Hungary

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

arable land:

50.09%

permanent crops:

2.06%

other:

47.85% (2001)

• landlocked;
• strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin;
• the north-south flowing Duna (Danube) and Tisza Rivers divide the country into three large regions

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.57 male(s)/female

total population:

0.91 male(s)/female (2005 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:

Laszlo SOLYOM (since 5 August 2005)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ferenc GYURCSANY (since 29 September 2004)

cabinet:

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

elections:

• president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term;
• election last held 6-7 June 2005 (next to be held by June 2010);
• prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president;
• election last held 29 September 2004

election results:

• Laszlo SOLYOM elected president by a simple majority in the third round of voting, 185 to 182;
• Ferenc GYURCSANY elected prime minister;
• result of legislative vote - 197 to 12

note: to be elected, the president must win two-thirds of legislative vote in the first two rounds or a simple majority in the third round

• Alliance of Free Democrats or SzDSz [Gabor KUNCZE];
• Hungarian Civic Alliance or Fidesz [Viktor ORBAN, chairman];
• Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [Ibolya DAVID];
• Hungarian Democratic People's Party or MDNP [Erzsebet PUSZTAI, chairman];
• Hungarian Socialist Party or MSzP [Istvan HILLER, chairman];
• Hungarian Workers' Party or MMP [Gyula THURMER, chairman]

Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU (new member), FAO, G- 9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Andras SIMONYI

chancery:

3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 362-6730

FAX:

[1] (202) 966-8135

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles and New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador George Herbert WALKER

embassy:

Szabadsag ter 12, H-1054 Budapest

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[36] (1) 475-4400

FAX:

[36] (1) 475-4764

lowest 10%:

4.1%

highest 10%:

20.5% (1998)

general assessment:

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:

• country code - 36;
• 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

total:

7,937 km

broad gauge:

36 km 1.524-m gauge

standard gauge:

7,682 km 1.435-m gauge (2,628 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

219 km 0.760-m gauge (2004)

total:

159,568 km

paved:

70,050 km (including 533 km of expressways)

unpaved:

89,518 km (2002)

• 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

• transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and cannabis and for South American cocaine destined for Western Europe;
• limited producer of precursor chemicals, particularly for amphetamine and methamphetamine;
• improving, but remains vulnerable to money laundering related to organized crime and drug trafficking