Hungary

• temperate;
• cold, cloudy, humid winters;
• warm summers

• an early-1996 government study identified 179 areas that suffer from air pollution, 54 areas with polluted soil, and 32 areas with polluted underground water;
• the study estimated clean-up costs at $350 million, but the 1996 government budget allocated only about $7 million for this purpose

0-14 years:

18% (male 924,864; female 881,728)

15-64 years:

68% (male 3,419,485; female 3,541,823)

65 years and over:

14% (male 549,091; female 915,413) (July 1997 est.)

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:

0.6 male(s)/female

total population:

0.92 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

total population:

70.48 years

male :

66.06 years

female:

75.13 years (1997 est.)

noun :

Hungarian(s)

adjective:

Hungarian

conventional long form:

Republic of Hungary

conventional short form:

Hungary

local long form:

Magyar Koztarsasag

local short form:

Magyarorszag

• 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

chief of state:

President Arpad GONCZ (since 3 August 1990; previously interim president since 2 May 1990)

head of government :

Prime Minister Gyula HORN (since 15 July 1994)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president

elections:

• president elected by the National Assembly for a four-year term;
• election last held 19 June 1995 (next to be held NA 1999);
• prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president

election results:

• Arpad GONCZ elected president;
• a total of 335 votes were cast by the National Assembly, Arpad GONCZ received 259;
• Gyula HORN elected prime minister;
• percent of legislative vote NA

• Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [Sandor LEZSAK, chairman];
• Independent Smallholders or FKgP [Jozsef TORGYAN, president];
• Hungarian Socialist Party or MSzP [Gyula HORN, president];
• Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Gyorgy GICZY, president];
• Federation of Young Democrats or FiDeSz [Viktor ORBAN, chairman];
• Alliance of Free Democrats or SzDSz [Gabor KUNCZE, chairman];
• Hungarian Democratic People's Party or MDNP [Ivan SZABO, chairman]

note: the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party or MSzMP renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party or MSzP in October 1989;

there is still a small MMP (Communist Party); the MDNP was formed in March 1996 by breakaway members of the Hungarian Democratic Forum

Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Gyorgy BANLAKI

chancery:

3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 362-6730

chief of mission:

Ambassador Donald M. BLINKEN

embassy:

V. Szabadsag Ter 12, Budapest

mailing address:

American Embassy Budapest, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270

telephone :

[36] (1) 267-4400, 269-9331

total value:

$14.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996)

commodities:

raw materials 39.5%, consumer goods 25.0%, agriculture and food products 21.8%, machinery and equipment 11.3%, fuels and electricity 2.4% (1995)

partners :

EU 63.3% (Germany 28.8%, Austria 10.0%), Eastern Europe 19.7%, Russia 10.7% (1995)

total value :

$16.8 billion (f.o.b., 1996)

commodities:

raw materials 42.3%, consumer goods 20.9%, machinery and equipment 20.1%, fuels and electricity 10.8%, agricultural and food products 5.9% (1995)

partners:

EU 61.6% (Germany 23.6%, Austria 11.9%), Eastern Europe 22.2%, Russia 14.7% (1995)

• 14,213 telex lines;
• automatic telephone network based on microwave radio relay system;
• the average waiting time for telephones is expected to drop to one year by the end of 1997 (down from over 10 years in the early 1990's);
• note - the former state-owned telecommunications firm MATAV - now privatized and managed by a US/German consortium - has ambitious plans to upgrade the inadequate system, including a contract with the German firm Siemens and the Swedish firm Ericsson to provide 600,000 new phone lines during 1996-98

domestic :

microwave radio relay

international:

satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region)

total:

7,619 km

broad gauge:

35 km 1.524-m gauge

standard gauge:

7,408 km 1.435-m gauge (2,216 km electrified; 1,236 km double track)

narrow gauge :

176 km 0.760-m gauge (1995)

note: Hungry and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway between Gyor, Sopron, Ebenfurti, and Vasut, a distance of about 100 km

total:

158,633 km

paved:

69,957 km (including 378 km of expressways)

unpaved:

88,676 km (1995 est.)

• 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 amphetamines and methamphetamines ICELAND