Hungary

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

total:

21.03 cu km/yr (9%/59%/32%)

per capita:

2,082 cu m/yr (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 (2008 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

vectorborne diseases:

tickborne encephalitis (2008)

noun:

Hungarian(s)

adjective:

Hungarian

conventional long form:

Republic of Hungary

conventional short form:

Hungary

local long form:

Magyar Koztarsasag

local short form:

Magyarorszag

name:

Budapest

geographic coordinates:

47 30 N, 19 05 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• 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 Laszlo SOLYOM (since 5 August 2005)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ferenc GYURCSANY (since 29 September 2004)

cabinet:

• Council of Ministers prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president;
• other ministers proposed by the prime minister and appointed and relieved of their duties by the president

elections:

• president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second 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 FODOR];
• Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Zsolt SEMJEN];
• Hungarian Civic Alliance or Fidesz [Viktor ORBAN, chairman];
• Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [Ibolya DAVID];
• Hungarian Socialist Party or MSzP [Ferenc GYURCSANY]

• Air Work Group (works to reduce air pollution in towns and cities);
• Company For Freedom Rights (Tarsasag a Szabadsagjogokert) or TASZ (personal data protection);
• Danube Circle (protests the building of the Gabchikovo-Nagymaros dam);
• Green Future (protests the impact of lead contamination of local factory on health of the people);
• environmentalists: Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society (Magyar Madartani Egyesulet)or MME;
• Green Alternative (Zold Alternativa)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ferenc SOMOGYI

chancery:

3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 362-6730

FAX:

[1] (202) 966-8135

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador April H. FOLEY

embassy:

Szabadsag ter 12, H-1054 Budapest

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[36] (1) 475-4400

FAX:

[36] (1) 475-4764

agriculture:

5.5%

industry:

33.3%

services:

61.2% (2003)

lowest 10%:

4%

highest 10%:

22.2% (2002)

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;
• competition among mobile-cellular service providers has led to a sharp increase in the use of mobile cellular phones since 2000 and a decrease in the number of fixed-line connections

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:

8,057 km

broad gauge:

36 km 1.524-m gauge

standard gauge:

7,802 km 1.435-m gauge (2,628 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

219 km 0.760-m gauge (2006)

total:

159,568 km

paved:

70,050 km (30,874 km of interurban roads including 626 km of expressways)

unpaved:

89,518 km (2005)

• 18 years of age for voluntary military service;
• conscription abolished in June 2004;
• 6-month service obligation, with reserve obligation to age 50 (2006)

males age 16-49:

2,391,400

females age 16-49:

2,337,240 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,890,105

females age 16-49:

1,943,422 (2008 est.)

male:

62,197

female:

59,267 (2008 est.)

• bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working group negotiations continue in 2006 with Slovakia over Hungary's failure to complete its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube;
• as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Hungary has implemented 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;
• efforts to counter money laundering, related to organized crime and drug trafficking, are improving, but remain vulnerable;
• significant consumer of ecstasy