Hungary

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

• 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

noun:

Hungarian(s)

adjective:

Hungarian

total:

44.8 years (2024 est.)

male:

42.8 years

female:

46.7 years

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.69 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

4.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

5 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

4.3 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

76 years (2024 est.)

male:

72.9 years

female:

79.3 years

total:

10.79 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

3.96 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

3.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

3.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

31.8% (2020 est.)

male:

35.8% (2020 est.)

female:

27.8% (2020 est.)

• air and water pollution are some of Hungary's most serious environmental problems;
• water quality in the Hungarian part of the Danube has improved but is still plagued by pollutants from industry and large-scale agriculture;
• soil pollution

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

urban population:

72.9% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.05% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

14.24 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

45.54 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

7.25 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

3.712 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

962,893 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

25.9% (2015 est.)

municipal:

660 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

3.45 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

550 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

4 (2024)

global geoparks and regional networks:

• Bakony-Balaton;
• Bukk Region;
• Hungary;
• Novohrad-Nógrád (includes Slovakia) (2024)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Hungary

local long form:

none

local short form:

Magyarorszag

former:

Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic, Hungarian Soviet Republic, Hungarian Republic

etymology:

• the Byzantine Greeks refered to the tribes that arrived on the steppes of Eastern Europe in the 9th century as the "Oungroi," a name that was later Latinized to "Ungri" and which became "Hungari";
• the name originally meant an "[alliance of] ten tribes";
• the Hungarian name "Magyarorszag" means "Country of the Magyars";
• the term may derive from the most prominent of the Hungarian tribes, the Megyer

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

etymology:

• the Hungarian capital city was formed in 1873 from the merger of three cities on opposite banks of the Danube: Buda and Obuda (Old Buda) on the western shore and Pest on the eastern;
• the origins of the original names are obscure, but according to the second century A.D. geographer, Ptolemy, the settlement that would become Pest was called "Pession" in ancient times;
• "Buda" may derive from either a Slavic or Turkic personal name

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

history:

previous 1949 (heavily amended in 1989 following the collapse of communism); latest approved 18 April 2011, signed 25 April 2011, effective 1 January 2012

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic, by the government, by parliamentary committee, or by Parliament members;
• passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament members and approval by the president;
• amended several times, last in 2018

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Hungary

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

8 years

chief of state:

President Tamas SULYOK (since 5 March 2024)

head of government:

Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 29 May 2010)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers proposed by the prime minister and appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by the National Assembly with two-thirds majority vote in first round or simple majority vote in second round for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 26 February 2024 (next to be held in spring 2029);
• prime minister elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president;
• election last held on 3 April 2022 (next to be held in April or May 2027)

election results:

2024: Tamas SULYOK elected president; National Assembly vote - 134 to 5; 2022: Katalin NOVAK (Fidesz) elected president; National Assembly vote - 137 to 51

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (199 seats; 106 members directly elected in single-member constituencies by simple majority vote and 93 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by party-list proportional representation vote, using the D’Hondt method; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 3 April 2022 (next to be held in April 2026)

election results:

• percent of vote by party list - Fidesz-KDNP 54.1%, United for Hungary 34.5%, Mi Hazank 5.9%, other 5.5%;
• seats by party list - Fidesz-KDNP 135, United for Hungary 57, Mi Hazank 6, independent 1;
• composition - men 170, women 29, percentage women 14.6%

highest court(s):

Curia or Supreme Judicial Court (consists of the president, vice president, department heads, and has a maximum of 113 judges, and is organized into civil, criminal, and administrative-labor departments; Constitutional Court (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president)

judge selection and term of office:

• Curia president elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president of the republic;
• other Curia judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, a separate 15-member administrative body;
• judge tenure based on interim evaluations until normal retirement at age 62;
• Constitutional Court judges, including the president of the court, elected by the National Assembly;
• court vice president elected by the court itself;
• members serve 12-year terms with mandatory retirement at age 62

subordinate courts:

• 5 regional courts of appeal;
• 19 regional or county courts (including Budapest Metropolitan Court);
• 20 administrative-labor courts;
• 111 district or local courts

