Western Sahara (2004) | Hungary (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 19 counties (megyek, singular - megye), 23 urban counties (singular - megyei varos), and 1 capital city (fovaros)
counties: Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Moson-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, Komarom-Esztergom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala urban counties: Bekescsaba, Debrecen, Dunaujvaros, Eger, Erd, Gyor, Hodmezovasarhely, Kaposvar, Kecskemet, Miskolc, Nagykanizsa, Nyiregyhaza, Pecs, Salgotarjan, Sopron, Szeged, Szekesfehervar, Szekszard, Szolnok, Szombathely, Tatabanya, Veszprem, Zalaegerszeg capital city: Budapest |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 15.3% (male 785,643/female 741,907)
15-64 years: 69.3% (male 3,399,926/female 3,498,403) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 554,356/female 975,873) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 11 (2003 est.) | 46 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 20
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 26
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 93,030 sq km
land: 92,340 sq km water: 690 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | 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. | Hungary became a Christian kingdom in A.D. 1000 and for many centuries served as a bulwark against Ottoman Turkish expansion in Europe. The kingdom eventually became 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 an announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. Under the leadership of Janos KADAR in 1968, Hungary began liberalizing its economy, introducing so-called "Goulash Communism." Hungary held its first multiparty elections in 1990 and initiated a free market economy. It joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 9.66 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $62.25 billion
expenditures: $69.98 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | none | name: Budapest
geographic coordinates: 47 30 N, 19 05 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
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: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Republic of Hungary
conventional short form: Hungary local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag local short form: Magyarorszag |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | - |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 13.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $142.9 billion (30 June 2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador April H. FOLEY
embassy: Szabadsag ter 12, H-1054 Budapest mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Budapest, 5270 Budapest Place, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270 telephone: [36] (1) 475-4400 FAX: [36] (1) 475-4764 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Ferenc SOMOGYI
chancery: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8135 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991 but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working group negotiations continue in 2006 with Slovakia over Hungary's failure to complete its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary has implemented the strict Schengen border rules |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $302.6 million in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy, with a per capita income nearly two-thirds that of the EU-25 average. The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling more than $60 billion since 1989. Hungary issues investment-grade sovereign debt. International observers, however, have expressed concerns over Hungary's fiscal and current account deficits. In 2007, Hungary eliminated a trade deficit that had persisted for several years. Inflation declined from 14% in 1998 to a low of 3.7% in 2006, but jumped to 7.8% in 2007. Unemployment has persisted above 6%. Hungary's labor force participation rate of 57% is one of the lowest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Germany is by far Hungary's largest economic partner. Policy challenges include cutting the public sector deficit to 4% of GDP by 2008, from about 6% in 2007. The government's austerity program of tax hikes and subsidy cuts has reduced Hungary's large budget deficit, but the reforms have dampened domestic consumption, slowing GDP growth to less than 2% in 2007. The government will need to pass additional reforms to ensure the long-term stability of public finances. The government plans to eventually lower its public sector deficit to below 3% of GDP to adopt the euro. |
Electricity - consumption | 83.7 million kWh (2001) | 35.98 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 9.41 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 15.64 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2001) | 33.69 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Tisza River 78 m
highest point: Kekes 1,014 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | the upgrading of Hungary's standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution to meet EU requirements will require large investments |
Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab, Berber | Hungarian 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, other or unknown 5.8% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999) | forints per US dollar - 186.16 (2007), 210.39 (2006), 199.58 (2005), 202.75 (2004), 224.31 (2003) |
Executive branch | none | chief of state: Laszlo SOLYOM (since 5 August 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Ferenc GYURCSANY (since 29 September 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president; other ministers proposed by the prime minister and appointed and relieved of their duties by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 6-7 June 2005 (next to be held by June 2010); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president; election last held 29 September 2004 election results: Laszlo SOLYOM elected president by a simple majority in the third round of voting, 185 to 182; Ferenc GYURCSANY elected prime minister; result of legislative vote - 197 to 12 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 |
Exports | NA (2001) | 58,380 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | machinery and equipment 61.1%, other manufactures 28.7%, food products 6.5%, raw materials 2%, fuels and electricity 1.6% (2003) |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Germany 29.5%, Italy 5.6%, France 5%, Austria 5%, UK 4.5%, Romania 4.2%, Poland 4.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | - | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 32.4% services: 64.2% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 2.1% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 47 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin; the north-south flowing Duna (Danube) and Tisza Rivers divide the country into three large regions |
Heliports | - | 5 (2007) |
Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 22.2% (2002) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and methamphetamine; efforts to counter money laundering, related to organized crime and drug trafficking, are improving, but remain vulnerable; significant consumer of ecstasy |
Imports | NA (2001) | 150,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment 51.6%, other manufactures 35.7%, fuels and electricity 7.7%, food products 3.1%, raw materials 2.0% (2003) |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) | Germany 27.1%, Russia 8.2%, China 6.9%, Austria 6.2%, France 4.7%, Italy 4.6%, Netherlands 4.3%, Poland 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | - | 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 5% (2007 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 8.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 7.8% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 2,300 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms) |
Labor force | 12,000 | 4.19 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 33.3% services: 61.2% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
total: 2,171 km
border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Serbia 151 km, Slovakia 677 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 49.58%
permanent crops: 2.06% other: 48.36% (2005) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census) |
Legal system | - | based German-Austrian legal system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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 9 and 23 April 2006 (next to be held in April 2010) election results: percent of vote by party (5% or more of the vote required for parliamentary representation in the first round) - MSzP 43.2%, Fidesz-KDNP 42%, SzDSz 6.5%, MDF 5%, other 3.3%; seats by party - MSzP 190, Fidesz-KDNP 164, SzDSz 20, MDF 11, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 72.92 years
male: 68.73 years female: 77.38 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.4% male: 99.5% female: 99.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Central Europe, northwest of Romania |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces, Hungarian Air Force (Magyar Legiero, ML) (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.75% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Saint Stephen's Day, 20 August |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Hungarian(s)
adjective: Hungarian |
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 | phosphates, iron ore | bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 4,397 km; oil 990 km; refined products 335 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Alliance of Free Democrats or SzDSz [Janos KOKA]; Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Zsolt SEMJEN]; Hungarian Civic Alliance or Fidesz [Viktor ORBAN, chairman]; Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [Ibolya DAVID]; Hungarian Socialist Party or MSzP [Ferenc GYURCSANY] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 267,405 (July 2004 est.) | 9,956,108 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 8.6% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | NA | -0.253% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 17, FM 57, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 8,057 km
broad gauge: 36 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 7,802 km 1.435-m gauge (2,628 km electrified) narrow gauge: 219 km 0.760-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Muslim | Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinist 15.9%, Lutheran 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, other Christian 1%, other or unspecified 11.1%, unaffiliated 14.5% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.059 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.972 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.568 male(s)/female total population: 0.909 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
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; competition among mobile-cellular service providers has led to a sharp increase in the use of mobile cellular phones since 2000 and a decrease in the number of fixed-line connections international: country code - 36; 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 3.35 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 9.965 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 35 (plus 161 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 1.33 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 7.1% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,622 km (most on Danube River) (2007) |