Hungary

About Hungary

Background:

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.

PEOPLE

Population:
9,905,596 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82

Nationality:
noun: Hungarian(s)
adjective: Hungarian

Ethnic groups:
Hungarian 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, other or unknown 5.8% (2001 census)

Religions:
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)

Languages:
Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)

GOVERNMENT

Country Name:
conventional long form: Republic of Hungary
conventional short form: Hungary
local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag
local short form: Magyarorszag

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
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

Independence:
25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date)

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green; the flag dates to the national movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, and fuses the medieval colors of the Hungarian coat of arms with the revolutionary tricolor form of the French flag; folklore attributes virtues to the colors: red for strength, white for faithfulness, and green for hope; alternatively, the red is seen as being for the blood spilled in defense of the land, white for freedom, and green for the pasturelands that make up so much of the country

ECONOMY

Economy - overview:
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 more than 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms is widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling more than $200 billion since 1989. The government's austerity measures, imposed since late 2006, have reduced the budget deficit from over 9% of GDP in 2006 to 3.3% in 2008. Hungary's impending inability to service its short-term debt - brought on by the global financial crisis in late 2008 - led Budapest to seek and receive an IMF-arranged financial assistance package worth over $25 billion. The global economic downturn, declining exports, and low domestic consumption and fixed asset accumulation, dampened by government austerity measures, resulted in an economic contraction of almost 7% in 2009.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$186.3 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
$199 billion (2008 est.)
$197.8 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$18,800 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
$20,000 (2008 est.)
$19,900 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

Budget:
revenues: $54.8 billion
expenditures: $59.86 billion (2009 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.3% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 130
6.1% (2008 est.)

Industries:
mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles

Exports:
$78.61 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
$106.6 billion (2008 est.)

Imports:
$74.56 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
$106.5 billion (2008 est.)

Exchange rates:
forints (HUF) per US dollar - 200.64 (2009), 171.8 (2008), 183.83 (2007), 210.39 (2006), 199.58 (2005)