HUNGARY
Republic of Hungary Magyar Népköztársaság
CAPITAL : Budapest
FLAG : The national flag, adopted in 1957, is a tricolor of red, white, and green horizontal stripes.
ANTHEM : Isten áldd meg a magyart (God Bless the Hungarians) .
MONETARY UNIT : The forint (F T ) of 100 fillérs is a paper currency with flexible rates of exchange. There are coins of 10, 20, and 50 fillérs and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 100, and 200 forints, and notes of 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 forints. F T 1 = $0.00446 (or $1 = F T 224) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is the legal standard.
HOLIDAYS : New Year's Day, 1 January; Anniversary of 1848 uprising against Austrian rule, 15 March; Labor Day, 1 May; Constitution Day, 20 August; Day of the Proclamation of the Republic, 23 October; Christmas, 25–26 December. Easter Monday is a movable holiday.
TIME : 1 PM = noon GMT.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Plants and animals are those common to Central Europe. Oak is the predominant deciduous tree; various conifers are located in the mountains. Among the abundant wildlife are deer, boar, hare, and mouflon. The Great Plain is a breeding ground and a migration center for a variety of birds. Fish are plentiful in rivers and lakes.
ETHNIC GROUPS
Ethnically, Hungary is essentially a homogeneous state of Magyar extraction. Estimates indicate that Hungarians constitute about 90% of the total population; others include Roma (Gypsies, 4%), Germans (3%), Serbs (2%), Slovaks, and Romanians.
FISHING
Fishing was unimportant before World War II (1939–45), but production has increased in recent years. The best fishing areas are the Danube and Tisza rivers, Lake Balaton, and various artificial ponds. The catch is composed mainly of carp, catfish, eel, and perch. The 2000 catch was 7,101 tons.
DEPENDENCIES
Hungary has no territories or colonies.
