Country Contact

Hungary is located in Central Europe. Its border countries are Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Ukraine. The country has an area of 93,032 square kilometres. Its capital city is Budapest.

Hungary had a population of 10,032,375 in July 2004 with an estimated growth rate of -0.25%. The country’s language is Hungarian. The main religion is Roman Catholic, but 20% of the population are Calvinists.

The climate in Hungary is temperate with cold, cloudy and humid winters and warm summers. The terrain is mostly flat with rolling plains although it is mountainous on the Slovakian border.

Hungary's transition from communism to a Western-style parliamentary democracy was the first and the smoothest among the former countries of the Soviet bloc. In a historic session in October 1989, the Parliament adopted legislation providing for multiparty parliamentary elections. The Executive branch of the government consists of a President, Prime Minister and a Cabinet, which is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the President.

The Hungarian economy relies on industry, mining and agriculture. Industrial production includes metallurgy, construction materials, processed foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals) and motor vehicles. Agricultural goods include wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes and sugar beets as well as pigs, cattle, poultry and dairy products. The labour force consists of 65% in service industries, 27% in manufacturing and 8% in agriculture. Hungary’s currency is the Forint.

Franchising in Hungary is likely to grow in the next few years.

The Hungarian Franchise Association adopted the “Code of Ethics” of the European Franchise Federation which it requires its members to follow.

There is no specific franchise law in Hungary.