71 Facts About Hungary

1.

Hungary has a population of nearly 10 million, mostly ethnic Hungarians and a significant Romani minority.

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2.

Territory of present-day Hungary has for centuries been a crossroads for various peoples, including Celts, Romans, Germanic tribes, Huns, West Slavs and the Avars.

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3.

Hungary came under Habsburg rule at the turn of the 18th century, later joining with the Austrian Empire to form Austria-Hungary, a major power into the early 20th century.

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4.

Postwar Hungary became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, leading to the establishment of the Hungarian People's Republic.

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5.

Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and has been part of the Schengen Area since 2007.

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6.

Hungary is a middle power in international affairs, owing mostly to its cultural and economic influence.

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7.

Hungary has a long history of significant contributions to arts, music, literature, sports, science and technology.

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8.

Hungary's first-born son, Saint Stephen I, became the first King of Hungary after defeating his pagan uncle Koppany, who claimed the throne.

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9.

Hungary led the Fifth Crusade to the Holy Land in 1217, setting up the largest royal army in the history of Crusades.

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10.

Kingdom of Hungary reached one of its greatest extents during the Arpadian kings, yet royal power was weakened at the end of their rule in 1301.

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11.

Hungary was a successful crusader against the Ottoman Turks, one of his greatest victories being the siege of Belgrade in 1456.

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12.

Hungary's election was the first time that a member of the nobility mounted to the Hungarian royal throne without dynastic background.

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13.

Hungary was a successful military leader and an enlightened patron of the arts and learning.

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14.

Matthias' mercenary standing army, the Black Army of Hungary, was an unusually large army for its time, and it conquered Vienna as well as parts of Austria and Bohemia.

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15.

The north-western part, termed as Royal Hungary, was annexed by the Habsburgs who ruled as kings of Hungary.

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16.

The ethnic composition of Hungary was fundamentally changed as a consequence of the prolonged warfare with the Turks.

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17.

The troops raised in the Kingdom of Hungary spent little time defending the actual territory of Hungary, with the exceptions of the Brusilov offensive in June 1916 and a few months later when the Romanian army made an attack into Transylvania, both of which were repelled.

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18.

Austria-Hungary signed a general armistice in Padua on 3 November 1918.

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19.

Disarmament of its army meant that Hungary was to remain without a national defence at a time of particular vulnerability.

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20.

In 1939, Hungary regained further territory from Czechoslovakia through force.

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21.

Hungary formally joined the Axis powers on 20 November 1940 and in 1941 participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia, gaining some of its former territories in the south.

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22.

Hungary formally entered World War II as an Axis power on 26 June 1941, declaring war on the Soviet Union after unidentified planes bombed Kassa, Munkacs, and Raho.

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23.

Hungary joined the Warsaw Pact in May 1955, as societal dissatisfaction with the regime swelled.

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24.

In 2022, the European Parliament passed a resolution stating that Hungary had become a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy" following a "breakdown in democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law" under Orban's government.

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25.

Phytogeographically, Hungary belongs to the Central European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom.

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26.

Hungary has 10 national parks, 145 minor nature reserves, and 35 landscape protection areas.

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27.

Hungary has a temperate seasonal climate, with generally warm summers with low overall humidity levels but frequent rain showers and cold snowy winters.

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28.

The third most significant governmental position in Hungary is the Speaker of the National Assembly, who is elected by the National Assembly and responsible for overseeing the daily sessions of the body.

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29.

The current political landscape in Hungary is dominated by the conservative Fidesz, who have a near supermajority, and two medium-sized parties, the left-wing Democratic Coalition and liberal Momentum.

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30.

Judicial system of Hungary is a civil law system divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with jurisdiction over litigation between individuals and the public administration.

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31.

Law enforcement in Hungary is split among the police and the National Tax and Customs Administration.

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32.

Hungary has been a member of the United Nations since December 1955 and a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrad Group, the WTO, the World Bank, the AIIB and the IMF.

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33.

Hungary took on the presidency of the Council of the European Union for half a year in 2011 and the next will be in 2024.

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34.

In 2015, Hungary was the fifth largest OECD non-DAC donor of development aid in the world, which represents 0.

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35.

Hungary joined the Partnership for Peace programme in 1994 and has actively supported the IFOR and SFOR missions in Bosnia.

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36.

Since 1989 Hungary has improved its often frosty neighbour relations by signing basic treaties with Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

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37.

Since 1989, Hungary has signed all of the OSCE documents, and served as the OSCE's Chairman-in-Office in 1997.

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38.

Hungary sent a 300-strong logistics unit to Iraq in order to help the U S occupation with armed transport convoys, though public opinion opposed the country's participation in the war.

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39.

Hungary is an OECD high-income mixed economy with very high human development index and skilled labour force with the 16th lowest income inequality in the world.

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40.

Hungary is an export-oriented market economy with a heavy emphasis on foreign trade, thus the country is the 36th largest export economy in the world.

