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General Information Area: 93,030 sq km (35,919 sq miles). Population: 10,197,119 (2001). Population Density: 109.6 per sq km. Capital: Budapest. Population: 1,811,522 (2000). Geography: 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 in the CIS, 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. Government: Republic. Head of State: President Ferenc Mádl since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy since 2002. Language: Hungarian (Magyar) is the official language. German and English are widely spoken. Some French is also spoken, mainly in western Hungary. Religion: 62 per cent Roman Catholic, 20 per cent Calvinist, 5 per cent Lutheran. Eastern Orthodox and Jewish minorities. There is no official national religion. Time: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October). Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. European-style two-pin plugs are used. Communications: Telephone: IDD available. Country code: 36. Outgoing international code: 00. Public telephones are operated by Ft100, Ft50, Ft20 and Ft10 coins or by telephone cards. Mobile telephone: GSM dual band 900/1800, coverage throughout the country. Network operators include Pannon GSM Telecoms (website: www.pannongsm.com), Westel Mobile Telecommunications Company (website: www.westel900.net) and Vodafone (website: www.vodafone.hu). Fax/Telegram: Services are available at main post offices all over the country and at the Telecommunications Information and Service Office, Petőfi Sándor u., Budapest. Internet: ISPs include Matáv (website: www.matav.hu). There are Internet cafes in larger towns. Post: Airmail takes 3 days to 1 week to reach other European destinations. In addition to the main post office, the offices at West and East railway stations in Budapest are open daily 0700-2100. Stamps are available from tobacconists as well as post offices. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1800, Sat 0700-1400. Press: National dailies include Magyar Hírlap, Népszabadság and Népszava. English-language newspapers include the Budapest Business Journal, Budapest Week, Courier Diplomatique, The Budapest Sun, The Hungarian Economy, The Hungarian Observer and The Hungarian Quarterly. Radio: BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online.
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