Iran & Hungary: Trade & Exhibition Information

Description:
Hungary is situated in Central Europe, sharing borders to the north with the Slovak Republic, to the northeast with Ukraine, to the east with Romania, to the south with Croatia and Serbia and to the west with Austria and Slovenia. There are several ranges of hills, chiefly in the north and west. The Great Plain (Nagyalföld) stretches east from the Danube to the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, to the mountains of Transylvania in Romania, and south to the Fruska Gora range in Croatia. Lake Balaton is the largest unbroken stretch of inland water in Central Europe.

Population :

10 million (official estimate 2007).

language:

Hungarian (Magyar) is the official language. German and English are widely spoken by the older and younger generation respectively. Some French is also spoken, mainly in western Hungary.

Economy - overview:

Hungary is poor in natural resources other than bauxite, natural gas and some oil. For this reason, it relies heavily on foreign trade, which accounts for half of its GDP. The country has a fairly well-developed industrial economy concentrated in chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, computers and telecommunications, mining, construction and aluminium (from bauxite deposits). It has also traditionally been an exporter of agricultural produce, particularly fruit and vegetables, maize and wheat, sugar beet, potatoes and livestock. EU membership was a high priority for the Hungarian government, and the country achieved this goal on 1 May 2004. According to the World Bank, Hungary's economic performance is currently steady, but recent reforms have dampened consumption, resulting in inflation of 7.8% and growth of 2% in 2007. Unemployment at the end of 2007 ran at 7.7%. In September 2006 there were widespread calls for Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany to resign after it became apparent that he had lead voters to believe that Hungary's economy was performing better than it actually was in order to secure re-election. He survived the political attack, however.

Economy:

Hungary is poor in natural resources other than bauxite, natural gas and some oil. For this reason, it relies heavily on foreign trade, which accounts for half of its GDP. The country has a fairly well-developed industrial economy concentrated in chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, computers and telecommunications, mining, construction and aluminium (from bauxite deposits). It has also traditionally been an exporter of agricultural produce, particularly fruit and vegetables, maize and wheat, sugar beet, potatoes and livestock. EU membership was a high priority for the Hungarian government, and the country achieved this goal on 1 May 2004. According to the World Bank, Hungary's economic performance is currently steady, but recent reforms have dampened consumption, resulting in inflation of 7.8% and growth of 2% in 2007. Unemployment at the end of 2007 ran at 7.7%. In September 2006 there were widespread calls for Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany to resign after it became apparent that he had lead voters to believe that Hungary's economy was performing better than it actually was in order to secure re-election. He survived the political attack, however.

Exports:

Machinery and equipment, manufactured goods and food.

Imports:

Machinery and equipment, manufactured goods, fuels and electricity. • Main trade partners: Germany, Austria, Russian Federation, Italy and China (PR).

Exchange rates:
Daily Exchange Rate

GDP :

US$136.4 billion (2007).