Most of the population of Hungary is the titular nation - the Hungarians. Their number is about 93% of the total number of citizens of this country.
Hungarians
The Hungarian people (self-name - Magyars) has an interesting history of its own formation. Linguists and archaeologists have come to the conclusion that the steppes of the Trans-Urals are the ancestral home of this nation. It was here that the Ugrians roamed, from which later the Khanty and Mansi also emerged (now they live in Western Siberia).
The Magyar was pushing the lack of resources to the west. As it has already happened several times (and will be in the Middle Ages), the wild east "shot" in hordes in the direction of Europe. Hungary, whose population is made up of the descendants of such nomads, has already suffered from invasions.
First, the Hungarians settled in the Black Sea steppes of present-day Ukraine, and at the end of the 9th century they went to Transylvania. Their leader at that time was the legendary Prince Arpad. Members of his dynasty ruled the Hungarians until the 14th century.
The Magyars ended up in their current homeland, from where they expelled the former inhabitants - Slavs and Avars. Soon the nomads adapted to the new conditions of existence, adopted the customs of their neighbors and began to lead a settled way of life. However, this warlike peoplefor a long time he frightened the neighboring states, until he accepted Catholicism. The population of Hungary began to grow thanks to the acquisition of stability and relative calm.
Population of Austria-Hungary
In the late Middle Ages, the Hungarians became dependent on Austria. Its Habsburg rulers, through dynastic marriages, united several nation-states into an empire that lasted until 1918. The population of Austria-Hungary fought for a long time for their own rights and the preservation of national traditions. German dominance was greatly shaken after the revolution of 1848. Then, to suppress the Hungarian uprisings, the Russian Emperor Nicholas I sent troops to help the Habsburgs. Independence was not obtained, but a few decades later a dual monarchy was formed. Hungarians and Austrians received the same rights in domestic politics. This led to the growth of national identity, the popularization of the language, etc.
National peculiarities
The territory of modern Hungary (93 thousand square kilometers) does not correspond to the area of settlement of this nation. So, for example, Romania in the 20th century received Transylvania, in which many descendants of the Magyars live. Long-term existence under the rule of strangers did not prevent the people from maintaining their identity. The Hungarian language is very different from neighboring dialects (Germanic and Slavic groups). To the Germans, for example, it seems like gibberish. This language has much in common with the languages of the Finns, Estonians, Khanty and Mansi. With acceptanceChristianity, the inhabitants of the country adopted the Latin alphabet with some of their own characteristics.
Hungary, whose population is fairly homogeneous, ranked second in the Habsburg Empire. This was formalized after numerous revolutions and conflicts of the 19th century. Even the state was named Austria-Hungary, which emphasized the status of these two peoples, while other minorities (Czechs, Serbs, Bosnians, etc.) seemed to be on the sidelines.
Capital
Thanks to privileges, Hungary developed rapidly. The population had a high literacy rate. The capital of Budapest became the special pride of the nation. Until the 19th century, in the minds of a European, the lands east of Vienna seemed wild. This stereotype was destroyed after Budapest appeared. Hungary did not have a normal capital for a long time due to the invasion of the Turks and poor infrastructure development.
However, the new city, formed in 1873 after the merger of Buda and Pest, became a real metropolis of that era. It was the cultural center of a nation that soon gained independence after the horrors of the First World War. Today, 1.7 million people live in Budapest (it is the seventh largest city in Europe). The first subway after London appeared here.
Other cities
Other major states of the country are Debrecen, Miskolc, Pecs, Szeged. Their population has confessional and national proportions similar to those of the capital. The number of inhabitants ranges from 100 to 200thousand. The population density map clearly shows that it is evenly distributed throughout the country.
Minorities
Hungary, whose population was formed after numerous historical upheavals, also has noticeable national minorities. These are Gypsies, Germans, Jews, Slovaks, Romanians, Serbs, etc. In total, they make up about 10% of the total population.
This is explained by the shadow of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, in which the cauldron of national contradictions was seething. Many residents were forcibly assimilated.
The largest religious group is Catholics (this is about every second inhabitant of the country, according to opinion polls). Also noticeable is the presence of Calvinists (about 15%), who appeared in the country after the European Reformation.
Jewish communities prefer Budapest. Hungary was a safe haven for these people. In the neighboring Russian Empire, an anti-Semitic policy was pursued in the 19th century (Pale of Settlement, etc.), which forced many Jews to emigrate to the Danube. The Jewish community suffered greatly after the Holocaust. Also, many left for Israel after the formation of this state in the Middle East.
In 1993 Hungary adopted a law on national minorities. He secured all sorts of rights for them. The initiative was taken after the collapse of the communist system, which was typical for all the countries of Central Europe that found themselves in the orbit of influence of the Soviet Union.
