25 December 1000 (crowning of King STEPHEN I, traditional founding date)
3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration); note - on 28 June 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi-controlled Government
Religions
Roman Catholic 51.9%, Calvinist 15.9%, Lutheran 3%, Greek Catholic 2.6%, other Christian 1%, other or unspecified 11.1%, unaffiliated 14.5% (2001 census)
Muslim 97% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%
Languages
Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian
Exports
machinery and equipment 61.1%, other manufactures 28.7%, food products 6.5%, raw materials 2%, fuels and electricity 1.6% (2003)
crude oil 84%, crude materials excluding fuels 8%, food and live animals 5%
External Debt
$184,500,000,000 $
$50,790,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
forints (HUF) per US dollar - 171.8 (2008), 183.83 (2007), 210.39 (2006), 199.58 (2005), 202.75 (2004)
New Iraqi dinars (NID) per US dollar - 1,176 (2008), 1,255 (2007), 1,466 (2006), 1,475 (2005), 1,890 (second half, 2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.750%
8.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
10
0
Location
Central Europe, northwest of Romania
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq
