Republic of Hungary

National name: Magyar Köztársaság
President: László Sólyom (2005)
Prime Minister: Ferenc Gyurcsány (2004)
Land area: 35,653 sq mi (92,341 sq km); total area: 35,919 sq mi (93,030 sq km)
Population (2006 est.): 9,981,334 (growth rate: –0.3%); birth rate: 9.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 8.4/1000; life expectancy: 72.7; density per sq mi: 280
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Budapest, 2,597,000 (metro. area), 1,769,500 (city proper)
Other large cities: Debrecen, 210,500; Miskolc, 182,600; Szeged, 173,200; Pécs, 163,900
Monetary unit: Forint
Languages: Magyar (Hungarian) 98.2%, other 1.8%
Ethnicity/race: 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 others 7.5%
Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land. Exports: $54.62 billion (f.o.b., 2004 est.): machinery and equipment 61.1%, other manufactures 28.7%, food products 6.5%, raw materials 2%, fuels and electricity 1.6% (2003). Imports: $58.68 billion (f.o.b., 2004 est.): machinery and equipment 51.6%, other manufactures 35.7%, fuels and electricity 7.7%, food products 3.1%, raw materials 2.0% (2003). Major trading partners: Germany, Austria, Italy, France, UK, Netherlands, China, Russia, Japan (2003).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 3,666,400 (2002); mobile cellular: 6,862,800 (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 17, FM 57, shortwave 3 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 35 (plus 161 low-power repeaters) (1995). Internet hosts: 383,071 (2004). Internet users: 1.6 million (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 7,875 km (2004). Highways: total: 159,568 km; paved: 70,050 km (including 533 km of expressways); unpaved: 89,518 km (2002). Waterways: 1,622 km (most on Danube River) (2004). Ports and harbors: Budapest, Dunaujvaros, Gyor-Gonyu, Csepel, Baja, Mohacs (2003). Airports: 44 (2004 est.).

International disputes: in 2004, Hungary amended the status law extending special social and cultural benefits and voted down a referendum to extend dual citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring states, which have objected to such measures; consultations continue between Slovakia and Hungary over Hungary's completion of its portion the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary must implement the strict Schengen border rules.

Major sources and definitions

Geography
This central European country is the size of Indiana. Most of Hungary is a fertile, rolling plain lying east of the Danube River and drained by the Danube and Tisza rivers. In the extreme northwest is the Little Hungarian Plain. South of that area is Lake Balaton (250 sq mi; 648 sq km).

Government
Parliamentary democracy.

History
By 14 B.C., western Hungary was part of the Roman Empire's provinces of Pannonia and Dacia. The area east of the Danube was never part of the Roman Empire and was largely occupied by various Germanic and Asiatic peoples. In 896 all of Hungary was invaded by the Magyars, who founded a kingdom.Christianity was accepted during the reign of Stephen I (St. Stephen), 977–1038. A devastating invasion by the Mongols killed half of Hungary's population in 1241. The peak of Hungary's great period of medieval power came during the reign of Louis I the Great (1342–1382), whose dominions touched the Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean seas.War with the Turks broke out in 1389, and for more than 100 years the Turks advanced through the Balkans.

After the suppression of the 1848 revolt, led by Louis Kossuth, against Hapsburg rule, the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was set up in 1867. The dual monarchy was defeated with the other Central Powers in World War I. After a short-lived republic in 1918, the chaotic Communist rule of 1919 under Béla Kun ended with the Romanians occupying Budapest on Aug. 4, 1919. When the Romanians left, Adm. Nicholas Horthy entered the capital with a national army. The Treaty of Trianon of June 4, 1920, by which the Allies parceled out Hungarian territories, cost Hungary 68% of its land and 58% of its population.

In World War II, Hungary allied with Germany, which aided the country in recovering lost territories. Following the German invasion of Russia on June 22, 1941, Hungary joined the attack against the Soviet Union, but withdrew in defeat from the eastern front by May 1943. Germany occupied the country for the remainder of the war and set up a puppet government. Hungarian Jews and Gypsies were sent to death camps. The German regime was driven out by the Soviets in 1944–1945.