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 Hungary Country Profile
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 Hungary at a Glance| Location: | Central Europe, northwest of Romania | | Climate: | temperate; cold, cloudy, humid winters; warm summers | | Terrain: | mostly flat to rolling plains; hills and low mountains on the Slovakian border | | Resources: | bauxite, coal, natural gas, fertile soils, arable land | | Population: | 9,905,596 (July 2009 est.) |
A Brief Profile of HungaryHungary became a Christian kingdom in A.D. 1000 and for many centuries served as a bulwark against Ottoman Turkish expansion in Europe. The kingdom eventually became part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed during World War I. The country fell under Communist rule following World War II. In 1956, a revolt and an announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. Under the leadership of Janos KADAR in 1968, Hungary began liberalizing its economy, introducing so-called "Goulash Communism." Hungary held its first multiparty elections in 1990 and initiated a free market economy. It joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004.
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