MEDIUM-TERM REGIONAL OBJECTIVES IN THE NATIONAL SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT A territorial description of the regional types in the National Spatial Development Concept The Budapest Metropolitan Region The capital city and its agglomeration is the most developed and competitive group of settlements in the country, also from an international perspective. This metropolitan region is considerable not only as an economic, service and innovation centre, but also as an international gateway, significant tourism destination and transportation hub. Beyond these, it is also very important to ensure a liveable environment for its outstanding concentration of population. The Budapest Metropolitan Region is composed of Budapest and 80 surrounding municipalities. The Budapest Metropolitan area 36 whole of this region is included in Central Hungary. Its total area is 2 538 km 2. In 2007, its population was 2 million 476 thousand people; and 21.7 thousand more people migrated into the region than out of it during the same year. Budapest has still an outstanding role within the spatial structure of economic performance since its HUF 5.5 million GDP per capita exceeded the national average more than twofold, and it was 4-5 times higher than the GDP per capita of the worst performing counties. The share of the capital city remained high also in R&D expenditure; it was more than 60% in 2007. 28% of the enterprises in the financial intermediation services in 2007 operated in the Budapest Metropolitan Region. A fifth of all enterprises with a similar profile were concentrated in Budapest itself. According to the guest nights spent by foreign visitors, Budapest and its agglomeration is the most significant tourism region in Hungary. The share of this region from all guest nights spent by foreign tourists was 48% in 2007. Rather intensive suburbanisation is indicated by the proportion of newly built homes, which was 1.1% of the entire housing stock in Budapest, and double of this in the agglomeration in 2007. Personal car ownership is also outstanding here; the number of personal automobiles per 1000 inhabitants was 350 in the capital, and 375 in its agglomeration, both significantly higher than the national average (300). No major new road construction was carried out; there were no new sections of the M0 ring completed in 2007. The most important development in railway transport was the construction of the railway station at Ferihegy Airport. The proportion of homes connected to the sewage network was 97.8% in Budapest in 2007, and the same was 72.3% in the municipalities of the
agglomeration (the national average was 69.8%). 40.5% of the collected sewage went through biological or phase III treatment in the region. According to the air-pollution index calculated from data collected at automatic monitoring stations, the quality of the air at most of the monitoring sites in Budapest belonged to the polluted category in 2007. The main air pollutants were obviously the nitrogen oxides (NO 2 and NO x ) released from public road traffic, as well as airborne dust (PM10). In 2007, the share of green areas as compared to the total territory within municipal borders was 3.6% in the Metropolitan Region; the surface of green areas in Budapest was 22.5 km 2. Development poles The National Spatial Development Concept identifies five regional development poles (Győr, Pécs, Szeged, Debrecen, Miskolc), and two joint development centres (Székesfehérvár, Veszprém). Their task is to be the engines of development in their respective regions in the fields of economy and science, and to retain the most highly qualified labour force within their regions by means of offering them high quality culture, services and workplaces, thus counter-balancing the socio-economic dominance of the capital. The combined area of the seven municipalities is 1 614 km 2 ; Debrecen is the biggest among them with 461 km 2. Their total population was 992.7 thousand inhabitants in 2007. With the exception of Miskolc, they were migration destinations, and they had a migration surplus of a little more than 3000 people in total by 2007. In 2007, the average gross added value per capita of the development poles and joint development 37 centres (near HUF 1.5 million) exceeded the national average by approx. 15%; Győr (HUF 3.7 million/inh.) and Székesfehérvár (HUF 2.3 million/inh.) were outstanding in this regard. In the economy of the major cities, foreign capital played considerably smaller role (32%) than nationally (57%). Its share was higher than the national average only in Székesfehérvár (67%). Within the wider category of advanced business services, real estate businesses and economic services emerged with the most substantial share of enterprises. As a consequence of their functions, in every pole city, as well as regarding their average value (27), the number of these businesses per 1000 inhabitants was much higher than nationally (12 enterprises). Veszprém and Győr had a dominant role within this region type with 33 such enterprises per 1000 people. The region type average was exceeded in Pécs and Székesfehérvár (29-30 enterprises), but the other pole cities had lower than average numbers. The commercial sector is a significant area of the advanced business services. The average number of commercial enterprises per 1000 inhabitants was 18 in this region type, which was only 3 enterprises more than nationally. The commercial business sector of Győr, Székesfehérvár and Debrecen stood out to some extent (with 19-20 enterprises per 1000 inhabitants), while the other pole cities had 2-3 enterprises fewer from these. In terms of higher education, the three most significant countryside university towns stood out from among the pole cities: Debrecen, Szeged and Pécs. In the counties containing these three cities, the total number of students participating in higher education was near 88 thousand, which meant over one-third (34.2%) of all students at universities outside Budapest in 2007.
