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:

1.057 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.57 male(s)/female

total population:

0.91 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

vectorborne diseases:

tickborne encephalitis (2009)

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

• 16 November 1918 (republic proclaimed);
• notable earlier dates: 25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date);
• 30 March 1867 (dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary created)

• 18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949;
• revised 19 April 1972;
• 18 October 1989;
• and 1997

note: 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 Pal SCHMITT (since 6 August 2010)

head of government:

Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 29 May 2010)

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

; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 29 June 2010 (next to be held by June 2015);
• prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president;
• election last held 29 May 2010

election results:

• Pal SCHMITT elected president;
• National Assembly vote - Pal SCHMITT 263, Andras BALOGH 58;
• Viktor ORBAN was elected prime minister;
• National Assembly vote - 261 to 107

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 [5 administrators];
• Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP [Semjen ZSOLT];
• Hungarian Civic Alliance or Fidesz [Viktor ORBAN, chairman];
• Hungarian Democratic Forum or MDF [Ibolya DAVID];
• Hungarian Socialist Party or MSzP [Atilla MESTERHAZY];
• Movement for a Better Hungary or Jobbik [Gabor VONA];
• Politics Can Be Different or LMP [13-member leadership]

• 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 Bela SZOMBATI

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 Tsakopoulos KOUNALAKIS

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

• three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green;
• the flag dates to the national movement of the 18th and 19th centuries, and fuses the medieval colors of the Hungarian coat of arms with the revolutionary tricolor form of the French flag;
• folklore attributes virtues to the colors: red for strength, white for faithfulness, and green for hope;
• alternatively, the red is seen as being for the blood spilled in defense of the land, white for freedom, and green for the pasturelands that make up so much of the country

name:

"Himnusz" (Hymn)

lyrics/music:

Ferenc KOLCSEY/Ferenc ERKEL

note: adopted 1844; the anthem is also known as "Isten, aldd meg a magyart" (God, Bless the Hungarians)

agriculture:

4.5%

industry:

32.1%

services:

63.4% (2008)

lowest 10%:

3.5%

highest 10%:

24.1% (2004)

general assessment:

• the telephone system has been modernized;
• the system is digital 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

domestic:

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

• mixed system of state-supported public service broadcast media and private broadcasters;
• the 3 publicly-owned TV channels and the 2 main privately-owned TV stations are the major national broadcasters;
• a large number of special interest channels have emerged;
• highly developed market for satellite and cable TV services with about two-thirds of viewers utilizing multi-channel services;
• 3 state-supported public-service radio networks and 2 major national commercial stations;
• a large number of local stations including commercial, public service, nonprofit, and community radio stations (2007)

total:

8,057 km

country comparison to the world: 27

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 (2008)

total:

160,057 km

country comparison to the world: 33

paved:

70,539 km (31,363 km of interurban roads including 858 km of expressways)

unpaved:

89,518 km (2008)

• 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• 6-month service obligation (2010)

males age 16-49:

2,380,381

females age 16-49:

2,319,142 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,884,232

females age 16-49:

1,923,902 (2010 est.)

male:

58,894

female:

55,922 (2010 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