Demographics of Hungary

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Contents 1 Historical 2 Present 2.1 The Roma minority 3 Data 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] Historical

Time	Population	Percentage rate of Magyars	Notes
c. 900 AD	450,000–700,000	55-71%[1][2]	According to various sources between 25,000 [3] and 500,000 [2] Magyars settled in the Pannonian plain, inhabited by about 200,000 Slavs. [4]
1222	2,000,000	70-80% [2]	The time of the Golden Bull.
1242	1,200,000 [2]	?	After the Mongol-Tatars invasion.
1370	2,500,000	60-70% [2]	At the time of the Angevin kings.
1490	4,000,000	80% [2]	Before the Ottoman conquest (3.2 million Magyars)
1699	3,300,000	50-55% [2]	At the time of Treaty of Karlowitz. (less than 2 million Magyars)
1711	3,000,000	53%[2]	At the end of Kuruc War. (1.6 million Magyars)
1790	8,000,000	37.7%
1828	11,495,536	40-45%
1846	12,033,399	40-45%
1880	13,749,603	46%
1900	16,838,255	51.4%
1910	18,264,533	54.5%	5% Jews
1920	7,516,000	90%	After the Treaty of Trianon. 6.1% Jews.
1981	10,800,000	98%	At the beginning of the demographic decline.
2001	10,197,119	95%	At the national census of 1 February 2001.
2005	10,090,330	93%	At the 2005 microcensus.[1]

Note: The data before 1920 refer to the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, not of present-day Hungary.

[edit] Present

Ethnic composition of Hungary
Hungarian			93%
Roma			5%
German			1.2%
Romanian			0.8%
Slovak			0.4%
other			0.6%

For some 95% of the population, mostly Hungarians, the mother tongue is Hungarian, a Finno-Ugric language unrelated to any neighbouring language. Several ethnic minorities exist: Roma (5%), Germans (1.2%), Romanians (0.8%), Slovaks (0.4%), Croats (0.2%), Serbs (0.2%) and Ukrainians (0.1%).

• Hungarians, 93%
• Roma, 5% (other estimates up to 7%)
• Germans, 1.2%
• Romanians, 0.8%
• Slovaks, 0.4%

According to census data, the largest religion in Hungary is Roman Catholicism (50% of the population [2]), with a significant Calvinist minority (16% of the population) and smaller Lutheran (3%) and Greek Catholic (3%) minorities. However, these census figures are representative of religious affiliation rather than practice; an estimated 10-14% of Hungarians attend religious services at least once a week and fewer than 50% at least once a year, while 30% of Hungarians do not believe in God [3][4].

For historical reasons, significant Hungarian minority populations can be found in the surrounding countries, notably in Ukraine (in Transcarpathia), Slovakia, Romania (in Transylvania), and Serbia (in Vojvodina). Austria (in Burgenland), Croatia, and Slovenia are also host to a number of ethnic Magyars.

[edit] The Roma minority

The real number of Roma in Hungary is a disputed question. In the 2001 census only 190,000 people called themselves Roma, but experts and Roma organisations estimate that there are between 450,000 and 600,000 Roma living in Hungary [5]. During World War II, 50,000 Roma were killed in Hungary.[6] Since then, the size of the Roma population has increased rapidly. Today every fifth or sixth newborn Hungarian child belongs to the Roma minority. Estimates based on current demographic trends claim that in 2050 15-20 percent of the population (1.2 million people) will be Roma.

Romas (called cigányok or romák in Hungarian) suffer particular problems in Hungary. School segregation is an especially acute one, with many Roma children sent to classes for pupils with learning disabilities. Currently slightly more than 80% of Roma children complete primary education, but only one third continue studies into the intermediate (secondary) level. This is far lower than the more than 90% proportion of children of non-Roma families who continue studies at an intermediate level. The situation is made still worse by the fact that a large proportion of young Roma are qualified in subjects that provide them only limited chances for employment. Less than 1% of Roma hold higher educational certificates. Their low status on the job market and higher unemployment rates cause poverty, widespread social problems and crime. Extremely poor Romas live in the so-called Roma ghettoes, which are located on the ledges of the cities, and have enormously bad environmental qualities, with no water, gas or even power supply. There were some tries to make the conditions of Romas better in the recent years, for example, with raising new homes outside the ghettoes – although the non-Roma majority didn't admit the new inhabitants with pleasure.

[edit] Data

Population: 10,198,315 (2001)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 878,661; female 834,607)
15-64 years: 68% (male 3,407,368; female 3,535,818)
65 years and over: 15% (male 548,672; female 933,718) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.25% (2006 est.)^[5]

Birth rate: 9.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) ^[5]

Death rate: 13.11 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001)

Infant mortality rate: 9.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.66 years ^[5]
male: 68.45 years
female: 77.14 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.32 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^[5]

Ethnic groups: Hungarian 93%, Roma 2%, German 1.2%, Romanian 0.8%, Slovak 0.4%, Croatian 0.2%, Serbian 0.2%, Ukrainian 0.1%

Religion: According to census data, the largest religion in Hungary is Roman Catholicism (50% of the population [7]), with a significant Calvinist minority (16% of the population) and smaller Lutheran (3%), Greek Catholic (3%), and Jewish (0.1%) minorities. However, these census figures are representative of religious affiliation rather than practice; fewer than 12% of Hungarians attend religious services at least once a week and fewer than 50% at least once a year, while 30% of Hungarians do not believe in God. [8]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.4%
male: 99.5%
female: 99.3% (2003 est.)

See also : Hungary

[edit] Notes

1. ^ These numbers are disputed, especially by the researchers of present-day Hungary's neighbours. Those who support that Magyars were semi-nomadic peoples, believe their number was between 250-500,000. Others, who believe that they were nomadic, suggest a considerably lower value, as low as 25,000. Also note, that before the conquest, Byzantine sources mention Hungarians were able to send off 20,000 soldiers. This, of course, does not include women, children, convalescents, and elderlies. Thus, with an estimation of that 20,000 is one fifth of the total population, one may get a number of 100,000 Magyars for the year 800 AD. After the coquest of the territory (896), and the formation of the tribal principalities, according to certain sources, 55-71% Magyars lived in the territory. According to other sources (such as Lazar Stipić, Istina o Mađarima, Novi Sad - Serbia, 2004), the number of Magyars in the area was negligible compared with the number of Slavs until the 13th century. Anyhow, the latter theory does not give an accurate answer on the questions how Magyars were not assimilated by Slavs, and, on the other hand, how they could conquer the area to establish the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Historical World Atlas. With the commendation of the Royal Geographical Society. Carthographia, Budapest, Hungary, 2005. ISBN 9633520029CM
3. '^ Milan Tutorov: Banatska Rapsodija, istorika Zrenjanina i Banata. Novi Sad, 2001.
4. ^ Country Studies, Hungary
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Population decline is abating. Some interesting figures in 2000: population growth rate was -0.33%; there were 9.62 births/1,000 population (death rate: 13.34 deaths/1000 population) ; fertility rate - 1.25 children born/woman. Life expectancy increased by approximately 1.3 years under the same time.

[edit] External links

Hungary's Strategic Audit [9] (click the Union Jack to see the English version)