Hungary Politics

Hungary Politics, Population and Geography

Background: Hungary was part of the multilingual Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed as a result of the First World War. Hungary fell under communist rule after World War II. The uprising of 1956 and the announcement of withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact caused a massive intervention of Soviet troops. During the more open Gorbachev era, Hungary led the movement to end the Warsaw Pact and move steadily towards multi-party democracy and a market economy. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Hungary developed political and economic ties with Western Europe. It joined NATO in 1999 and is a candidate for EU membership. Geography

Geography

Location: Central Europe, northwest of Romania.
Geographical coordinates: 47° 00′ N. latitude, 20° 00′ E
Reference map: Europe.
Area: total: 93,030 km2; land surface area: 92,340 km2; water surface area: 690 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than the state of Indiana.
Land borders: total: 2,009 km; with neighboring states: with Austria 366 km, with Croatia 329 km, with Romania 443 km, with Yugoslavia 151 km, with Slovakia 515 km, with Slovenia 102 km, with Ukraine 103 km.
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked).
Maritime claims: none (landlocked).
Climate: moderate; cold, cloudy, wet winter; warm summer.
Terrain: predominantly hilly plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovak border. Introduction
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Tisza River 78 m; highest point: Mount Kekesh 1,014 m.
Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land.
Land use: arable land: 51%; cultivated land: 3.6%; pastures: 12.4%; forests and plantations: 19%; other: 14% (1999).
Irrigated land: 2,060 km2 (1993 est.).
Natural hazards:
Current environmental issues: Hungarian standards for waste management, energy efficiency and air, soil and water pollution must be brought into line with EU environmental protection requirements, which will require large investments.
International agreements on environmental protection: participant: Air Pollution, Air Pollution – Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution – Sulfur 1985, Air Pollution – Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Change, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Pollution, Prohibition of Nuclear testing, Ozone layer protection, Pollution from ships, Wetlands; signed but not ratified: Air Pollution – Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution – Sulfur 1994, Antarctica – Environmental Protection Protocol, Law of the Sea. Note to section <Geography>: landlocked; strategic location on the main land routes between Western Europe and the Balkan Peninsula, as well as between Ukraine and the Mediterranean basin.

Population

Population: 10,106,017 people (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 16.63% (male 862,468; female 818,052); 15 to 64 years old: 68.66% (male 3,406,717; female 3,532,008); over 65: 14.71% (male 546,992; female 939,780) (2001 est.).
Population growth: -0.32% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 9.32 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 13.21 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: 0.74 people /1000 people (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male/female; under 15: 1.05 male/female; 15 to 64 years old: 0.96 male/female; over 65: 0.58 male/female; for the general population: 0.91 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 8.96 deaths/1000 births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 71.63 years; men: 67.28 years; women: 76.3 years (2000 est.).
General birth rate: 1.25 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of adults infected with HIV: 0.05% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: 2,500 (1999 est.).
AIDS deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: Hungarian; adjective: Hungarian.
Ethnic groups: Hungarians 89.9%, Romani 4%, Germans 2.6%, Serbs 2%, Slovaks 0.8%, Romanians 0.7%.
Believers: Roman Catholic 67.5%, Calvinist 20%, Lutheran 5%, non-denominational and other 7.5%.
Languages): Hungarian 98.2%, others 1.8%.
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 99%; men: 99%; women: 98% (1980 est.). State Name:

Politics

Common long form: Republic of Hungary;
conventional short form: Hungary; local long form: Magyar Koztarsasag; local short form: Magyarorszag.
State structure: parliamentary democracy. See a2zgov.com to know more about Hungary government and politics.
Capital: Budapest.
Administrative division: 19 districts (medje, megye), 20 city districts* (megyei varos), 1 metropolitan city** (fovaros):, Veszprem, Veszprem*. Debrecen*, Dunaujváros*, Győr-Moson-Sopron, Győr*, Zala, Zalaegerszeg*, Kaposvár*, Kecskemét*, Komarom-Esztergom, Miskolc*, Nagykanizsa*, Nograd, Nyi-redyhaza*, Pécs*, Pest, Sabolcz- Satmar-Bereg, Szeged*, Szekesfehervár*, Szolnok*, Szombathely*, Tatabanya*, Tolna, Fejer, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Hodmezyovasharhely*, Chongrad, Somogy, Sopron*, Eger*, Yas-Nagykin-Szolnok.
Independence: since 1001 (country united by King Stephen I).
National holiday: St. Stephen, August 20 (celebrates the coronation of King Stephen I in 1000).
Constitution: adopted 18 August 1949, entered into force 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972; On October 18, 1989, amendments were made to guarantee the rights of individuals and the constitutional procedure for terminating the powers of the prime minister, as well as the principles of parliamentary control; amendments made in 1997 simplified the judicial system.
Legal system: legal norms are based on the Western model.
Suffrage: from 18 years old; universal.
chief of state: President Ferenc MADL (Fe-renc MADL) (since August 2000);
head of government: Prime Minister Viktor ORBAN (since 6 July 1998)
Government: the Council of Ministers is elected by the National Assembly on the proposal of the President; elections: the president is elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term; elections last held 6 June 2000 (next to be held June 2005); the prime minister is elected by the National Assembly on the nomination of the president; election results: Ferenc MADL elected President by simple majority in the third round of voting; percentage of votes of legislators: no data; Viktor Orban elected prime minister; percentage of votes of legislators: no data.
Legislature: unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyules) (386 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a mixed system of proportional and direct representation for 4 years); elections: last held 10 and 24 May 1998 (next to be held May-June 2002); election results: distribution of votes between parties (in order to enter parliament, a party must receive at least 5% of the popular vote in the first round): MSZP 32.0%, FIDESZ 28.2%, FKGP 13.8%, SZDSZ 7.9%, MIEP 5.5%, MMP 4.1%, MDF 2.8%, KDNP 2.3%, MDNP 1.5%; distribution of seats among parties: MSZP 134, FIDESZ 148, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 17, MIEP 14, independent 1; note – distribution of seats among parties in 2000: MSZP 136, FIDESZ 141, FKGP 48, SZDSZ 24, MDF 16, MIEP 12, independents 9.
Judiciary: Constitutional Court, judges are elected by the National Assembly for 9 years. Political influence groups and their leaders: Union of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) (Gabor DEMSZKY); Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP) (Gyorgy GICZY, president); Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party (FYD-HCP) (Laszlo KOVER, Chairman), formerly Hungarian Civic Party (FIDESZ); Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) (Ibolya DAVID, Chairman); Hungarian Democratic People’s Party (MDNP) (Erzsebet PUSZTAI, chairman); Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIEP) (Istvan CSURKA, chairman); Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) (Laszlo KOVACS, chairman); Hungarian Workers’ Party (MMP) (Gyula THURMER, chairman); Small Farmers Party (FKGP) (Jozsef TORGYAN, president).
Political parties and leaders:
Political influence groups and their leaders:
Participation in international organizations: ABEDA, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EARC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC.
Diplomatic representation in the USA: Head of Mission: Ambassador Geza JESZENSZKY; office: 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; phone: [1] (202) 362-6730; fax: [1] (202) 966-8135; Consulates General: Los Angeles, New York.
US Mission: Chief of Mission: Ambassador Peter F. TUFO; embassy: V. 1054 Szabadsag Tag 12, Budapest; mailing address: American Embassy Budapest, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5270; phone: [36] (1) 475-4400, 475-4703; fax: [36] (1) 475-4764.
Description of the flag: three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), white and green.

Hungary Politics