The Republic of Hungary is a landlocked, developed country with an advanced, high-income economy, in the heart of Europe. Hungary joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union five years later. Hungary is a Schengen state. In 2011 Hungary assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the EU for the first time.

The official language is Hungarian, which is part of the Uralic family and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.

The foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian ruler Árpád.
The present form of government is a parliamentary republic, which was established in 1989.

Hungary is one of the thirty most popular tourist destinations of the world, attracting 8.6 million tourists per year. The country is home to the largest thermal water cave system and the second largest thermal lake in the world (Lake Hévíz), the largest lake in Central Europe (Lake Balaton), and the largest natural grasslands in Europe (Hortobágy).

The capital and largest city is Budapest with nearly 1,700,000 inhabitants. Cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, its extensive World Heritage Site includes the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrássy Avenue, Heroes' Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, the second oldest in the world. Other highlights include a total of 80 geothermal springs, the world's largest thermal water cave system, and third largest Parliament building.

Originally, the city of Budapest was, in fact, two cities: Buda on the west side of the Danube, and Pest on the east. In 1873, they were united, along with the district of Óbuda. Today the city is organised into 23 districts. The Buda side of the city is the older settlement, centred around the Castle District. On the other side of the river, Pest includes the government and main business and shopping districts, along with several large parks.

It is ranked as "Europe's 7th most idyllic place to live" by Forbes. It is the highest ranked Central/Eastern European city on Innovation Cities' Top 100 index.

Hungary gave lots of inventions to the World. To name but a few:

• ArchiCAD
• Ballpoint pen
• Carburettor
• Dynamo
• Gömböc
• Holography
• Match
• Plasma TV
• Rubik’s Cube
• Telephone exchange
• Turboprop
• Vitamin C