1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers
Coastline
none--landlocked
Comparative area
slightly smaller than Indiana
Disputes
Nagymaros Dam dispute with Czechoslovakia
Environment
levees are common along many streams, but flooding occurs almost every year
Land boundaries
2,251 km total; Austria 366 km, Czechoslovakia 676 km, Romania 443 km, USSR 135 km, Yugoslavia 631 km
Land use
arable land 54%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 14%; forest and woodland 18%; other 11%; includes irrigated 2%
Maritime claims
none--landlocked
Natural resources
bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils
Note
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
93,030 km2; land area: 92,340 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
12 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
Hungarian 96.6%, German 1.6%, Slovak 1.1%, Southern Slav 0.3%, Romanian 0.2%
Infant mortality rate
14 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
4,860,000; services, trade, government, and other 43.2%, industry 30.9%, agriculture 18.8%, construction 7.1% (1988)
Language
Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%
Life expectancy at birth
68 years male, 76 years female (1991)
Literacy
99% (male 99%, female 98%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
Nationality
noun--Hungarian(s); adjective--Hungarian
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
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
10,558,001 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.1% (1991)
Religion
Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20.0%, Lutheran 5.0%, atheist and other 7.5%
Total fertility rate
1.8 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
19 counties (megyek, singular--megye) and 1 capital city* (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest*, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Komarom-Esztergom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala
Capital
Budapest
Communists
fewer than 100,000 (December 1989)
Constitution
18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensures legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and established the principle of parliamentary oversight
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador (vacant); Chancery at 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 362-6730; there is a Hungarian Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador Charles THOMAS; Embassy at V. Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [36] (1) 112-6450
Elections
President last held 3 August 1990 (next to be held August 1995); elected by the National Assembly with a total of 294 votes out of 304; President GONCZ was elected by the National Assembly as interim President from 2 May 1990 until elected President; 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
Executive branch
president, prime minister
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green
Independence
1001, unification by King Stephen I
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, may be restructured as part of ongoing government overhaul
Leaders
Chief of State--President Arpad GONCZ (since 3 August 1990; previously interim President from 2 May 1990); Head of Government--Prime Minister Jozsef ANTALL (since 23 May 1990)
Legal system
in process of revision, moving toward rule of law based on Western model
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules)
Long-form name
Republic of Hungary
Member of
BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, ECE, FAO, G-9, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
October 23 (1956); commemorates the Hungarian uprising
Political parties and leaders
Democratic Forum, Jozsef ANTALL, chairman; Free Democrats, Janos KIS, chairman; Independent Smallholders, Ferenc Jozsef NAGY, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP), Gyula HORN, chairman; Young Democrats, Gabor FODOR, head; Christian Democrats, Dr. Lazlo SURJAN, president; note--the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party (MSZMP) renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) in October 1989
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
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
Budget
revenues $18.2 billion; expenditures $18.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $805 million (1989)
Currency
forint (plural--forints); 1 forint (Ft) = 100 filler
Economic aid
donor--$2.0 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1962-89)
Electricity
7,800,000 kW capacity; 30,400 million kWh produced, 2,870 kWh per capita (1990)
Exchange rates
forints (Ft) per US$1--60.95 (December 1990), 63.21 (1990), 59.07 (1989), 50.41 (1988), 46.97 (1987), 45.83 (1986), 50.12 (1985)
Exports
$10.2 billion (f.o.b. 1989); commodities--capital goods 33%, foods 25%, consumer goods 16%, fuels 1.5%, other 24.5%; partners USSR and Eastern Europe 42%, developed countries 37.4%, less developed countries 20.6% (1989)
External debt
$20.7 billion (1989)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$60.9 billion, per capita $5,800; real growth rate - 5.7% (1990 est.)
Imports
$10.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--capital goods 15%, fuels 20%, manufactured consumer goods 12.4%, agriculture 5%, other 47.6%; partners--USSR and Eastern Europe 34.9%, developed countries 45.5%, less developed countries 16.6%, US 3%
Industrial production
growth rate - 7.9% (1990 est.)
Industries
mining, metallurgy, engineering industries, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
30% (1990 est.)
Overview
Agriculture is an important sector, providing sizable export earnings and meeting domestic food needs. Industry accounts for about 40% of GNP and 30% of employment. About 40% of Hungary's foreign trade is with the USSR and Eastern Europe and a third is with the EC. Low rates of growth reflect the inability of the Soviet-style economy to modernize capital plant and motivate workers. GNP declined by 1% in 1989 and by an estimated 6% in 1990. Since 1985 external debt has more than doubled, to over $20 billion. In recent years Hungary has experimented widely with decentralized and market-oriented enterprises. The newly democratic government has renounced the Soviet economic growth model and plans to open the economy to wider market forces and to much closer economic relations with Western Europe. Prime Minister Antall has declared his intention to move foward on privatization of state enterprises, provision for bankruptcy, land reform, and marketization of international trade, but concerns over acceptable levels of unemployment and inflation may slow the reform process.
Unemployment rate
1.7% (1990)
Communications
Airports
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
28 major transport aircraft
Highways
130,014 km total; 29,715 km national highway system--26,834 km asphalt and bitumen, 142 km concrete, 51 km stone and road brick, 2,276 km macadam, 412 km unpaved; 58,495 km country roads (66% unpaved), and 41,804 km (est.) other roads (70% unpaved) (1988)
Inland waterways
1,622 km (1988)
Merchant marine
16 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) and 1 bulk totaling 94,393 GRT/131,946 DWT
Pipelines
crude oil, 1,204 km; refined products, 630 km; natural gas, 3,895 km (1986)
Ports
Budapest and Dunaujvaros are river ports on the Danube; maritime outlets are Rostock (Germany), Gdansk (Poland), Gdynia (Poland), Szczecin (Poland), Galati (Romania), and Braila (Romania)
Railroads
7,765 km total; 7,508 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 222 km narrow gauge (mostly 0.760-meter), 35 km 1.520-meter broad gauge; 1,147 km double track, 2,161 km electrified; all government owned (1988)
Telecommunications
telephone density is at 17 per 100 inhabitants; 49% of all phones are in Budapest; 12-15 year wait for a phone; 16,000 telex lines (June 1990); stations--13 AM, 12 FM, 21 TV (8 Soviet TV relays); 4.2 TVs (1990)
Military and Security
Branches
Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Frontier Guard, Civil Defense
Defense expenditures
43.7 billion forints, NA% of GDP (1989); note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 2,667,234; 2,130,749 fit for military service; 88,851 reach military age (18) annually