As regards cultural life, 21% of all visits to theatres and 10% of all visits to museums were made in the pole cities. The theatres of Miskolc and Győr had the highest numbers of visitors (189 thousand and 167 thousand, respectively), and concerning museums, Pécs had a traditionally dominant role with 339 thousand visitors. Among the pole cities, only Pécs was without a clearway connection in 2007. The system of highrank roads connecting the pole cities was in many cases, still deficient and of a deteriorated quality. Previously started developments in railway and water transport concerning the pole cities (e.g., Szeged, Győr) continued in 2007, too. The pole cities are significant transport hubs, therefore most of the air pollution comes from pollutants released by transport (PM10, NO x ). The greatest problem was with PM10: in terms of PM10, air quality in Szeged was classified as polluted, the situation was acceptable in Miskolc, and air quality in the rest of the cities were categorised as good in 2007. Regarding nitrogen oxides, air quality was acceptable in Győr, Miskolc and Szeged, and it was good in Debrecen. The circle of external and internal peripheries and backwards regions in Hungary was defined based on the Government Decree 311/2007 (XI. 17) about the classification of beneficiary microregions. 94 microregions belong to this category, the total area of which is 53 184 km 2, 57.2% of the national territory. Their combined population in 2007 was 3 million 114 thousand inhabitants, and the population increased in only three microregions (of Hajdúhadháza, Mórahalom and Aba). The migration balance was negative in 88 microregions from the 94, and the combined migration deficit in these microregions was 24.4 thousand people in 2007. In 2007, within the disadvantaged regions, the number of enterprises by 1000 inhabitants was highest in the microregion of Kaposvár (69), and lowest in the microregion of Bodrogköz (17). The region type average was 43 enterprises in 2007, much below the national average (68). The share of foreign capital in all subscribed capital of enterprises in the region was only 28%, which meant half of the national value in 2007. Socially and economically backwards microregions External and internal peripheries, backward regions Permanently backward regions can be characterized by the interaction of several negative factors: unfavourable age, qualification and economic structure of the population, restricted availability of resources (shortage of capital, out-migration of the qualified labour force), which besides an especially poor accessibility, is further aggravated by the lack of real regional centres that could take care of the needs of their surroundings. 38
Economic performance in the disadvantaged areas was a mere quarter of the national average in 2007. GAV per capita was higher than the national average only in the microregions of Tab and Kazincbarcika, while it was extremely low in the disadvantaged microregions situated along the Romanian and Serbian borers, in Ormánság, őrség, and in North-eastern Hungary. In 2007, unemployment rate in this region type was 12.43%, and it remained below the national average (6.8%) only in five of the peripheral microregions. Income per capita showed also an unfavourable picture: it was HUF 541 thousand in 2007, which was only 70.5% of the national average. Income per capita was the lowest in the microregion of Bodrogköz, where it did not reach 35% of the national value. In 2007, in the peripheral regions, 45.6% of the households were connected to the sewage network, which means a still significant lag behind the national average (69.85). Tisza region In the development of the Tisza region, besides infrastructure development, an emphasized objective is also the promotion of ecotourism and the protection of the natural and cultural values in the region, building on flood protection and a complex water-resource management. These developments can help increase employment and better utilise the potentials of the river through an improved accessibility, which are the basis for raising this region from its internal-peripheral position. Tisza region is made up of 30 microregions along the river. Their combined area is 17 589 km 2, which is 18.9% of the territory of Hungary. Their total 39 population was 1 million 446.2 thousand in 2007, 14.4% of the total national population. Due to outmigration, the population of this region decreased by 7300 people in 2007, and with the exception of the microregions of Szeged, Kecskemét and Csongrád, outwards migration is typical of the region, and is especially significant in the Upper Tisza region. The economic performance of this region type was behind the national average, gross added value per capita was less than HUF 500 thousand here, which hardly reached 40% of the national average. There was a slight increase in the commercial accommodation capacities in the region, especially regarding the numbers of hotels, camping sites and youth hostels. The region was characterised by an unemployment rate considerably higher than the national average (6.9%): in 2007, it was 10.2% in the 15-59 age group, and it exceeded 20% in the microregions of Fehérgyarmat, Vásárosnamény and Bodrogköz. Income per capita was HUF 625.2 thousand in 2007, which was 81.4% of the national average; it was higher than the national figure only in the microregions of Tiszaújváros, Szeged, Szolnok and Kecskemét. The proportion of homes connected to the sewage network had increased by 2007 to 53.7%, which was however, still lower than the national average (70%). The region could achieve significant development concerning sewage treatment: with the completion of the modernisation of the sewage treatment plant in Szeged, there was a full-scale application of biological and phase III treatments at the sewage treatment sites by 2007. As to the water quality of Tisza, based on the annual average values of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and the total nitrogen content, the river left Hungary in a better condition than what it was in at its
