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Geography
Located at around 200 m above sea level, Hungary land span is
93 thousand Km², comparable in size to Indiana and Rhode
Island in the U.S.. The region is referred to as the
Carpathian Basin. North to South it is 268km and east to west,
it is 528km. The terrain consists flat land plains to the East
and smaller mountains to the West. Larger mountains are
found to the North, part of the Carpathian mountain rage (with
smaller ski slopes). Kékes Tetô being the highest point
with 1014m in height. The main rivers are the Danube and
the Tisza, both are considered large and are conducive to ship
and boat travel. The largest lake of Europe is also found here
called Balaton, is 78 Km long and 14 km at it's widest point,
covering an area of 592 Km² and is referred to by Hungarians
as the "sea of Hungary". It is a summer paradise for
sailing, fishing and swimming with it's silky sky blue waters.
GPS coordinates are
47°00' N 20°00' E. Bordering countries are Austria 366
km, Croatia 329 km, Romania 443 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151
km, Slovakia 515 km, Slovenia 102 km, Ukraine 103 km.
Climate: A
moderate "continental climate" of not too cold or
hot. Average temperatures in Hungary range from -10°C to
32°C with an average rainfall of 64cm.
Population: Approximately 10 million people. With an
approximate breakdown of; 97.7% Hungarian, 1.4% Roma (Gypsy),
0.3% German, 0.1% Slovak, 0.1% Croat, 0.1% Romanian, others
0.3%.
The capital city, Budapest is populated with
approximately 1.9 million people.
Local Time
Hungary is in the Central European Time Zone (GMT+1). During
daylight savings time (the last Sunday in March to the last
Sunday in October) the time is GMT+2. When it is noon in
Hungary, it is 03:00 in San Francisco, 06:00 in New York,
11:00 in London, 12:00 in Paris, 13:00 in Bucharest, and 14:00
in Moscow.
Economy: Hungary continues to show a healthy
economic growth through this post EU accession period.
Looking forward to having the Euro as the monetary currency at
or around 2010. Is a free-market economy with strong foreign
investments arriving yearly. Car manufacturers and
technology manufacturers establish large scale manufacturing facilities
throughout the country. Taking advantage of the
lower wages as compared to the West. The average income
is approximately 600 USD/mo.. The main supporting sector
is agriculture, but with a decline as EU regulations strangle
the industry which was not geared up for the sudden change.
Leading to international conglomerates taking over slowly. The
middle class which usually supports the western economies is
choked with high taxation and forced into tax evasion schemes
just to survive. The upper class is mainly comprised of crafty
"business men" who acquired wealth in the post
communist times, with to-date fears as the country is selling
off it's airline Malev. Corruption leading all the way up to
the highest places in the ministries as the K&H Bank
scandal unfolds. With that said, there are numerous entrepreneurs
who have seen and recognized opportunities and
excelled on their own. The lower class consists of
approximately 70% of the population tries to survive on
government assistance and/or a rough income average of
300USD/mo. This includes the rapidly growing elderly
population and the majority of people living in the rural
areas. Most polls show that the living standards are on
a decline and crime has grown almost five fold to over 500,000
occurrences/yr since 1990.
Currency: Is
called "FORINT" and is the only currency accepted
for purchases in shops. Tourist areas accept Euro or USD.
Most places accept major credit cards. Exchange rates vary,
see where it stands right now.
Language:
Hungarian (Magyar) is a unique language of it's own with only
the Finnish as a similarity. However the good news is that the
majority of 20-30 year olds speak enough to help a tourist in
need. Naturally hotel and restaurant staff usually is fluent
in the downtown are. Outside of Budapest, it is
extremely difficult to find English assistance unless in
another smaller city. (Forget the villages and towns.)
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