Last updated on January 12th, 2022
31. Hungary’s Franz Liszt was considered to be the greatest pianist of all time. He was also a well-known and influential composer, piano teacher and conductor. Hungary renamed their Budapest International Airport in his honor for the anniversary of his 200th birthday, in 2011. It is the most important center for domestic and international flights.
32. Hungarians are reputed to be the only people who can enter a revolving door behind you and emerge ahead.
33. Hungarians are very fond of red pepper powder.
34. The next time you are in the country with a bunch of friends and drink beer outdoors, do not clink those beer glasses. Hungarians vowed not to clink glasses after their generals were executed by Austrians, who later celebrated by drinking beers and clinking their mugs.
35. Johnny Weissmuller, who is known for playing Tarzan in the films of 1930s and 1940s, was born in Hungary.
36. The world-famous escape artist Harry Houdini was also born in Budapest, Hungary.
37. Albert Szent-Györgyi, the discoverer of Vitamin-C, was also born in Hungary.
38. Béla Lugosi, the original Dracula, was also a Hungarian.
39. The Hungarian swimmer László Cseh was one of the three swimmers who were awarded the most medals in a single Olympics swimming race. The other two swimmers were Michael Phelps (USA) and Chad le Clos (South Africa). All three swimmers took 51.14 seconds to swim the Men’s 100 m butterfly, at the 2016 Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 12 August 2016. This was the first ever three-way tie in an Olympic swimming event.
40. Hungarians are brainy people. They have invented some of the most popular and useful things ever. The helicopter, the ballpoint pen, and the Rubik’s cube are all Hungarian inventions.
Hungary – country at a glance
| Capital City | Budapest (47°26′N 19°15′E) |
|---|---|
| Largest City | Budapest (47°26′N 19°15′E) |
| Area | total: 93,028 sq km land: 89,608 sq km water: 3,420 sq km |
| Population | 9,855,745 (2024 est.) |
| Official Language | Hungarian |
| Location | Central Europe, northwest of Romania |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,106 km |
| Borders | Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Croasia, Slovenia, Austria, Ukrain |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Currency | Forint (HUF) |
| Religion | Catholics |
| Demonym | Hungarian |
| Literacy rate | 99.1% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 76 years (2024 est.) Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life. |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age, 16 if married; universal |
| Climate | temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers |
| Terrain | mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border |
| Mean elevation | 143 m |
| Lowest point | Tisza River 78 m |
| Highest point | Kekes 1,014 m |
| Agricultural land | 58.9% |
| Birth rate | 9.1 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 14.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Sex ratio | 0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| President | Tamás Sulyok |
| Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán |
| National anthem | "Himnusz" (Hymn) |
| National symbols | Holy Crown of Hungary (Crown of Saint Stephen) |
| National colors | red, white, green |
| Industries | mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor vehicles |
| Exports | $172.484 billion (2023 est.) cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, spark-ignition engines, video displays, broadcasting equipment (2019) |
| Imports | $161.558 billion (2023 est.) cars and vehicle parts, integrated circuits, packaged medicines, broadcasting equipment, crude petroleum (2019) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $40,600 (2023 est.) |
| Internet country code | .hu |
| Time Zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| Calling Code | +36 |
| Drives on the | Right |
| Table last updated | August 14, 2024 |