Eastern Europe · HUN

Hungary

The story · 12 chapters

How it was drawn

Celts and Rome, then Huns, Avars and Magyars; a kingdom that filled the Carpathian Basin for nine centuries, split by the Ottomans, joined to Austria, then reduced to a third by Trianon in 1920.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Hungary fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Empire6 to 9
Rome took the land west of the Danube under Augustus. The Pannonians rose in the Great Illyrian Revolt of AD 6 to 9 and were crushed by Tiberius, and Pannonia became a frontier province facing the peoples beyond the river.
Kingdom of the Franks791 to 803
Charlemagne's armies attacked the Avar Khaganate in 791. In 795 and 796 the Franks plundered the Avar treasury in its fortified Ring, and by about 803 Avar power in the Carpathian Basin was broken.
East Francia, then the Kingdom of Germany907 to 955
The Magyars destroyed a Bavarian army at Pressburg, today's Bratislava, in 907 and raided German lands for decades. Otto I crushed them at the Lechfeld in 955, ending their raids into western Europe.
Byzantine Empire1151 to 1167
Emperor Manuel I Komnenos fought Hungary repeatedly over Syrmia, Dalmatia and Bosnia. His army won a decisive battle near Sirmium in 1167, and Hungary had to give up those lands until his death in 1180.
Mongol Empire1241 to 1242
Batu's Mongols crushed King Bela IV's army at Mohi in April 1241 and ravaged the kingdom for a year, killing a large part of its people. They withdrew in 1242, and Bela rebuilt the country with stone castles.
Ottoman Empire1396 to 1699
Hungary fought the Ottomans for three centuries. Its crusade was crushed at Nicopolis in 1396, but John Hunyadi saved Belgrade in 1456. Defeat at Mohacs in 1526 and the fall of Buda in 1541 split the kingdom until the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699.
Habsburg Monarchy1604 to 1711
Hungarian nobles rose against Habsburg rule and the persecution of Protestants several times, under Istvan Bocskai in 1604, Imre Thokoly in 1678 and Ferenc Rakoczi II from 1703. The Peace of Szatmar in 1711 kept Hungary under the Habsburgs.
Austrian Empire1848 to 1849
The revolution of 1848 turned into war with Vienna. Hungarian armies won battles in the spring of 1849, and Hungary declared independence in April. Austria called in Russia, and the last Hungarian army surrendered at Vilagos in August 1849.
Russian Empire1849
Tsar Nicholas I sent some 200,000 troops into Hungary in June 1849 to help Austria. Outnumbered on both sides, the Hungarian army under Artur Gorgei surrendered to the Russians at Vilagos on 13 August 1849.
Kingdom of Romania1916 to 1947
Romania invaded Transylvania in 1916 and, after the war, occupied Budapest in August 1919. Trianon gave it Transylvania. Hitler's Second Vienna Award returned northern Transylvania to Hungary in 1940, but the 1947 treaty gave it back to Romania.
Czechoslovakia1919 to 1947
Czechoslovakia and Hungary fought over Slovakia in 1919. Trianon drew the border south of the language line, and the First Vienna Award of 1938 gave southern Slovakia back to Hungary until 1945. Afterwards tens of thousands of Hungarians were forced out of Czechoslovakia.
Soviet Union1941 to 1991
Hungary joined Germany's war on the Soviet Union in 1941 and lost most of its Second Army at the Don in 1943. The Red Army took the country in 1944 and 1945, crushed the 1956 revolution, and kept troops there until 1991.
Nazi Germany1944 to 1945
When Regent Horthy sought a separate peace, Germany occupied Hungary in March 1944, and in October it installed the fascist Arrow Cross. Budapest was largely destroyed in the siege that ended in February 1945.

Today

Hungary now

D. 1000 and for many centuries served as a bulwark against Ottoman Turkish expansion in Europe. The kingdom eventually became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed during World War I. The country fell under communist rule after World War II. In 1956, Moscow responded to a Hungarian revolt and announcement of its withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact with a massive military intervention. " Hungary held its first multiparty elections in 1990 and initiated a free market economy.

