A. Historical Overview

The early Magyars (Hungarians) arrived in the Carpathian Basin, and subsequently became a separate ethnic group at around 500 BC. After the conquest of Hungary ended in 900, the country was linked with the development of Europe under the effort of Prince Céza, and was then established as a Christian kingdom under Stephen I of Hungary (1000-1038). By the 14^th century, Hungary was considered as an important market in European trade.

Hungary was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed after the First World War. Soon after the Second World War, the "People's Republic of Hungary" was established. The country was made a member of the former Soviet Union. In 1956, a revolution that led to its announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact was met with a massive military intervention by the Soviet Union.

Nevertheless, under the leadership of János Kádár, in 1968 Hungary began liberalising its economy by pursuing a so-called "soft dictatorship". Some economic reforms and limited political liberalisation with a foreign policy that encouraged trade with the West were undertaken. But the Communist regime ended in 1989, along with the break-up of the Soviet Union. The country was renamed the "Republic of Hungary" in October 1989, and held its first multi-party elections in 1990.

Following this, the Hungarian economy was liberalised substantially in the 1990s. In particular, the privatisation law promulgated in 1995 cleared the obstacles to privatising sate-owned enterprises. In tandem with the opening up of the economy, small private enterprises proliferated rapidly. Endowed with entrepreneurial skills, Hungary has played a leading role in business, finance and trade in the Central and East European region. The country's well-developed infrastructure, coupled with its political and economic stability, has made it among the major recipients of foreign direct investment in the region. In addition, investor confidence has been strengthened by Hungary's accession to the EU in 2004, together with nine other East European and Mediterranean countries¹. Earlier, Hungary became a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1996, as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1999.

B. Geography and Resources

Hungary is a landlocked country, located in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe. It is surrounded by the Carpathians, the Alps and the Dinara Mountains, with an area of 93,030 km². The country borders Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. Around three quarters of the country lie on a low plain, while one fifth is hilly terrain with altitudes up to 400 metres and 5% is mountainous with altitudes between 400-1,000 metres.

1. Time Zone 

GMT +1	-	behind Hong Kong by 7 hours
GMT +2 (summer time)	-	behind Hong Kong by 6 hours

2. Climatic Information

Hungary is affected by oceanic, continental as well as Mediterranean climates. Due to the relative isolation of the Carpathian Basin, the climate in the country, especially in the Great Plain areas, tends to be dry.

• The annual average mean temperature is 10°C in the entire country and 11°C in the capital Budapest.
• The mean temperature in July, the hottest month, is 20°C. During a hot summer, temperatures may rise to as high as 38°C on some days.
• The mean temperature in January, the coldest month, is 2°C. During the cold season, while the mean temperature may hover around -1°C to -5°C, the temperature may drop to as low as -30.0°C in extreme cases.

Current weather conditions of Hungary can be obtained from:

http://www.worldweather.org/017/m017.htm

3. Natural Resources

Fertile soil and abundant water resources are the major natural resources of Hungary. Aided by a favourable climate for agriculture, about half of its territory is arable land. Meanwhile, Hungary is rich in thermal waters, and has more than 1,000 wells producing thermal water over 30°C and about 150 thermal spas. Hungary produces some 400 million litres of mineral water per annum.

Hungary has deposits of oil and natural gas, although they are far from enough to meet the country's demand. But the country has relatively abundant deposits of coal and lignite, which are able to meet about 20% of the domestic demand from the power generation sector.

The major non-ferrous metal ore deposits in the country include copper, lead, zinc, silver and gold. Economic bauxite reserves in Hungary are estimated to be about 30 million tons. Hungary also has a mine for manganese ores.

Hungary has considerable geothermal energy resources. There are over 100 licensed thermal wells in the country mainly exploited for the heating of agricultural facilities (greenhouses), as well as public and residential facilities.

