Hungary (2001) | British Indian Ocean Territory (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 19 counties (megyek, singular - megye), 20 urban counties* (singular - megyei varos), and 1 capital city** (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Bekescsaba*, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest**, Csongrad, Debrecen*, Dunaujvaros*, Eger*, Fejer, Gyor*, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Hodmezovasarhely*, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Kaposvar*, Kecskemet*, Komarom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nograd, Nyiregyhaza*, Pecs*, Pest, Somogy, Sopron*, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekesfehervar*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabanya*, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Veszprem*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg* | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
16.63% (male 862,468; female 818,052) 15-64 years: 68.66% (male 3,406,717; female 3,532,008) 65 years and over: 14.71% (male 546,992; female 939,780) (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products | - |
Airports | 43 (2000 est.) | 1 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
16 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
27 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
93,030 sq km land: 92,340 sq km water: 690 sq km |
total: 54,400 sq km
land: 60 sq km; Diego Garcia 44 sq km water: 54,340 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago of 55 islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | land area is about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Hungary was 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 announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. In the more open GORBACHEV years, Hungary led the movement to dissolve the Warsaw Pact and steadily shifted toward multiparty democracy and a market-oriented economy. Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Hungary developed close political and economic ties to Western Europe. It joined NATO in 1999 and is a frontrunner in a future expansion of the EU. | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. |
Birth rate | 9.32 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues:
$13 billion expenditures: $14.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
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Capital | Budapest | - |
Climate | temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 698 km |
Constitution | 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; 18 October 1989 revision ensured legal rights for individuals and constitutional checks on the authority of the prime minister and also established the principle of parliamentary oversight; 1997 amendment streamlined the judicial system | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Hungary conventional short form: Hungary local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag local short form: Magyarorszag |
conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
Currency | forint (HUF) | - |
Death rate | 13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $29.6 billion (2000) | - |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Peter F. TUFO embassy: Szabadsag Ter 12, H.-1054 Budapest mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Budapest, 5270 Budapest Place, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270 telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400, 475-4703 (after hours) FAX: [36] (1) 475-4764 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Geza JESZENSZKY chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Slovakia is before the ICJ | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia; in 2001, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago, evicted in 1967 and 1973 and now residing chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed U.K. Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; a small group of Chagossians visited Diego Garcia in April 2006; repatriation is complicated by the exclusive US military lease of Diego Garcia that restricts access to the largest viable island in the chain |
Economic aid - recipient | $122.7 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | Hungary continues to demonstrate strong economic growth and to work toward accession to the European Union. The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms is widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling $23 billion by 2000. Hungarian sovereign debt was upgraded in 2000 to the second-highest rating among all the Central European transition economies. Inflation - a top economic concern in 2000 - is still high at almost 10%, pushed upward by higher world oil and gas and domestic food prices. Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing have not yet been addressed by the ORBAN government. | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where a joint UK-US military facility is located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installation are performed by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the native Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. The territory makes money by selling fishing licenses and postage stamps. |
Electricity - consumption | 35.234 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 2.35 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 3.406 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 36.75 billion kWh (1999) | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
61.09% hydro: 0.51% nuclear: 38.4% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Tisza River 78 m highest point: Kekes 1,014 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
Environment - current issues | the approximation of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution with environmental requirements for EU accession will require large investments | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea |
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Ethnic groups | Hungarian 89.9%, Roma 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%, Romanian 0.7% | - |
Exchange rates | forints per US dollar - 282.240 (January 2001), 282.179 (2000), 237.146 (1999), 214.402 (1998), 186.789 (1997), 152.647 (1996) | - |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Ferenc MADL (since NA August 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 6 July 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 6 June 2000 (next to be held by June 2005); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president election results: Ferenc MADL elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA% (but by a simple majority in the third round of voting); Viktor ORBAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% note: to be elected, the president must win two-thirds of legislative vote in the first two rounds or a simple majority in the third round |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Leigh TURNER (since July 2006); Administrator Tony HUMPHRIES (since February 2005); note - both reside in the UK and are represented by the officer commanding British Forces on Diego Garcia cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | - |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 59.5%, other manufactures 29.4%, food products 6.9%, raw materials 2.4%, fuels and electricity 1.8% (2000) | - |