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41.

Hungary continues to be one of the leading nations for attracting foreign direct investment in Central and Eastern Europe, the inward FDI in the country was $119.

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42.

Hungary is the largest electronics producer in Central and Eastern Europe.

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43.

Besides this Hungary has a large portion of specialised small and medium enterprise, for example a significant number of automotive suppliers and technology start ups among others.

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44.

Hungary maintains its own currency, the Hungarian forint, although the economy fulfills the Maastricht criteria with the exception of public debt, but it is significantly below the EU average with the level of 75.

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45.

Hungary was ranked 34th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, down from 33rd in 2019.

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46.

In 2014, Hungary counted 2, 651 full-time equivalent researchers per million inhabitants, steadily increasing from 2, 131 in 2010 and compares with 3, 984 in the U S or 4, 380 in Germany.

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47.

Hungary has one of the highest rates of filed patents, the sixth highest ratio of high-tech and medium high-tech output in the total industrial output, the 12th highest research FDI inflow, placed 14th in research talent in business enterprise and has the 17th best overall innovation efficiency ratio in the world.

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48.

Key actor of research and development in Hungary is the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, which is a national strategic and funding agency for scientific research, development and innovation, the primary source of advice on RDI policy for the Hungarian government and the primary RDI funding agency.

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49.

Hungary has been the home of some of the most prominent researchers in various scientific disciplines, notably physics, mathematics, chemistry and engineering.

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50.

Hungary has excellent mathematics education which has trained numerous outstanding scientists.

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51.

Hungary has a highly developed road, railway, air, and water transport system.

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52.

In June 2020, Hungary passed a law binding itself to a target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

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53.

Hungary's population was 9, 937, 628 according to the 2011 census, making it the fifth most populous country in Central and Eastern Europe and medium-sized member state of the European Union.

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54.

Hungary has one of the oldest populations in the world, with the average age of 42.

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55.

Hungary recognises two sizeable minority groups, designated as "national minorities" because their ancestors have lived in their respective regions for centuries in Hungary: a German community of about 130, 000 that lives throughout the country, and a Romani minority numerous around 300, 000 that mainly resides in the northern part of the country.

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56.

Outside Hungary, it is spoken in neighbouring countries and by Hungarian diaspora communities worldwide.

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57.

The Catholic Church in Hungary remained strong through the centuries, and the Archbishop of Esztergom was granted extraordinary temporal privileges as prince-primate of Hungary.

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58.

In practice, this meant cuius regio, eius religio; thus, most individual localities in Hungary are still identifiable as historically Catholic, Lutheran, or Reformed.

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59.

Orthodox Christianity in Hungary is associated with the country's ethnic minorities: Armenians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Romanians, Rusyns, Ukrainians, and Serbs.

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60.

Hungary has a long tradition of higher education reflecting the existence of established knowledge economy.

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61.

Hungary maintains a universal health care system largely financed by government national health insurance.

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62.

Hungary is well known for its spa culture and is home to numerous medicinal spas, which attract "spa tourism".

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63.

Hungary is home to the largest synagogue in Europe, built in 1859 in Moorish Revival style with a capacity of 3, 000 people; the largest medicinal bath in Europe, completed in 1913 in Modern Renaissance style and located in the Budapest city park; one of the largest basilicas in Europe; the second-largest territorial abbey in the world; and the largest early Christian necropolis outside Italy.

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64.

Hungary's music was invigorated by the themes, modes, and rhythmic patterns of the Hungarian and neighbouring folk music traditions he studied, which he synthesised with influences from his contemporaries into his own distinctive style.

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65.

Hungary is ideal for wine-making, and the country can be divided into numerous regions.

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66.

Hungary has the third-highest number of Olympic medals per capita and second-highest number of gold medals per capita in the world.

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67.

Hungary leads the overall medal count in canoeing and kayaking.

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68.

Hungary won its first gold medal in Winter Olympics in 2018 in men's short track speed skating with a team of four: Csaba Burjan, Shaolin Sandor Liu, Shaoang Liu, and Viktor Knoch.

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69.

Besides these, Hungary was the home of many European-level tournaments, like 2006 European Aquatics Championships, 2010 European Aquatics Championships, 2013 European Judo Championships, 2013 European Karate Championships, 2017 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship and will be the host of 4 matches in the UEFA Euro 2020, which will be held in the 67, 889-seat new multi-purpose Puskas Ferenc Stadium.

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70.

Hungary has won three Olympic football titles, and the country finished as runners-up in the 1938 and 1954 FIFA World Cups, and third in Euro 1964.

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71.

Hungary revolutionised the sport in the 1950s, laying the tactical fundamentals of total football and dominating international football with the Aranycsapat, which included Ferenc Puskas, top goal scorer of the 20th century, to whom FIFA dedicated its newest award, the Puskas Award.

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