Hungary (2001) | Western Sahara (2005) | |
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* | none (under de facto control of Morocco) |
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.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) |
Airports | 43 (2000 est.) | 11 (2004 est.) |
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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
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.) |
total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
93,030 sq km land: 92,340 sq km water: 690 sq km |
total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Indiana | about the size of Colorado |
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. | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. |
Birth rate | 9.32 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues:
$13 billion expenditures: $14.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
Capital | Budapest | none |
Climate | temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,110 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: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
Currency | forint (HUF) | - |
Death rate | 13.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $29.6 billion (2000) | NA |
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 |
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 |
Disputes - international | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Slovakia is before the ICJ | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals |
Economic aid - recipient | $122.7 million (1995) | NA |
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. | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. |
Electricity - consumption | 35.234 billion kWh (1999) | 83.7 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 2.35 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 3.406 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 36.75 billion kWh (1999) | 90 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
61.09% hydro: 0.51% nuclear: 38.4% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Tisza River 78 m highest point: Kekes 1,014 m |
lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 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 | sparse water and lack of arable land |
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 |
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Hungarian 89.9%, Roma 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%, Romanian 0.7% | Arab, Berber |
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) | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) |
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 |
none |
Exports | $25.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
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) | phosphates 62% |
Exports - partners | Germany 37%, Austria 9%, Italy 6%, Netherlands 5% (2000) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $113.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 35% services: 60% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 47 00 N, 20 00 E | 24 30 N, 13 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas |
Heliports | 5 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
188,203 km paved: 81,680 km (including 448 km of expressways) unpaved: 106,523 km (1998 est.) |
total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.9% highest 10%: 24.8% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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) | NA |
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) | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Germany 25%, Russia 8%, Austria 7%, Italy 7% (2000) | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts |
Independence | 1001 (unification by King Stephen I) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 18% (2000 est.) | NA |
Industries | mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles | phosphate mining, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 8.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.8% (1999 est.) | NA |
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 | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,060 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms) | - |
Labor force | 4.2 million (1997) | 12,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 65%, industry 27%, agriculture 8% (1996) | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% |
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 |
total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
Land use | arable land:
51% permanent crops: 3.6% permanent pastures: 12.4% forests and woodland: 19% other: 14% (1999) |
arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
Languages | Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8% | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Legal system | rule of law based on Western model | - |
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 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.63 years male: 67.28 years female: 76.3 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Europe, northwest of Romania | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,199 GRT/1,050 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
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.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,050,404 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
64,121 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | St. Stephen's Day, 20 August | - |
Nationality | noun:
Hungarian(s) adjective: Hungarian |
noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
Natural hazards | - | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land | phosphates, iron ore |
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 | none |
Population | 10,106,017 (July 2001 est.) | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 8.6% (1993 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.32% (2001 est.) | NA |
Ports and harbors | Budapest, Dunaujvaros | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 57, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 2, FM 0, 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 |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, atheist and other 7.5% | Muslim |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed |
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: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.095 million (1997) | about 2,000 (1999 est.) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.269 million (July 1999) | 0 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 161 low-power repeaters) (1995) | NA |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 9.4% (2000 est.) | NA |
Waterways | 1,373 km (permanently navigable) (1997) | - |