Country name: Republic of Hungary
Location: Central Europe, northwest of Romania
Area: 93,030 sq km
Population: 9,981,334 (July 2006 est.)
Capital: Budapest
Language: Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)
Natural resources: bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Legal system: rule of law based on Western model; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Currency: forint (HUF)
The Republic of Hungary is a country located in Central Europe with a total area of 93,030 square kilometers and with a population of approximately 10,000,000 people. The capital of the country is Budapest- a beautiful city in which most of the scientific, scholarly and formal institutions are located. Hungary shares borders with seven countries: Serbia and Croatia to the South, Romania to the Southeast, Ukraine to the Northeast, Slovakia to the North, and Austria and Slovenia to the West. The relief of the country is mostly expressed in lowland plains. Low mountains and hills appear on the border with Slovakia. The climate of the country is influenced by the location of the country- Hungary is situated in the Carpathian Basin which defines the moderate, dry, continental climate. Winters are cold and windy while summers are relatively warm.
Hungary joined the Christian community in A.D. 1000 after accepting Catholicism. They eventually became part of the powerful Austro-Hungarian empire which lasted until the WW I when it was separated by the Treaty of Trianon. After the end of the WW II the country became a satellite of the Soviet Union until 1990 when the country took other path and followed Western Europe by adopting market-based economy. Hungary became a member of NATO in 1999 and joined the EU in 2004.
The kingdom of Austro-Hungary was one comprising different ethnic groups. After its collapse, Hungary suffered a high percentage of emigration which led to a homogeneous population and nowadays more than 90% of the population is ethnically Hungarian. However, there are various minorities of which Roman (gypsy) minority is the largest. Hungarians are different from the rest of the European countries by their language since Hungarian does not belong to any major language group. Hungary also distinguishes itself by guaranteeing religious freedom to its citizens. There is no official religion in the country but more than 50% of the population is Roman Catholic. Around 15 % are Calvinist, and the rest of the population belongs to Lutheran, Christian Orthodox and others.
Republic of Hungary is a parliamentary democracy. Its currency is forint (HUF). 1 Euro can be exchanged for 252.5 HUF while 1 US dollar can be exchanged for 160.36 HUF.
Unlike most of the former Soviet countries, Hungary began the transition to a market-based economy long before the collapse of the USSR. The process of creating private enterprises started in 1968 with the NEM (New Economic Mechanism). The experienced growth but the world crisis after 1973 had its damages on the Hungarian economy as well. A period of stagnation followed. After the collapse of the Soviet Union instead of boosting its economy, Hungary followed a very risky economy with extremely large debt and inefficient export trade sector. The GDP fell substantially and unemployment rose to 14 %. However, after the mid-1990s Hungary experienced economic growth again but not as fast and stable as before. The private sector increased substantially and represented for the greatest part of GDP. The real GDP growth for the last 10 years has been 4 % annually while the average percent growth for Western Europe has been around 2%. Openness of the Hungarian economy towards Western Europe and increased FDI have led to the successful implementation of the reforms. At the end of the 1990s, Hungary had a high level of inflation of approximately 14% but it declined to less than 4 % in 2006 and rose again to 8% in 2007. Hungary also experienced large budget deficit which shifted the investments away from the private sector. Thus, many foreign investors had doubts whether to invest in Hungary given the situation. Hungary’s unemployment rate has been fluctuating around 6%. Country’s mission is to adopt the Euro currency which the government believe can be achieved if the public deficit is reduced to less than 3% of the GDP.
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