1989 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1989 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers
Environment
levees are common along many streams, but flooding occurs almost every year
Land use
54% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 14% meadows and pastures; 18% forest and woodland; 1 1 % other; includes 2% irrigated
Natural resources
bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils
Note
landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between USSR and Mediterranean basin
Terrain
mostly flat to rolling plains
People and Society
Birth rate
12 births/ 1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
13 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
96.6% Hungarian, 1.6% German, 1.1% Slovak, 0.3% Southern Slav, 0.2% Romanian
Infant mortality rate
15 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
4,860,000; 43.2% services, trade, government, and other, 30.9% industry, 18.8% agriculture, 7.1% construction (1988)
Language
98.2% Hungarian, 1.8% other
Life expectancy at birth
67 years male, 75 years female (1990)
Literacy
99%
Nationality
noun — Hungarian(s); adjective— Hungarian
Net migration rate
0 migrants/ 1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
96.5% of labor force; Central Council of Hungarian Trade Unions (SZOT) includes 19 affiliated unions, all controlled by the government; independent unions legal; may be as many as 12 small independent unions in operation
Population
10,568,686 (July 1990), growth rate -0.1% (1990)
Religion
67.5% Roman Catholic, 20.0% Calvinist, 5.0% Lutheran, 7.5% atheist and other
Total fertility rate
1.8 children born/ woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
1 9 counties (megyek, singular — megye) and 1 capital city* (fovaros); Bacs-Kiskun, Baranya, Bekes, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Budapest*, Csongrad, Fejer, Gyor-Sopron, Hajdu-Bihar, Heves, Komarom, Nograd, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs-Szatmar, Szolnok, Tolna, Vas, Veszprem, Zala
Capital
Budapest
Communists
fewer than 100,000 (December 1989)
Constitution
18 August 1949, effective 20 August 1949, revised 19 April 1972 and 18 October 1989
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Dr. Peter VARKONYI; Chancery at 3910 Shoemaker Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 362-6730; there is a Hungarian Consulate General in New York; US — Ambassador-designate Charles THOMAS; Embassy at V. Szabadsag Ter 1 2, Budapest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [36] (1) 126-450
Elections
National Assembly — last held on 25 March 1990 (first round, with the second round held 8 April 1990); results — percent of vote by party NA; seats — (394 total) Democratic Forum 165, Free Democrats 92, Independent Smallholders 43, Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) 33, Young Democrats 21, Christian Democrats 21; independent candidates or jointly sponsored candidates 19; an additional 8 seats will be given to representatives of minority nationalities
Executive branch
president, premier, Council of Ministers
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green
Independence
1001, unification by King Stephen I
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Leaders
Chief of State — President-designate Arpad GONCZ (since 2 May 1990); Head of Government — Prime Ministerdesignate Jozsef ANTALL (since 2 May 1990) Political parties and leaders: Democratic Forum, Jozsef Antall, chairman; Free Democrats, Janos Kis, chairman; Independent Smallholders, Istvan Prepeliczay, president; Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP), Rezso Nyers, chairman; Young Democrats; Christian Democrats, Sandor Keresztes, president; note — the Hungarian Socialist (Communist) Workers' Party (MSZMP) renounced Communism and became the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSP) in October 1989
Legal system
based on Communist legal theory, with both civil law system (civil code of 1960) and common law elements; Supreme Court renders decisions of principle that sometimes have the effect of declaring legislative acts unconstitutional; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (Orszaggyiiles)
Long-form name
Republic of Hungary
Member of
CCC, CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
National holiday
Anniversary of the Liberation, 4 April (1945)
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
republic
Economy
Overview
Hungary's postwar Communist government spurred the movement from a predominantly agricultural to an industrialized economy. The share of the labor force in agriculture dropped from over 50% in 1950 to under 20% in 1989. Agriculture nevertheless remains an important sector, providing sizable export earnings and meeting domestic food needs. Industry accounts for about 40% of GNP and 30% of employment. Nearly three-fourths of foreign trade is with the USSR and Eastern Europe. Low rates of growth reflect the inability of the Soviet-style economy to modernize capital plant and motivate workers. GNP grew about 1% in 1988 and declined by 1% in 1989. Since 1985 external debt has more than doubled, to nearly $20 billion. In recent years Hungary has moved further than any other East European country in experimenting with decentralized and market-