The Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe , bordered by Austria , Slovakia , Ukraine , Romania , Serbia , Croatia and Slovenia . It is known locally as the Country of the Magyars or Magyarország .

 

 

Geography

Hungary's landscape consists mostly of the flat to rolling plains of the Carpathian Basin , with hills and lower mountains to the north along the Slovakian border (highest point: the Kékes at 1,014 m). Hungary is divided in two by its main waterway, the Danube ( Duna ); other large rivers include the Tisza and Dráva , while the western half contains Lake Balaton , a major body of water. The largest thermal lake in the world, Lake Hévíz ( Hévíz Spa ), is located in Hungary. The second largest lake in the Carpathian Basin (and probably the largest artificial lake in Europe) is Lake Tisza ( Tisza-tó ).

Climate

Hungary has continental climate , with cold, cloudy, humid winters and warm to hot summers. Average annual temperature is 9.7°C. Temperature extremes are app. 35°C in the summer and -29°C in the winter. Average temperature in the summer is 27–32°C, and in the winter it is 0 to -15 °C. The average yearly rainfall is approximately 600 mm. A small, southern region of the country near Pécs enjoys a mediterranean climate .

The relative isolation of the Carpathian Basin makes it susceptible to droughts and the effects of Global Warming are already felt. According to popular opinion, and many scientists in the latest decades the country became drier, as droughts are quite common; and summers became hotter, winters became milder. Because of these reasons snow has become much more rare in the area than before. Popular opinion also states that the four-season system became a two-season system as spring and autumn are getting shorter and shorter, even vanishing some years.

Economy

Hungary continues to demonstrate strong economic growth as one of the newest members of the European Union (since 2004). The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP . Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms is widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totaling more than US$23 billion since 1989 . Hungarian sovereign debt was upgraded in 2000 to the second-highest rating among all the Central European transition economies. Inflation and unemployment – both priority concerns in 2001 – have declined substantially. Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing have not yet been addressed by the present government.

Demographics

For some 95% of the population, mostly Hungarians , the mother tongue is Hungarian , a Finno Ugric language unrelated to any neighbouring language. Several ethnic minorities exist: Roma (2%), Germans (1.2%), Romanians (0.8%), Slovaks (0.4%), Croats (0.2%), Serbs (0.2%) and Ukrainians (0.1%).

The largest religion in Hungary is Catholicism – Roman and Greek – (approx two thirds of the population), with a Calvinist minority (around 20%) and Lutherans (5%). However, these are book values, as the Hungarian population is not particularly religious; at most 25% practise their faith. Most of the country's Jews (1%) live in Budapest .

Several large Hungarian minorities exist across the border in neighbouring countries, notably in Ukraine (in Transcarpathia ), Slovakia , Romania (in Transylvania ), Serbia (in Vojvodina ) and a smaller ones in Austria (in Burgenland ), Croatia and Slovenia .