1987 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; Transylvania question with Romania

Climate

temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Indiana

Environment

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

Land boundaries

2,242 km total

Land use

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

Special notes

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

Terrain

mostly flat to rolling plains

Total area

125 km Miskolc * Dabrecen, *Gyor os BUDAPEST Dunadjvéros*

93,030 km?; land area: 92,340 km?

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

19/1,000 (1983)

Labor force

4,913,000 (1985); 31.3% industry; 21.1% agriculture; 7.2% construction; 40.4% services, trade, government, other

Language

98.2% Hungarian, 1.8% other

Life expectancy

men 65.6, women 73.7 (1984)

Literacy

98.9%

Nationality

noun—Hungarian(s); adjective—Hungarian

Population

10,609,447 (July 1987), average annual growth rate —0.19%

Religion

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

Administrative divisions

19 megyes (counties), 5 autonomous cities in county status

Branches

executive—Presidential Council (elected by parliament); unicameral legislature—National Assembly (elected by direct suffrage); judicial—Supreme Court (elected by parliament)

Communists

about 870,992 party members (January 1985)

Elections

every five years (last election June 1985); national and local elections are held separately Politica] parties and leaders: Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers’ Party (MSZMP), sole party; Janos Kadar, General Secretary (since November 1956; his title was changed from First Secretary to General Secretary in March 1985)

Government leaders

Pa] LOSONCZI, President, Presidential Council (since April 1967); Gyérgy LAZAR, Premier, Council of Ministers (since May 1975)

Legal system

based on Communist legal theory, with both civil law system (civil code of 1960) and common law elements; constitution adopted 1949 amended 1972; Supreme Court renders decisions of principle that sometimes have the effect of declaring legislative acts unconstitutional; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

CEMA, Danube Commission, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMF, IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

National holiday

Liberation Day, 4 April

Official name

Hungarian People’s Repub-

Suffrage

universal over age 18

Type

Communist state Capital; Budapest

Voting strength

(1985 election) 7,700,000 (94%) turnout for multiple-candidate election, with only some leading figures running without opposition

Agriculture

normally self-sufficient; corn, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, barley

Crude steel

3.6 million metric tons produced (1985), 339 kg per capita

Electric power

6,851,000 kW capacity; 27,250 million kWh produced, 2,570 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$13.5 billion (f.0.b., 1985); 34.8% fuels, raw materials, and semifinished products; 28.8% machinery and equipment; 21.8% agricultural and forestry products; 15.1% manufactured consumer goods

Fiscal year

calendar year

GNP

$80.1 billion in 1985 (at 1985 US dollars), $7,520 per capita; 1985 growth rate, - 0.8%

Imports

$13.0 billion (c.i.f., 1985); 66.7% fuels, raw materials, and semifinished products; 15.8% machinery and equipment; 10.4% manufactured consumer goods; 7.1% agricultural and forestry products

Major industries

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

Major trade partners

31.8% USSR, 9.6% FRG (1985)

Monetary conversion rate

46.50 forints=US$1 (October 1986)

Natural resources

bauxite, brown coal, natural gas

Shortages

metallic ores (except bauxite), copper, high grade coal, forest products, crude oil

Airfields

95 total; 16 with runways 2,500 m or longer

Civil air

22 major transport aircraft

Freight carried

rail—117.0 million metric tons, 22.3 billion metric tons/km; highway—554.5 million metric tons, 11.9 billion metric tons/km; waterway—est. 12.5 million metric tons, 9.5 billion metric tons/km (public and private use) (1984)

Highways

140,000 km total; 29,633 km concrete, asphalt, stone block; 58,495 km country roads (66 percent unpaved), and 51,872 km other roads (70 percent unpaved) (1985)

Inland waterways

1,622 km (1983)

Pipelines

crude oil, 1,160 km; refined products, 600 km; natural gas, 3,732 km (1984)

Railroads

7,766 km total; 7,510 km 1.435meter standard gauge, 22] km narrow gauge (mostly 0.760-meter), 35 km 1.524meter broad gauge, 1,130 km double track, 1,801 km electrified; government owned (1984)

River ports

2 principal (Budapest, Dunatjvaros); no maritime ports; outlets are Rostock, GDR; Gdafisk, Gdynia, and Szczecin in Poland; and Galati and Braila in Romania

Telecommunications

12 AM, 11 FM, 20 TV stations; 8 Soviet TV relays; 2,848,000 TV sets; 5,500,000 receiver sets; at least 1 satellite ground station

Branches

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

Military budget

announced for fiscal year ending 31 December 1986, 25.1 billion forints; 4.2% of total budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 2,595,000; 2,077,000 fit for military service; about 77,000 reach military age (18) annually