This article is about the
demographic features of the
population of
Hungary, including
population density,
ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Historical
Cumans
During the Russian campaign, the Mongols drove some 200,000
Cumans, a nomadic tribe of pagan
Kipchaks who had opposed them, west of the Carpathian Mountains. There, the Cumans appealed to King Béla IV of Hungary for protection. In the Kingdom of Hungary, Cumans created two regions named
Cumania (
Kunság in Hungarian):
Greater Cumania (
Nagykunság) and
Little Cumania (
Kiskunság), both located the Great Hungarian Plain. Here, the Cumans maintained their autonomy, language and some ethnic customs well into the
modern era.
The Iranian
Jassic people probably came to the
Kingdom of Hungary together with the
Cumans in the 13th century after they were defeated by the
Mongols.
Béla IV, king of Hungary granted them asylum and they became a privileged community with the right of self-government. During the centuries they were fully assimilated to the Hungarian population, their language disappeared, but they preserved their Jassic identity and their regional autonomy until 1876. Over a dozen settlements in Central Hungary (eg.
Jászberény,
Jászárokszállás,
Jászfényszaru) still bear their name.
900–1910
Note: The data refer to the territory of the
Kingdom of Hungary, not of present-day Hungary.
1920 – today
Fertility (1900–2008)
right|thumb|400px|Population change of Hungary (1910–2009, with comments)Present
Census 2001 recognised along with Hungarians 16 ethnic groups. Ethnic structure according to 2001 census: (based on self-determination)
- Turks: unknown, but formed a small community.
According to census data, the largest religion in Hungary is
Catholicism (54.5% —
Roman Catholicism 51.9%;
Greek Catholicism 2.6% ). There is a significant
Calvinist minority (16% of the population) and smaller
Lutheran (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.
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 (
Prekmurje) are also host to a number of ethnic Hungarians.
The Roma minority
right|thumb|300px|Population pyramid of [[Budapest (99.2% non-Romany inhabitants), see:
Demographics of Budapest]]
right|thumb|300px|Population pyramid of Alsószentmárton (100% Romany inhabitants)
thumb|right|300px|Roma minority in Hungary (census 2001)The real number of
Roma in Hungary is a disputed question. In the 2001 census only 205,720 people (2%) called themselves Roma, but experts and Roma organisations estimate that there are between 450,000 and 1,000,000 Roma living in Hungary. Since then, the size of the Roma population has increased rapidly. Today every fifth or sixth newborn child belongs to the Roma minority. Based on current demographic trends, a 2006 estimate by Central European Management Intelligence claims that the proportion of the roma population will double by 2050.
There are problems related to the Roma minority in Hungary, and the very subject is a heated and disputed topic.
Objective problems:
- Education/bad chances for work: 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. Less than 1% of Roma hold higher educational certificates.
- Poverty: most of the Roma people live in significantly worse conditions than others.
- Bad health conditions: life expectancy is about 10 years less compared to non-Romas
- Lack of debate regarding the subject: academic researchers and members of the mainstream press disregard any critics and study the subject in the canonical viewpoint. Critics don't have the funds necessary to perform alternative studies.
Please note that this list below consists disputed issues.
- Natural repugnance: there are differences is the social behavior of the host nation and the Roma people leading to a disinclination towards each other. This is slowly decaying on the Hungarian side (36-38%); as of 2007, there is no research made regarding the Roma side.
- Integration problems on the host side: there's a significant prejudice towards Roma people in Hungary affecting the motivation for integration. Exact numbers are unknown as the research material available mixes prejudice with "post-judice".
- Integration problems on the Roma side: some Roma people have apparent trouble adjusting to the European standards of social behavior regarding loud-mouthing, littering and being non-violent, law-abiding and working citizens. As of 2007, there is no research available on this issue.
- Problems with motivation for work: as of 2007, what can be earned with work can be obtained having many children, which does not move Roma people towards work as they usually have more children anyway.
- Crime: "gipsy crime" ("cigánybűnözés" in Hungarian) is a phenomenon well disputed and often misunderstood. Although originally it refers to some crimes (eg. stealing of items made of copper, lynch, some robbery types, scuffle between families) often committed by Roma offenders, critics say it stigmatizes all Roma people. As a result (as of 2007), Hungarian authorities don't collect any data that could be used to study the issue, therefore no research is available regarding this topic. It's believed that there is a pattern in the crimes committed by Roma criminals and that the ratio of Roma inmates are much higher compared to non-Romas, a phenomenon common in other countries too.
- School segregation: likely due to repugnance, non-Roma people tend to choose schools with less problematic Roma children. It's also believed that there were cases where healthy Roma children were assigned to classes for pupils with learning disabilities (although this might have been a financial issue).
Largest cities
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
right|300px|thumbright|thumb|250px|94.4% of the country's inhabitants are Hungarians. The graph shows the share of specific national and ethnic minorities of Hungary in the remainder 5.6%The following demographic statistics are from the [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/hu.html CIA Factbook] as of September 2009, unless otherwise indicated.
Population:9,905,596 (Only Hungarian citizens, 2009 est.)
Age structure:0–14 years:
15% (male 763,553/female 720,112)
15–64 years:
69.3% (male 3,384,961/female 3,475,135)
65 years and over:
15.8% (male 566,067/female 995,768) (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.25% (2006 est.)[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.]
Birth rate:
9.90 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
12.94 deaths/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years:
0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.57 male(s)/female
total population:
0.91 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:Total
: 7.86 deaths/1,000 live births
Male
: 8.57 deaths/1,000 live births
Female
: 7.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
73.44 years
male:
69.27 years
female:
77.87 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.35 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Ethnic groups:Hungarian 94.4%, Roma 2.02%, German 1.18%, Slovak 0.38%, Croats 0.25%, Romanian 0.14%, Ukrainian 0.07%, Serbs 0.07%, Greeks 0.07%, Poles 0.05%, Slovenes 0.05%.
Religion:
According to census data, the largest religion in Hungary is Catholicism (54.5% — Roman Catholicism 51.9%; Greek Catholicism 2.6% ). There is a significant Calvinist minority (16% of the population) and smaller Lutheran (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 a God.
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
99.4%
male:
99.5%
female:
99.3% (2003 est.)
