BASIC INFORMATION

Full Country Name: The Republic of Hungary


Country Profile: Hungary

Area: 93,030 sq km (35,920sq mi)
Population: 10.1m (108 per km) (2005)
Capital City: Budapest (population: 2m)
Languages: Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, Jewish 5%, atheist and other 2.5%
Currency: Forint
Major political parties: Governing coalition: Hungarian Socialist Party (MSzP), Alliance of Free Democrats (SzDSz); Opposition: Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party (FIDESZ), Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF)
Government: Unicameral Parliamentary Democracy
President: L�szl� S�lyom
Prime Minister: Ferenc Gyurcs�ny
Foreign Minister: Kinga G�ncz
Membership of international groupings/organisations: Australia Group, BIS, Group (AG), British Association for Central and Eastern Europe (BACEE), CEE, Central and Eastern Europe Free Trade Association (CEFTA), CE, CEI, CERN, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), European Union (EU), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Energy Agency (IEA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Inmarsat, International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), Interpol, International Olympic Committee (IOC), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) (guest), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE), Partnership for Peace (PfP), United Nations (UN), Western European Union (WEU) (associate), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Hungary is a democratic republic. It joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. It became a member of NATO on 12 March 1999. Hungary completely transformed itself politically and economically in the 1990s.
GEOGRAPHY
Hungary is a landlocked state in Central Europe, bordering Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine. It is mostly flat, with low mountains in the north and north-east and to the north-west of Lake Balaton (Western Hungary). Hungary has some limited natural resources (bauxite, coal, and natural gas), as well as fertile soils and arable land.
HISTORY
Hungarians are deeply attached to their national, cultural and linguistic heritage.
Longer Historical Perspective
The ancestors of ethnic Hungarians were the Magyar tribes, who moved into the Carpathian Basin in 896, conquering the people already in the region. Hungary became a Christian Kingdom under St Stephen in the year 1000. Much of Hungary fell under Turkish domination from the early 16th until the late 17th century. Thereafter, the country came under Habsburg rule. This lasted until 1918 – although from the establishment of the dual Austrian-Hungarian monarchy in 1867 onwards, Hungary enjoyed broad autonomy and a golden period.
Recent History
Hungary was on the losing side of both World Wars. At the end of the first, Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory under the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, leaving large numbers of ethnic Hungarians in Romania (c.1.5 million), Slovakia (c.550, 000), Serbia and Montenegro (c.350,000) and the Ukraine (c.150,000). After the Second World War, the Communists gained complete control by 1948, despite the low level of support for Communism in Hungary. Stalin's death and Khrushchev's denunciation of him brought about a crisis in Hungary and led to the 1956 Uprising, which was suppressed by Soviet troops. After an initial period of oppression, from 1961 the new Communist leader, Kadar, instituted a platform of national reconciliation and then in 1968 introduced new radical economic reforms unparalleled in any other communist country. These led to a gradual improvement in living standards, a relaxation of the domestic atmosphere and improved relations with the West. But there was no parallel relaxation of the Communist grip on political life.
Post-1989
Hungary played an important role in the fall of Communism in 1989 by opening its borders allowing East Germans to enter Western Europe. Since then it's transition to parliamentary democracy has run smoothly. The first democratic elections after the collapse of communism were held in March/April 1990. Subsequent elections were held in 1994,1998 and 2002, with centre-right and centre-left coalitions being elected in succession, each serving a full four year term.
After the change of regime Hungary quickly embarked on a programme to institute a free market economy. Privatisation got underway more quickly than in many transition countries. There was however a macro-economic downside. In March 1995 the then-Socialist government was forced to implement an austerity package (the Bokros package) to address structural problems. This was in reaction to a huge rise in the trade/government deficit and a surge in inflation.
During the late 1990s, the Hungarian economy reaped the benefits of those measures. Despite global conditions, Hungary's economy has continued to grow at around 4%. Unemployment is now running at 7.3%, and inflation fell from 28% in 1995 to below 5.9% in 2005. Nearly 90% of GDP is now generated by the private sector compared with just 10% in 1990. Hungary is concentrating on structural investment, and has a higher skills-base than most of its neighbours. Exports have steadily risen since 1993; over 75% of trade is now with the European Union. Hungary hopes to join the euro in 2010 but first has to reign in its budget deficit of approximately 10% of GDP.
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BBC News Country Timeline: Hungary

POLITICS

Recent Political Developments

The President, L�szl� S�lyom, was elected by parliament in June 2005 and inaugurated on 5th August 2005. President S�lyom is a constitutional lawyer and three times President of the Hungarian Constitutional Court. Under the constitution, the President has relatively little executive power, but does provide a check on the constitutionality of government legislation.
History was made in Hungary when the sitting Socialist-Free Democrat Government was returned to office at the April 2006 general elections with an increased majority. The Government is currently implementing a package of economic reforms and aims to reduce the budget deficit to 3.2% of GDP by 2009 and 2.7% by 2010

Prime Minister: Ferenc Gyurcs�ny
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Kinga G�ncz
Minister for Agriculture and Rural Developement: J�zsef Gr�f
Minister of Education and Culture: Istv�n Hiller
Minister of Labour and Social Affairs: P�ter Kiss
Minister of Economy and Transport: J�nos K�ka
Minister of Local Governments and Regional Development: M�nika Lamperth
Minister of Health: Agnes Horvath
Minister of Environment and Water Managament: Gabor Fodor
Minister of Justice and Law Enforcement: J�zsef Petr�tei
Minister of Defence: Imre Szekeres
Minister of Finance: J�nos Veres
Head of Prime Minister`s Office: Gy�rgy Szilv�sy
National Developement Agency: Gordon Bajnai
State Reform Committee: Tibor Draskovitcs

Basic Economic Facts

GDP (market exchange rate): US $110.9bn (2005)
GDP (purchasing power parity): US $162.6bn (2005)
Real GDP growth: 4.1% (2005)
GDP per head (market exchange rate): US $11,078 (2005)
GDP per head (purchasing power parity): US $16,250 (2005)
Unemployment: 7.3% (2005)
Inflation: 5.9% (2005)
Current account deficit: 7.8% of GDP (2005)
Major Industries: Metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles, logistics, business services centres
EU share in foreign trade: 77% (exports); 68% (imports).
Other major trading partners: USA, Russia