• Fast facts
• Politics
• Economy
• Climate
• Gastronomy
• International memberships

Fast facts

• Full Name: Republic of Hungary
• Capital City: Budapest
• Area: 92,966 sq km / 35,894 sq miles
• Population: 10,064,000
• Time Zone: CET (GMT/UTC +1)
• Climate: continental (see details below)
• Language: Hungarian (official)
• Religion: 68% Roman Catholic, 21% Reformed (Calvinist) Protestant, 6% Evangelical (Lutheran), 5% other
• Currency: Forint (Ft/HUF)
• Electricity: 230V 50HzHz
• Country Calling Code: 36
  
  

Politics

President of the Republic, elected by the Parliament every five years, has a largely ceremonial role, choosing the dates of the parliamentary elections.
The Prime Minister is elected by Parliament and can only be removed if his successor is elected simultaneously (constructive vote of no confidence). The prime minister selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them. Each Cabinet nominee appears before one or more parliamentary committees in open hearings and must be formally approved by the President.

A unicameral, 386-member National Assembly (the Országgyűlés) is the highest organ of state authority and initiates and approves legislation sponsored by the Prime Minister. National Parliamentary elections are held every four years; the next are due to be held in 2010.

An 11-member Constitutional Court has power to challenge legislation on grounds of unconstitutionality.

Economy

Hungary continues to demonstrate economic growth as a member of the European Union (since 2004). The private sector accounts for over 80% of GDP. Hungary gets nearly one third of all foreign direct investment flowing into Central Europe. Foreign ownership of and investment in Hungarian firms are widespread, with cumulative foreign direct investment totalling more than US$23 billion since 1989. Economic reform measures such as health care reform, tax reform, and local government financing are being addressed by the present government.
The Hungarian government has expressed a desire to adopt the euro currency between 2010 and 2014.

Climate

Early and middle spring can be quite volatile, so you are advised to bring your umbrella along. Late spring is glorious and warm in Hungary. The Hungarian summer is hot, sunny and unusually long, and the holiday resorts are very crowded in late July and August. Like Paris and Rome, Budapest is a top site all year round.

Autumn is beautiful, particularly in the hills around Budapest and in the Northern Uplands. November is one of the rainiest months of the year, however. Winter is quite cold with an average temperature of –10 Celsius.

Gastronomy

Mouth-watering, spicy dishes, rich stews and sauces, hearty soups, yummy desserts. That’s Hungarian cuisine in short! There are few other ethnic gastronomies that are so varied, creative and savory than Hungarian cooking.
Authentic Hungarian dishes are definitely not for people on diet. You may find Hungarian dishes a bit too heavy and fatty, however their rich flavour, aroma and texture compensate you for the slightly excessive calory intake. But don’t think that everything is soaking in pork fat and paprika. These ingredients are essential for authentic Hungarian dishes, but properly portioning them and using modern cooking methods we can make healthier dishes.
Several special ingredients are account for the distinctive flavour of Hungarian meals:

• Hungarian paprika
• lard (however, nowadays people prefer using vegetable oil instead of lard)
• onion and garlic
• sour cream
• cottage cheese, walnut and poppy seed in sweet meals

Some other common ingredients are caraway seed, black pepper and a variety of herbs including parsley, bayleaves, tarragon, celery, thyme, savory.
Soup is a very important meal in Hungarian cuisine thus a perfect Hungarian lunch and sometimes dinner starts with some kind of soup.

International memberships

• Schengen Convention since 2007
• EU (European Union) since 2004
• NATO since 1999
• Visegrad Group since 1991
• UN (United Nations) since 1955