Hungary was part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed during World War I.

The country fell under Communist rule following World War II. In 1956, a revolt and an announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow.

Under the leadership of Janos KADAR in 1968, Hungary began liberalizing its economy, introducing so-called "Goulash Communism." Hungary held its first multiparty elections in 1990 and initiated a free market economy.

It joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 9,956,108 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 15.3% (male 785,643/female 741,907) 15-64 years: 69.3% (male 3,399,926/female 3,498,403) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 554,356/female 975,873) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 38.9 years male: 36.5 years female: 41.5 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: -0.253% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 9.66 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 13.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.059 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.972 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.568 male(s)/female total population: 0.909 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 8.21 deaths/1,000 live births male: 8.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.92 years male: 68.73 years female: 77.38 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.33 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 2,800 (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2001 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Hungarian(s) adjective: Hungarian

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Ethnic groups: Hungarian 92.3%, Roma 1.9%, other or unknown 5.8% (2001 census)

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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% (2001 census)

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Languages: Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.4% male: 99.5% female: 99.3% (2003 est.)

Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy, with a per capita income nearly two-thirds that of the EU-25 average. Hungary continues to demonstrate strong economic growth and acceded to the EU in May 2004. The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling more than $60 billion since 1989. Hungary issues investment-grade sovereign debt. International observers, however, have expressed concerns over Hungary's fiscal and current account deficits. Inflation has declined from 14% in 1998 to 3.7% in 2006. Unemployment has persisted above 6%. Hungary's labor force participation rate of 57% is one of the lowest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Germany is by far Hungary's largest economic partner. Policy challenges include cutting the public sector deficit to 3% of GDP by 2008, from about 6.5% in 2006, and tackling a persistent trade deficit. The current government has announced and begun to implement an austerity program designed to address these issues, leading to eventual adoption of the euro.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $175.2 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $113.2 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 3.9% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $17,600 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.1% industry: 32.1% services: 64.8% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 4.2 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 5.5% industry: 33.3% services: 61.2% (2003)

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Unemployment rate: 7.4% (2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 8.6% (1993 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.1% highest 10%: 22.2% (2002)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 26.9 (2002)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.7% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 23.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $48.73 billion expenditures: $59.62 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 68.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets; pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products

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Industries: mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles

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Industrial production growth rate: 9.5% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 31.83 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 37.1 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 6.3 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 13.8 billion kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 47,530 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 132,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: 58,380 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - imports: 150,000 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - proved reserves: 102.5 million bbl (1 January 2005)

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Natural gas - production: 2.963 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 14.46 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 11.42 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 34.26 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: -$8.392 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $67.99 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment 61.1%, other manufactures 28.7%, food products 6.5%, raw materials 2%, fuels and electricity 1.6% (2003)

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Exports - partners: Germany 29.5%, Italy 5.6%, Austria 5%, France 5%, UK 4.5%, Romania 4.2%, Poland 4% (2006)

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Imports: $69.75 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment 51.6%, other manufactures 35.7%, fuels and electricity 7.7%, food products 3.1%, raw materials 2.0% (2003)

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Imports - partners: Germany 27.2%, Russia 8.4%, China 7.1%, Austria 6.2%, France 4.7%, Italy 4.5%, Netherlands 4.3%, Poland 4.2% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $21.05 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $107.3 billion (30 June 2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $3.4 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06)

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Currency (code): forint (HUF)

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Exchange rates: forints per US dollar - 210.39 (2006), 199.58 (2005), 202.75 (2004), 224.31 (2003), 257.89 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year