Hungary
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Geography
Area:93,030 sq km
Area Comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana
Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers
Terrain: mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border
Natural Resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land

People
Population: 10,006,835
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 15.8% (male 813,203/female 769,687)
                            15-64 years: 69.1% (male 3,405,559/female 3,511,141)
                            65 years and over: 15.1% (male 547,323/female 959,922)
Median Age: total: 38.57 years
                          male: 36.1 years
                          female: 41.24 years
Population Growth Rate: -0.26%
Birth Rate: 9.76 births/1,000 population
Death Rate:13.19 deaths/1,000 population
Sex Ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
                     total population: 0.91 male(s)/female
Life Expectancy at Birth:  total population: 72.4 years
                                                   male: 68.18 years
                                                   female: 76.89 years
Ethnic Groups: Hungarian 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, other or unknown 5.8%
Religions: Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinist 15.9%, Lutheran 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, other Christian 1%, other or unspecified 11.1%, unaffiliated 14.5%
Languages: Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4%
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
                   total population: 99.4%
                   male: 99.5%
                   female: 99.3%

Government
Government Type: parliamentary democracy
buda hun      
Capital: Budapest
Legal System: rule of law based on Western model

Executive Branch
prez hun
Chief of state: Laszlo SOLYOM (FIDESZ)
largely ceremonial post

Parliamentary System

hun pm
Prime Minister
Head of government: Prime Minister Ferenc GYURCSANY 

2002 election results
Parties and coalitions Votes % +/- Seats +/-
FIDESZ-MDF (1)   41.6 - 188 -
Hungarian Socialist Party (Magyar Szocialista Párt)   42.05 +9.13 178 +44
Alliance of Free Democrats (Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége)   5.57 -2.00 20 -4
Hungarian Justice and Life Party (Magyar Igazság és Élet Pártja)   4.37 -1.1 0 -14
Centrum Party (Centrum Párt)   3.9 - 0 -
Worker's Party (Munkáspárt)   2.16 -1.79 0 0
Independent Smallholder's Party (Független Kisgazdapárt)   0.75 -12.4 0 -48
New Left (Új Baloldal)   0.06 - 0 -
Total (turnout 73.51 %)
100.0
386
 

Political Parties
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union (Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség)
center-right conservative/Christian Democratic Party
largest oppostion party
successor to Fidesz (Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége, Alliance of Young Democrats),
student party against communism
persecuted by the communist party, underground
pro-democracy, human rights
ran with Democratic Forum in 2002
will run with the Christian KDNP in 2006

The Hungarian Socialist Party
largest left-leaning party
post-communist successor party
economically, centrist
liberal free market policies/socialistic rhetoric
differentiated itself from the conservatives mainly by its rejection of nationalism
campaigned against extending Hungarian citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living in neighbouring countries on the December 5, 2004 referendum
prominent members:  former PM Gyula Horn;  EU Commissioner for Taxes Laszlo Kovacs

Alliance of Free Democrats
Liberal, centrist party
coalition partner with Socialists



Legislative Branch:
Unicameral National Assembly or Orszaggyules (386 seats; members are elected by popular vote under a system of proportional and direct representation to serve four-year terms)

Judicial Branch:
Constitutional Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly for nine-year terms)


Economy
GDP (purchasing power parity): $159 billion
GDP (official exchange rate): $106.9 billion
GDP - real growth rate:  3.7%
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.9%
                                                           industry: 30.9%
                                                           services: 65.3%
Labor Force: 4.18 million
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 6.2%, industry 27.1%, services 66.7%
Unemployment: 7.1%
Population below poverty level: 8.6%
Agriculture Products: wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products
Industries: mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles