Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Its capital is Budapest.
Europe and its surrounding regions. The dot marks Budapest; the mapped territory is highlighted in gold.
Natural Earth · locator mapHungary occupies much of a lowland basin in Central Europe. Broad plains dominate the east and south, while hills and modest mountains occur mainly in the north and west. The Danube and Tisza are major organizing features of the landscape.
Hortobágy represents an open plain with grassland and wetland environments. Lake Balaton, farther west, is a large shallow lake beside hills and lowland country. These settings differ from the wooded uplands along the northern edge.
Hungary has warm summers and cold winters. Its inland position produces greater seasonal temperature contrasts than on Europe’s Atlantic coast.
River regulation and drainage have changed many former floodplains. Remaining wetlands provide important wildlife habitat. Hot summers, cold winters and variable rainfall influence agriculture across the largely continental interior.
Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green
The river passes through the lowland landscape of eastern Hungary.
Photo: Own work · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The lake and Badacsony hills illustrate the gentler relief of western Hungary.
Hungarian is the official language. It belongs to the Uralic language family, unlike most languages spoken in neighboring countries.
Romani, German, Slovak, Croatian, Romanian and other community languages are also spoken. English and German are common additional languages.
Hungary developed as a medieval kingdom and later became part of the Habsburg realm. Austria-Hungary dissolved in 1918. Soviet influence shaped the communist period after the Second World War, and a peaceful political transition introduced multiparty government in 1989–90.
Vehicle manufacturing, electronics, pharmaceuticals, services and agriculture contribute to the economy. Export industries are closely linked to European production networks. Tourism is important in Budapest and other regions.
mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles
Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.
Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.
Sources: World Bank · Population
| Year | People | Millions of people |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 10,337,910 | 10.338 |
| 1980 | 10,711,122 | 10.711 |
| 1990 | 10,373,988 | 10.374 |
| 2000 | 10,210,971 | 10.211 |
| 2010 | 10,000,023 | 10.000 |
| 2020 | 9,670,419 | 9.670 |
| 2025 | 9,514,251 | 9.514 |
Constant prices adjust for inflation. This is total economic output, not current-dollar GDP or income per person. Missing years are left as gaps.
Sources: World Bank · Real GDP
| Year | Constant 2015 US$ | Billions of constant 2015 US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 89,698,143,066 | 89.698 |
| 1991 | 79,031,203,242 | 79.031 |
| 1992 | 76,609,544,645 | 76.610 |
| 1993 | 76,168,190,532 | 76.168 |
| 1994 | 78,412,984,829 | 78.413 |
| 1995 | 79,580,966,215 | 79.581 |
| 1996 | 79,661,529,391 | 79.662 |
| 1997 | 82,033,753,398 | 82.034 |
| 1998 | 85,190,500,944 | 85.191 |
| 1999 | 87,819,529,312 | 87.820 |
| 2000 | 91,691,821,699 | 91.692 |
| 2001 | 95,416,367,494 | 95.416 |
| 2002 | 99,929,623,991 | 99.930 |
| 2003 | 103,865,629,649 | 103.866 |
| 2004 | 109,020,611,056 | 109.021 |
| 2005 | 113,708,806,061 | 113.709 |
| 2006 | 118,182,032,746 | 118.182 |
| 2007 | 118,574,815,858 | 118.575 |
| 2008 | 119,752,782,053 | 119.753 |
| 2009 | 111,681,245,652 | 111.681 |
| 2010 | 112,873,946,276 | 112.874 |
| 2011 | 115,037,411,550 | 115.037 |
| 2012 | 113,496,503,293 | 113.497 |
| 2013 | 115,802,945,078 | 115.803 |
| 2014 | 120,822,254,245 | 120.822 |
| 2015 | 125,244,126,623 | 125.244 |
| 2016 | 128,298,381,763 | 128.298 |
| 2017 | 133,589,642,960 | 133.590 |
| 2018 | 141,078,862,882 | 141.079 |
| 2019 | 148,241,697,677 | 148.242 |
| 2020 | 141,809,897,486 | 141.810 |
| 2021 | 152,052,706,989 | 152.053 |
| 2022 | 158,366,514,062 | 158.367 |
| 2023 | 157,072,489,604 | 157.072 |
| 2024 | 158,186,244,447 | 158.186 |
| 2025 | 158,992,270,290 | 158.992 |
The Human Development Index combines health, education and income. Scores range from 0 to 1.
The latest values refer to 2023. All historical scores use the same report edition. HDI does not describe every aspect of inequality or quality of life.
Sources: UNDP · Human Development Report 2025
Parliamentary republic. National Assembly (Országgyülés) has one chamber (a unicameral legislature).
Three questions about Hungary.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile
Prepared 24 September 2026. World Bank series: SP.POP.TOTL (persons) and NY.GDP.MKTP.KD (constant 2015 US dollars); downloaded 24 September 2026, provider update 13 July 2026. UNDP values use the 2025 report and 2023 observation year. These are dated statistical snapshots, not live population or economic counters.
Maps use Natural Earth geographic data. Background geography, flag descriptions and selected historical facts use archived public-domain CIA World Factbook profiles, supplemented by the sources linked above. The Factbook is no longer updated; dated statistics here come from the separately named providers.
