Hungary

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

• 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, estimated by the Government of Hungary at $4 billion over six years;
• the 1997 budget allocated $9.7 million for this purpose;
• the 1998 budget allocated $11.3 million;
• the Central Environmental Fund, which collects monies from product charges, environmental fines, and mining taxes, provided approximately $76.2 million in 1997 and is expected to provide $109.5 million in 1998

0-14 years:

18% (male 915,412; female 872,706)

15-64 years:

68% (male 3,413,170; female 3,533,085)

65 years and over:

14% (male 550,974; female 922,780) (July 1998 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.6 male(s)/female (1998 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;
• 1997 amendment streamlined the judicial system

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];
• Hungarian Civic Party or FiDeSz [Viktor ORBAN, chairman];
• Alliance of Free Democrats or SzDSz [Ivan PETO, chairman];
• Hungarian Democratic People's Party or MDNP [Ivan SZABO, chairman];
• Hungarian Justice and Life Party or MIEP [Istvan CSURKA, chairman];
• Hungarian Workers' Party or MMP [Gyula THURMER, chairman]

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

the MDNP was formed in March 1996 by breakaway members of the Hungarian Democratic Forum; the KDNP lost its parliamentary faction status in July 1997 after a party split reduced its representation below the minimum 15 required

Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, 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, MONUA, MTCR, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, 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 Peter F. TUFO

embassy:

V. Szabadsag Ter 12, 1054 Budapest

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[36] (1) 267-4400, 269-9331 (after hours), 269-9339 (after hours)

total:

4.5 million (1996)

by occupation:

services 65.0%, industry 26.7%, agriculture 8.3 (1996)

total value:

$16 billion (f.o.b., 1996)

commodities:

machinery and equipment 36.6%, other manufactures 40.6%, agriculture and food products 15.1%, raw materials 4.4%, fuels and electricity 3.3% (1996)

partners:

EU 62.8% (Germany 29%, Austria 10.6%, Italy 8.0%), FSU 8.6% (1996)

total value:

$18.6 billion (f.o.b., 1996)

commodities:

machinery and equipment 36.5%, other manufactures 43.7%, fuels and electricity 11.8%, agricultural and food products 4.4%, raw materials 3.6% (1996)

partners:

EU 59.8% (Germany 23.6%, Austria 9.5%, Italy 8.1%), FSU 14.9% (1996)

• 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:

7,606 km

broad gauge:

36 km 1.524-m gauge

standard gauge:

7,394 km 1.435-m gauge (2,207 km electrified; 1,236 km double track)

narrow gauge:

176 km 0.760-m gauge (1996)

note: Hungary and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway between Gyor, Sopron, Ebenfurt (Gyor-Sopron-Ebenfurti Vasut Rt) a distance of about 101 km in Hungary and 65 km in Austria

total:

158,633 km

paved:

68,370 km (including 420 km of expressways)

unpaved:

90,263 km (1996 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