Hungary
Universities/
Colleges
Back to Europe Map   Introduction   Select Country



 

Geography
People
Communications
Transportation
Related Articles
Hungary - Higher Education Programs in English
Geography

Location: Central Europe, northwest of Romania
Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 20 00 E
Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 93,030 sq km
land: 92,340 sq km
water: 690 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana

Land boundaries:
total: 2,009 km
border countries: Austria 366 km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km (all with Serbia), Slovakia 515 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers

Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Tisza River 78 m
highest point: Kekes 1,014 m
Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 51%
permanent crops: 3.6%
permanent pastures: 12.4%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 14% (1999)

Irrigated land: 2,060 sq km (1993 est.)

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
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

Geography - note: landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin

[back to top]

 


 
 
 

 

Background: Hungary was part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed in World War I. It fell under communist rule following World War II. A revolt in 1956 and an announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact was met with 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.

People

Population: 10,138,844 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 878,661; female 834,607)
15-64 years: 68% (male 3,407,368; female 3,535,818)
65 years and over: 15% (male 548,672; female 933,718) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.33% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 9.26 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 13.34 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.37 years
male: 67 years
female: 76.05 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Hungarian(s)
adjective: Hungarian

Ethnic groups: Hungarian 89.9%, Roma 4%, German 2.6%, Serb 2%, Slovak 0.8%, Romanian 0.7%

Religions: Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, atheist and other 7.5%

Languages: Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8%

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 98% (1980 est.)

[back to top]

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 1.893 million (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.269 million (1995)

Telephone system: 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

Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 57, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 7.01 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 39 (plus several low-power stations) (1997)

Televisions: 4.42 million (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 13 (1999)

[back to top]

Transportation

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 between Gyor, Sopron, Ebenfurt (Gysev railroad) a distance of about 101 km in Hungary and 65 km in Austria

Highways:
total: 188,203 km
paved: 81,680 km (including 438 km of expressways)
unpaved: 106,523 km (1998 est.)

Waterways: 1,373 km permanently navigable (1997)

Pipelines: crude oil 1,204 km; natural gas 4,387 km (1991)

Ports and harbors: Budapest, Dunaujvaros

Merchant marine:
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 12,949 GRT/14,550 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2 (1999 est.)

Airports: 43 (1999 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 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 27
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 7 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 5 (1999 est.)

[back to top]

 
 
 
 

 

  Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Northern Ireland (UK)
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Vatican
Yugoslavia