Capital: Budapest
Government: parliamentary republic
Head of government: Péter Magyar
Head of state: András Baka
Languages: Hungarian
Area: 93,030 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population9.7 million2023 · 9.3 million in 1950
Life expectancy77.0 years2023 · 62.1 years in 1950
GDP per person$29,4512022 · $3,953 in 1950
Living in cities71%2025 · 53% in 1950
Literacy99%1980 · 96% in 1950
Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending2.0% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
France
Poland
Slovak Republic
Sierra Leone

Tensions

Russian Federation

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Hungary fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Roman Empire6 to 9

Rome took the land west of the Danube under Augustus. The Pannonians rose in the Great Illyrian Revolt of AD 6 to 9 and were crushed by Tiberius, and Pannonia became a frontier province facing the peoples beyond the river.

Kingdom of the Franks791 to 803

Charlemagne's armies attacked the Avar Khaganate in 791. In 795 and 796 the Franks plundered the Avar treasury in its fortified Ring, and by about 803 Avar power in the Carpathian Basin was broken.

East Francia, then the Kingdom of Germany907 to 955

The Magyars destroyed a Bavarian army at Pressburg, today's Bratislava, in 907 and raided German lands for decades. Otto I crushed them at the Lechfeld in 955, ending their raids into western Europe.

Byzantine Empire1151 to 1167

Emperor Manuel I Komnenos fought Hungary repeatedly over Syrmia, Dalmatia and Bosnia. His army won a decisive battle near Sirmium in 1167, and Hungary had to give up those lands until his death in 1180.

Mongol Empire1241 to 1242

Batu's Mongols crushed King Bela IV's army at Mohi in April 1241 and ravaged the kingdom for a year, killing a large part of its people. They withdrew in 1242, and Bela rebuilt the country with stone castles.

Ottoman Empire1396 to 1699

Hungary fought the Ottomans for three centuries. Its crusade was crushed at Nicopolis in 1396, but John Hunyadi saved Belgrade in 1456. Defeat at Mohacs in 1526 and the fall of Buda in 1541 split the kingdom until the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699.

Habsburg Monarchy1604 to 1711

Hungarian nobles rose against Habsburg rule and the persecution of Protestants several times, under Istvan Bocskai in 1604, Imre Thokoly in 1678 and Ferenc Rakoczi II from 1703. The Peace of Szatmar in 1711 kept Hungary under the Habsburgs.

Austrian Empire1848 to 1849

The revolution of 1848 turned into war with Vienna. Hungarian armies won battles in the spring of 1849, and Hungary declared independence in April. Austria called in Russia, and the last Hungarian army surrendered at Vilagos in August 1849.

Russian Empire1849

Tsar Nicholas I sent some 200,000 troops into Hungary in June 1849 to help Austria. Outnumbered on both sides, the Hungarian army under Artur Gorgei surrendered to the Russians at Vilagos on 13 August 1849.

Kingdom of Romania1916 to 1947

Romania invaded Transylvania in 1916 and, after the war, occupied Budapest in August 1919. Trianon gave it Transylvania. Hitler's Second Vienna Award returned northern Transylvania to Hungary in 1940, but the 1947 treaty gave it back to Romania.

Czechoslovakia1919 to 1947

Czechoslovakia and Hungary fought over Slovakia in 1919. Trianon drew the border south of the language line, and the First Vienna Award of 1938 gave southern Slovakia back to Hungary until 1945. Afterwards tens of thousands of Hungarians were forced out of Czechoslovakia.

Soviet Union1941 to 1991

Hungary joined Germany's war on the Soviet Union in 1941 and lost most of its Second Army at the Don in 1943. The Red Army took the country in 1944 and 1945, crushed the 1956 revolution, and kept troops there until 1991.

Nazi Germany1944 to 1945

When Regent Horthy sought a separate peace, Germany occupied Hungary in March 1944, and in October it installed the fascist Arrow Cross. Budapest was largely destroyed in the siege that ended in February 1945.

Hungary now

Capital

Budapest

Government

parliamentary republic

Head of government

Péter Magyar

Head of state

András Baka

Languages

Hungarian

Area

93,030 km²

Then and now

Population9.7 million2023 · 9.3 million in 1950

Life expectancy77.0 years2023 · 62.1 years in 1950

GDP per person$29,4512022 · $3,953 in 1950

Living in cities71%2025 · 53% in 1950

Literacy99%1980 · 96% in 1950

Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNATO2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending2.0% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025