C. Population, Language and Major Cities 

Total population	:	10.1 million (2005)2
Major language	:	Hungarian
Major religion	:	Catholic and Protestant

Hungary has some 10 million inhabitants, with about 94% of the population using Hungarian as their mother tongue. Therefore, the country can be considered as a single-language national state.

For administration purposes, Hungary is divided into 19 countries in addition to the capital city, i.e. Budapest. Major public administration units include the capital city, counties, towns and villages. The country is also divided into seven planning statistical regions, each of which cover a few counties. 

1. Central Hungary	-	Budapest and Pest county
2. Central Transdanubia	-	Fejér, Komárom-Esztergom and Veszprém counties
3. Western Transdanubia	-	Győr-Moson-Sopron, Vas and Zala counties
4. Southern Transdanubia	-	Baranya, Somogy and Tolna counties
5. Northern Hungary	-	Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Heves and Nógrád counties
6. Northern Great Plain	-	Hajdú-Bihar, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties
7. Southern Great Plain	-	Bács-Kiskun, Békés and Csongrád counties

Hungary's largest region is the Southern Great Plain, while the smallest is Central Hungary. But while Central Hungary accounts for only some 7% of the country in terms of area, it accommodates about 30% of the country's total population, due mainly to the presence of the capital Budapest, which is the centre of Central Hungary as well as the entire country.

Apart from Budapest, major cities include Debrecen, Miskolc and Szeged. Notably, except for the capital, all the cities in the country have a population of a fifth of a million or less, and may be sometimes called towns rather than cities.

• Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is situated along the Danube River. It is the country's centre for administration, economics, culture, transportation and science.
• Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the capital of Hajdú-Bihar county. It is considered an educational centre, given the presence of research facilities of the University of Debrecen.
• Miskolc is the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary. It is an industrial city, thanks to industrialisation during the Socialist era, especially in the area of metallurgy.
• Szeged is the regional centre of Southeastern Hungary and the capital of Csongrád county. While it is considered a university town, the city is also one of the centres of the fold industry in Hungary.
• Pécs is the administrative and economical centre of Baranya county. While banking and commerce are the major sectors of the local economy, the city also is known for its breweries and porcelain production.

D. Political System and Government Administration 

Country name	:	Republic of Hungary
Head of state	:	President (elected by a two-thirds majority vote by the National Assembly for a term of five years)
Head of government	:	Prime Minister (elected by the National Assembly on the basis of the principle of parliamentary majority)
The legislature	:	The supreme organ of the legislature is the National Assembly (Parliament) composed of a single chamber; members of Parliament have a mandate for four years.
The judiciary	:	The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, the courts of appeal, the county (metropolitan) courts and the local (metropolitan district) courts, whose administration is the responsibility of the National Judicial Council

Since the amendment to the Hungarian Constitution, which was proclaimed on 23 October 1989, Hungary has become an independent and democratic parliamentary republic, namely, the "Republic of Hungary".

Since 1990, conservative and social-liberal governments have alternated with each other. The last elections were held in 2006, when the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) and the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) continued their coalition government. In addition, there are certain opposition parties represented in parliament, including the conservative FIDESZ-Hungarian Civic Alliance and the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF).

Political parties that play a significant role in Hungarian politics include:

• Magyar Polgári Párt (FIDESZ) (FIDESZ-Hungarian Civic Party)
• Magyar Szocialista Párt (MSZP) (Hungarian Socialist Party)
• Független Kisgazda-, Földmunkás- És Polgári Párt (FKGP) (Independent Smallholders', Land workers' And Civic Party)
• Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége (SZDSZ) (Alliance Of Free Democrats)
• Magyar Demokrata Fórum (MDF) (Hungarian Democratic Forum)
• Magyar lgazság És Élet Pártja (MIÉP) (Hungarian Truth And Life Party)

1	A total of 10 countries joined the EU on 1 May 2004, namely Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
2	Hungarian Central Statistical Office