ABSTRACT
Budapest dominates any discussion of the social and economic systems of Hungary. It is the one major city in the country and with a population of 2.1 million accounts for more than a fifth of the country’s total population. The next largest urban settlement has a population of only 200 000. The settlements immediately surrounding the capital within what may be referred to as the metropolitan area continue to attract new migrants and serve only to underscore the influence and significance of Budapest. The historic radial pattern of transport routes, with principal roads and the railways, focusing upon central Budapest, reinforce the nodal position of the capital.