Exports - partners | Germany 37%, Austria 9%, Italy 6%, Netherlands 5% (2000) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $113.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 35% services: 60% (2000 est.) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 20 00 E | 6 00 S, 71 30 E; note - Diego Garcia 7 20 S, 72 25 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin | archipelago of 55 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility |
Heliports | 5 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
188,203 km paved: 81,680 km (including 448 km of expressways) unpaved: 106,523 km (1998 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 24.8% (1996) |
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Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and transit point for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and methamphetamine | - |
Imports | $27.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | - |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 51.1%, other manufactures 35.9%, fuels and electricity 8.1%, food products 2.8%, raw materials 2.1% (2000) | - |
Imports - partners | Germany 25%, Russia 8%, Austria 7%, Italy 7% (2000) | - |
Independence | 1001 (unification by King Stephen I) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2000 est.) | - |
Industries | mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles | - |
Infant mortality rate | 8.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.8% (1999 est.) | - |
International organization participation | ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,060 sq km (1993 est.) | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms) | - |
Labor force | 4.2 million (1997) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | services 65%, industry 27%, agriculture 8% (1996) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
2,009 km border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Yugoslavia 151 km, Slovakia 515 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
51% permanent crops: 3.6% permanent pastures: 12.4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 14% (1999) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
Languages | Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8% | - |
Legal system | rule of law based on Western model | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (386 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 10 and 24 May 1998 (next to be held May/June 2002) election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote required for parliamentary representation in the first round) - MSZP 32.0%, FIDESZ 28.2%, FKGP 13.8%, SZDSZ 7.9%, MIEP 5.5%, MMP 4.1%, MDF 2.8%, KDNP 2.3%, MDNP 1.5%; seats by party - MSZP 134, FIDESZ 148, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 17, MIEP 14, independent 1; note - seating as of 2000 by party - MSZP 136, FIDESZ 141, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 16, MIEP 12, independents 9 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.63 years male: 67.28 years female: 76.3 years (2001 est.) |
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Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
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Location | Central Europe, northwest of Romania | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia |
Map references | Europe | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,199 GRT/1,050 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Air Force; note - there is a paramilitary Border Guard which is under the Ministry of Interior | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $822 million (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,573,119 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,050,404 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
64,121 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | St. Stephen's Day, 20 August | - |
Nationality | noun:
Hungarian(s) adjective: Hungarian |
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Natural hazards | - | NA |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land | coconuts, fish, sugarcane |
Net migration rate | 0.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | - |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance of Free Democrats or SZDSZ [Gabor DEMSZKY]; Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Gyorgy GICZY, president]; Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party or FYD-HCP [Laszlo KOVER]; note - used to be Hungarian Civic Party or FIDESZ; Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [Ibolya DAVID]; Hungarian Democratic People's Party or MDNP [Erzsebet PUSZTAI, chairman]; Hungarian Justice and Life Party or MIEP [Istvan CSURKA, chairman]; Hungarian Socialist Party or MSZP [Laszlo KOVACS, chairman]; Hungarian Workers' Party or MMP [Gyula THURMER, chairman]; Independent Smallholders or FKGP [Jozsef TORGYAN, president] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 10,106,017 (July 2001 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960s and 1970s; in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in November 2004, there were approximately 4,000 UK and US military personnel and civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia |
Population below poverty line | 8.6% (1993 est.) | - |
Population growth rate | -0.32% (2001 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Budapest, Dunaujvaros | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 57, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 7.01 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
7,606 km broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 7,394 km 1.435-m gauge (2,270 km electrified; 1,236 km double track) narrow gauge: 176 km 0.760-m gauge (1998) note: Hungary and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway connecting Gyor, Sopron, and Ebenfurt (Gysev railroad) a distance of about 101 km in Hungary and 65 km in Austria |
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Religions | Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, atheist and other 7.5% | - |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
the telephone system has been modernized and is capable of satisfying all requests for telecommunication service domestic: the system is digitalized 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; heavy use is made of mobile cellular telephones international: 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 |
general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: country code (Diego Garcia) - 246; international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.095 million (1997) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.269 million (July 1999) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 161 low-power repeaters) (1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border | flat and low (most areas do not exceed two meters in elevation) |
Total fertility rate | 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 9.4% (2000 est.) | - |
Waterways | 1,373 km (permanently navigable) (1997) | - |