illion worth of sales of
state firms to foreign investors - money that will be used to reduce
Hungary's large foreign debt. As for other macroeconomic
developments, real GDP increased 2.9% in 1994 - following several
years of steep decline - and about 1.5% in 1995. Unemployment
reached 14% in early 1993 before gradually falling back to 10% in
1995. Inflation has oscillated; it reached 40% in mid-1991, dropped
to 17% in early 1994, and then jumped back to 31% by mid-1995.
Prospects for 1996 are good. With the government still committed to
austerity, both the budget and current account deficits should fall
to about 4% of GDP. Economic growth is expected to be about 2% and
unemployment at about 10%, with inflation falling to 20% by yearend.
In March 1996 the IMF signed a new standby loan agreement with
Budapest, and the OECD approved Hungary's application for admission.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $72.5 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 1.5% (1995)

GDP per capita: $7,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.3%
industry: 37.5%
services: 55.2%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 28.3% (1995)

Labor force: 4.8 million (1995)
by occupation: services, trade, government, and other 47.2%,
industry 29.7%, agriculture 16.1%, construction 7.0% (1991)

Unemployment rate: 10.4% (yearend 1995)

Budget:
revenues: $12.6 billion
expenditures: $13.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995)

Industries: mining, metallurgy, construction materials, processed
foods, textiles, chemicals (especially pharmaceuticals), motor
vehicles

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 6,740,000 kW
production: 31 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 3,012 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: wheat, corn, sunflower seed, potatoes, sugar beets;
pigs, cattle, poultry, dairy products

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for Southwest Asian
heroin and transit point for South American cocaine destined for
Western Europe; limited producer of precursor chemicals

Exports: $13 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: raw materials and semi-finished goods 36.4%, consumer
goods 26.7%, food and agriculture 20.5%, capital goods 13.1%, fuels
and energy 3.3% (1994)
partners: Germany 28.2%, Austria 10.9%, Italy 8.5%, Russia 7.5%, US
4.0% (1994)

Imports: $15 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: fuels and e