Country profile: Hungary

Hungary has a colourful and varied culture reflecting its mix of peoples - the majority Magyars, and Roma, German, Slovak, Croat, Serb and Romanian minorities. It was admitted to Nato in 1999 and joined the EU in May 2004. A landlocked country, Hungary is home to Lake Balaton, the largest in central Europe, and to a large number of spa towns and hot springs. Hungary's capital, Budapest, straddles the Danube It has rich traditions in folk and classical music and was the birthplace of numerous well loved performers and composers, including Franz Liszt, Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly. It also has a long history of wine making. Once part of the Ottoman and Hapsburg empires, it became a partner in the Austro-Hungarian empire in the mid-19th Century. After a period of turmoil following World War I, an independent kingdom of Hungary was established. Following World War II, the country found itself under communist rule. An uprising against Soviet domination in 1956 was crushed by Red Army forces but Hungary did later become the first Eastern European country to gain some economic freedom. It embraced aspects of the free market while still under communist rule and in 1968 the authorities allowed limited decentralisation of the economy. This helped to smooth economic transition. Within four years of the collapse of communism nearly half of the country's economic enterprises had been transferred to the private sector, and by 1998 Hungary was attracting nearly half of all foreign direct investment in its region. Hungary played an important part in accelerating the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe when in 1989 it opened its border with Austria, allowing thousands of East Germans to escape to the West. Just a few months later the Berlin Wall was history. The redrawing of European borders that took place after World War I left about five million ethnic Hungarians living in neighbouring countries. Their status remains a sensitive issue. Low turnout invalidated a December 2004 referendum on whether or not to offer them citizenship. Facts Population: 9.8 million (UN, 2005) Capital: Budapest Area: 93,030 sq km (35,919 sq miles) Major language: Hungarian Major religion: Christianity Life expectancy: 68 years (men), 77 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: Forint Main exports: Machinery and transport equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals GNI per capita: US $10,030 (World Bank, 2006) Internet domain: .hu International dialling code: +36 Leaders President Laszlo Solyom Prime minister: Ferenc Gyurcsany Mr Gyurcsany's Socialist-led coalition won a decisive victory in parliamentary elections in April 2006, becoming the first government to win consecutive terms in office since the restoration of democracy in 1990. Between them, the Socialists and Free Democrats won 210 of the 386 seats in parliament after campaigning on promises of further reforms. The former sports minister was first formally approved by parliament as prime minister in late September 2004. Ferenc Gyurcsany has made economic growth a priority He had been chosen by the Socialist Party to succeed Peter Medgyessy who resigned when tensions flared with the Free Democrats, the Socialists' coalition partners, over a cabinet reshuffle. The coalition has been in government since 2002. Mr Gyurcsany was born in 1961 and was a member of the communist youth movement in the 1980s. He went on to become a millionaire from buying state assets in the early years of privatisation. He entered politics only in 2002 as a strategic adviser to the former premier. Following his reelection in 2006, Mr Gyurcsany unveilled plans to cut public sector jobs and raise taxes in a bid to boost growth and steer the country toward Euro-zone membership in 2010. He also pledges to reduce the budget deficit which is a continuing concern. Finance minister: Janos Veres Foreign minister: Kinga Goncz MEDIA Hungary's private broadcast media compete with state-run radio and TV. The state broadcaster has faced financial struggles, dwindling audiences and allegations of political influence from government circles. Public radio services operated by Hungarian Radio compete with numerous local radio stations and national commercial services. Hungary's national and local newspapers are privately-owned, some of them by foreign groups and investors. The press Nepszabadsag - daily Magyar Hirlap - daily Magyar Nemzet - daily Nepszava - daily Heti Vilaggazdasag - political and business weekly The Budapest Sun - English-language The Budapest Times - English-language Television Magyar Televizio (MTV) public, operates two channels Duna TV - public, satellite channel geared to Hungarian minorities in neighbouring states TV2 - private, terrestrial RTL Klub - private, terrestrial Radio Hungarian Radio - public, operates Kossuth, Petofi and Bartok networks and external service Radio Budapest InfoRadio - private, news Danubius Radio - private Slager Radio - private Juventus Radio - private News agencies MTI - state-owned, English-language pages Havaria Press - private

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