party); Green Future (protests the impact of lead contamination of local factory on health of the people); Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (Tarsasag a Szabadsagjogokert) or TASZ (freedom of expression, information privacy); Hungarian Helsinki Committee (asylum seekers' rights, human rights in law enforcement and the judicial system); environmentalists: Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society (Magyar Madartani Egyesulet) or MME; Green Alternative (Zold Alternativa); Szolidaritas ("Solidarity," formed in October 2011 by three trade unions and an NGO - anti-Orban government); "Egyutt 2014" ("Together 2014," a political electoral alliance bringing together Milla, Szolidaritas, and "Haza es Haladas," an association headed by former PM Gordon BAJNAI, to contest Fidesz and Viktor ORBAN in the 2014 parliamentary elections); Bekemenet ("Peace March," nominally independent organization that serves as pro-government mass organization, supporting ORBAN government's policies)

18 years of age; universal

Hungary became a Christian kingdom in A.D. 1000 and for many centuries served as a bulwark against Ottoman Turkish expansion in Europe. The kingdom eventually became 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 five years later. In 2011, Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the EU for the first time.

males age 16-49: 2,349,948 females age 16-49: 2,290,568 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49: 1,902,639 females age 16-49: 1,897,378 (2010 est.)

male: 59,237 female: 55,533 (2010 est.)

Hungarian Defense Forces: Land Forces, Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Legiero, ML) (2011)

1.75% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 83

18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; 6-month service obligation (2010)

0-14 years: 14.9% (male 763,371/ female 717,490) 15-64 years: 68% (male 3,348,155/ female 3,425,896) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 632,346/ female 1,071,195) (2012 est.)

9.49 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 202

12.7 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 24

5.2% of GDP (2007) country comparison to the world: 52

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

less than 0.1% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 129

fewer than 200 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 105

3,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 128

8.2% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 53

7.04 beds/1,000 population (2008)

total: 5.24 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 178 male: 5.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)

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

total population: 75.02 years country comparison to the world: 93 male: 71.27 years female: 78.98 years (2012 est.)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99.2% female: 98.9% (2010 est.)

BUDAPEST (capital) 1.705 million (2009)

degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A vectorborne diseases: tickborne encephalitis (2009)

21 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) country comparison to the world: 137

total: 40.5 years male: 38.4 years female: 43 years (2012 est.)

noun: Hungarian(s) adjective: Hungarian

1.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 46

17.7% (2004) country comparison to the world: 25

3.097 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

9,958,453 (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 87

-0.184% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 206

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)

improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 100% of population total: 100% of population

total: 15 years male: 15 years female: 16 years (2008)

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

1.41 children born/woman (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 201

total: 26.5% country comparison to the world: 22 male: 28.2% female: 24.2% (2009)

urban population: 68% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 0.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working group negotiations continue in 2006 with Slovakia over Hungary's failure to complete its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary has implemented the strict Schengen border rules

transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and methamphetamine; efforts to counter money laundering, related to organized crime and drug trafficking are improving but remain vulnerable; significant consumer of ecstasy

41 (2012) country comparison to the world: 104

total: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2012)

total: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 11 (2012)

3 (2012)

gas 4,716 km; oil 984 km; refined products 361 km (2010)

Budapest, Dunaujvaros, Gyor-Gonyu, Csepel, Baja, Mohacs

total: 8,057 km country comparison to the world: 26 broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 7,802 km 1.435-m gauge (2,911 km electrified) narrow gauge: 219 km 0.760-m gauge (2009)

total: 197,519 km country comparison to the world: 24 paved: 74,993 km (43,898 km of interurban roads including 911 km of expressways) unpaved: 112,526 km (2010)

1,622 km (most on Danube River) (2011) country comparison to the world: 48