ABSTRACT
Hungary has an area of 93, 000 km2 and in 1994 had 10.3 million inhabitants. Population density declines from the west to the east. Hungary is divided into 19 administrative comitats and three major geographical regions: the Great Alfold, Transdanubia, and Northern Mountains. Within the Soviet Union, Hungary was regarded as a model of efficient agricultural production, and it had by far the most productive agricultural sector of all socialist countries. Yields of major crops such as wheat, com and sunflowers were close to West European levels. The Great Alfold comprises almost half of Hungary. Agricultural land use differs greatly from region to region, reflecting natural conditions. Agriculture dominates in the seven comitats of the Great Alfold, Bacs-Kiskun, Bekes, Csongrad, Hajdu-bihar, Jasz-Hagykun-Szolnok, Pest and Szablocs-Szatmar-Bereg. Agriculture has traditionally been an important part of Hungary’s economy. Several waves of collectivization have passed over Hungarian agriculture, as they have in the other transformation countries.
