Editorial Features Facts & Figures
Hungarian Advertisers Key Economic Indicators
Setting the scene
Hungary's transition from a centrally planned to a market economy began even before the collapse of Communism, but, with the election of a non-Communist Government in 1990, the process accelerated.
Political stability, an able labour force and legal and institutional reforms have made the country Eastern Europe's most attractive destination for foreign investment: since 1989 it has attracted more than half of all direct foreign investment.
The country has also embarked on the region's most wide-ranging privatisation programme: some 70 per cent of the country's GDP is in the hands of the private sector; foreign investment reached over US$4 billion - the region's highest - in 1995, representing 14 per cent of total GDP.
The transition process has not been without difficulties. High inflation and interest rates remain a problem, and the country has felt the social effects of the move to a market economy. Real wages have fallen, while at the same time Government efforts to reform the state spending structure have seen social spending fall. Profound social and economic changes have harmed many Hungarians, and the Government itself acknowledges that it will take time for these wounds to heal.
| Key economic indicators | |
| Capital | BUDAPEST |
| Area (Sq km) | 93, 030 |
| Population (m) | 10.5 |
| GDP/Capita (1995) | US$4, 273 |
| Prime Minister | Gyula Horn |
| Currency | forint /: 1US$ 214.1 (FT 29/05/98) |
Interview with former Prime Minister Gyula Horn
Hungary: an investment magnet
Dr Peter Medgyessy, former Minister of Finance
Hungary: the facts, tasks and prospects of the transformation process
Judit Csiha, Minister of Privatisation
Successful finale
Privatisation (Hungarian APV Rt and State Holding Company)
APV Rt's role in Hungary's privatisation process
Gyorgy Surányi, President, National Bank of Hungary
The Hungarian banking sector
Voltan Pacsi, Chair of the Budapest Stock Exchange
Trading and investment
Andras Sugar, President, Hungarian Joint Venture Association
The development of the investment market in Hungary
State Supervisory Authority of Insurance, Hungary
The Hungarian insurance market in 1995
Peter Takáts, President, Union of Independent Insurance Brokers in Hungary & CEO, Polip Insurance Services Plc
Hungary: new insurance legislation and new perspectives
Zoltan Szekeres, Hungarian Real Estate Association
The Hungarian real estate market
Gabor Zsamboki, Hungarian Telecommunications Ltd
The Internet in Hungary
Dr Péter Szeles, Executive Director of Star PR Agency/WORLDCOM
Public relations in Hungary
Power (Hungarian MVM Rt Companies Ltd)
MVM Rt's main activities
Tax benefits
Ministry of Finance, Republic of Hungary
There will be no dramatic changes
Attila Chikán, Hungarian Minister of Economic Affairs
Sustainable growth: myth or reality?
Csaba László
Competitiveness in a challenging world
Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE)
Hungary: entering the new millennium
Professor Attila Chikán, Minister of Economic Affairs