• Christian Democratic People's Party or KDNP
• Democratic Coalition or DK
• Dialogue for Hungary or Párbeszéd
• Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Alliance or Fidesz
• Hungarian Socialist Party or MSZP
• Jobbik - Conservatives or Jobbik
• LMP-Hungary's Green Party or LMP
• Mi Hazank (Our Homeland Movement) or MHM
• Momentum Movement or Momentum
• Movement for a Better Hungary or Jobbik
• National Self-Government of Germans in Hungary or MNOÖ
• On the People's Side or A Nép Pártján
• Our Homeland Movement or Mi Hazánk
• TISZA – Respect and Freedom Party or TISZA

chief of mission:

Ambassador Szabolcs Ferenc TAKÁCS (since 23 December 2020)

chancery:

1500 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20005

telephone:

[1] (202) 362-6730

FAX:

[1] (202) 966-8135

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://washington.mfa.gov.hu/eng

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

consulate(s):

Houston, Miami

chief of mission:

Ambassador David PRESSMAN (since 14 September 2022)

embassy:

Szabadsag ter 12, H-1054 Budapest

mailing address:

5270 Budapest Place, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270

telephone:

[36] (1) 475-4400

FAX:

[36] (1) 475-4248

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://hu.usembassy.gov/

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

8 (7 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, and Andrássy Avenue (c);
• Old Village of Hollókő and its Surroundings (c);
• Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst (n);
• Millenary Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma and its Natural Environment (c);
• Hortobágy National Park - the Puszta (c);
• Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs (Sopianae) (c);
• Fertö / Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape (c);
• Tokaj Wine Region Historic Cultural Landscape (c)

• high-income EU and OECD economy;
• tightening fiscal policy in response to budget deficit;
• delayed EU cohesion fund disbursement due to judicial independence concerns;
• high inflation and low consumer confidence;
• seeking alternatives to dependence on Russian natural gas

Fitch rating:

BBB (2019)

Moody's rating:

Baa3 (2016)

Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2019)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

4.7% (2023 est.)

industry:

24.3% (2023 est.)

services:

57.6% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

12.8% (2023 est.)

male:

13.5% (2023 est.)

female:

11.8% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

17.6% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

7.6% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.5% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

24.1% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

4 (2023)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

1.92GW (2023 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

48.8% (2023 est.)

production:

5.45 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

6.18 million metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

132,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

804,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

2.909 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

36,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

175,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

12.1 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

1.523 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

9.485 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

9.314 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

3.738 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• Hungary’s telecom infrastructure has been upgraded in recent years following considerable investments made by telcos as they upgrade their mobile networks to 5G and deploy more fiber;
• these developments have helped operators to promote converged fixed and mobile service;
• the number of fixed lines continue to fall as subscribers migrate to the mobile platform for voice and data services;
• a number of measures aimed at promoting competition in the broadband market encourage investment in technology upgrades;
• Hungary has the highest fixed broadband penetration rate in Eastern Europe;
• there remains considerable growth in mobile broadband services delivered via upgraded networks;
• 5G development is supported by the government, universities, other telcos, and vendors (2024)

domestic:

fixed-line connections, with 29 fixed per 100 persons and 104 mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 (2022)

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 5 publicly owned TV channels and the 2 main privately owned TV stations are the major national broadcasters;
• a large number of special interest channels;
• highly developed market for satellite and cable TV services with about two-thirds of viewers utilizing their services;
• 4 state-supported public-service radio networks;
• a large number of local stations including commercial, public service, nonprofit, and community radio stations;
• digital transition completed at the end of 2013;
• government-linked businesses have greatly consolidated ownership in broadcast and print media (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

5 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 145

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

31,226,848 (2018)

total:

1 (2023)

by type:

other 1

• the HDF has a mix of Soviet-era and more modern, Western equipment from such countries as Germany, France, Sweden, and the US;
• in 2017, Budapest launched a modernization program known as Zrinyi 2026, which was aimed at replacing its Soviet-era weaponry with modern systems, and increasing Hungary’s defense expenditure to 2% of GDP by 2024, in line with NATO spending targets (2024)

• 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no conscription (abolished 2005);
• 6-month service obligation (2023)

note: as of 2021, women comprised over 20% of Hungary's full-time military personnel

• 150 Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR stabilization force);
• 150 Iraq (NATO);
• 410 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR);
• note - Hungary has small numbers of troops on several UN missions (2024)