entrance of Hungary. However, concerning the total phosphate content and the Coliform number, the situation was the reverse of this along the Hungarian section of Tisza: the water quality was worse at the exit than at the entrance point of the river. 11.3% of the total area of the Tisza region is covered by forests; the microregion of Sárospatak was to the greatest extent forested. In 2007, 267 (60%) of the 440 municipalities in the region had a protected cultural monument or historic building of national importance. 19 ferries operated on Tisza, and besides these, there were 16 public road crossings and 9 railway bridges, which were still too few for the current volumes of traffic. The Danube Riverside and the Danube-Tisza interfluve regions (Duna mente and Homokhátság) The main aspects in the development of these two neighbouring regions have been flood protection, water transport, the protection of water habitats, as well as sustainable landscape and water management. Duna mente The Duna mente region includes the total area of 22 microregions along the Danube, and covers altogether an area of 11 928 km 2, which is 12.8% of the national territory. The population of this region was 3 million 70.8 thousand people in 2007, 30.6% of Hungary s population; the share of Budapest in this was more than half (55.4%). It is indicated by the high number of immigrants that this region is the most important migration destination: in 2007, there were 13.8 thousand more people moving into than migrating away from, this region. 40 Duna mente, Homokhátság and Tisza region It is suggestive of high economic performance in this region that here in 2007, the gross added value per capita was exactly the double of the national average (which later was HUF 1.5 million). The regional average was exceeded in Budapest microregion by more than 40%, and in the microregion of Komárom, by almost 50%. The unemployment rate in the region was 3.3% in 2007, which was less than half of the national figure (6.9%). This favourable rate was due to mainly the capital city (2.2%). In the microregions north of Csepel Island, unemployment rates stayed generally below 4%, however, it is increasing eastwards: the rates in the microregions of Szekszárd, Kunszentmiklós, Kalocsa and Baja (7.5 10%) were above the national average. The main roads and railway lines of the country reach to the region of the Danube; in 2007, for instance, the construction of the M6 motorway was continued. Regional accessibility is therefore, good, it is the insufficient number of river crossings which still cause a problem. There are 17 bridges over the Danube along its section within Hungary, 3 of these are
crossing the Slovakian border, 10 are in Budapest, and only 4 bridges can be found south of the capital. Pentele Bridge at Dunaújváros was finished in 2007, which will be part of the future M8 motorway. Regarding the coverage of the sewage network, the whole region of Duna mente has figures significantly better than the national average (87.9% compared to the national 69.8%). The proportion of sewage water receiving biological and phase III treatment was only 44.8% in this region in 2007, while the national average calculated without the agglomeration is above 99%. In 2007, Budapest released 87% of all untreated sewage in the country. The water quality of the Danube was worse at its exit point than at its entrance according to biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and the Coliform number. On the other hand, the total phosphorus and total nitrogen contents, which are measures of nutrient load, were more favourable at the exit than at the entrance point of the river course. Only 17% of the total area of Duna mente is covered by forests, only 6 microregions out of 22 had higher rates of forest cover than the national average. Especially valuable are the floodplain forests of Gemenc and Szigetköz, the latter are especially endangered because of the drop in the water level following the earlier diversion of the river course. Homokhátság The area of Homokhátság is 4 939.7 km 2, its population was 364 795 people in 2007. Its share from the national territory is 5.3%, while its share in the total population was only 3.6%, so Homokhátság is one of the relatively sparsely populated regions. Its important feature is a settlement structure rich in 41 farmsteads, which is also indicated by a significant population living in outlying areas. At the time of the 2001 census, 22% of the people living in outlying areas in Hungary were residents of municipalities in Homokhátság (66 914 people). In relation to net migration, this region seems to be in a good situation, because there was a modest surplus of migrants here in 2007; however, this could be attributed mostly to the favourable migration figures in Kecskemét, Balószög and Albertirsa (over 100 immigrants). Based on gross added value per capita, the level of economic development in the region is relatively low: the GAV per capita (HUF 621 thousand) in the region did not reach half of the national value, and there was only one municipality in Homokhátság which had a higher figure than the national average in 2007. The agricultural orientation of this region shows clearly in the number of operating agricultural enterprises per 1000 inhabitants, which was 3.6 in 2007, exceeding the national average by almost one-third. Balaton region Balaton region covers the area of the Lake Balaton Priority Recreation Zone (BKÜ). It is defined by law as an area composed of 44 lakeside settlements, 7 near-lakeside and 128 background settlements, that is, altogether 179 municipalities. Its total area is 3 886.1 km 2, from which lakeside settlements take up 1 318 km 2, and places further away from the lake occupy 1 409.1 km 2. The region had a population of 263.9 thousand people in 2007. Considering the whole of the region, the migration balance is negative, 805 more people migrated out than moved into the region in 2007, primarily because of the high rates of out-migration from the background municipalities.
In 2007, the gross added value per capita in the municipalities that are included in the Lake Balaton Priority Recreation Zone was only a little higher than half of the national average. The economic performance of the lakeside and the near-lake municipalities exceeded the performance of the background settlements by almost 90% in 2007. In 2007, income per capita was HUF 677.5 thousand considering the whole of the Balaton region, which was 88.2% of the national figure. In the lakeside municipalities, it reached the national average, while in the background settlements it was only about three-quarters of that. The territorial distribution of tourist traffic in 2007 well indicates the strong spatial concentration within the region: the share of the background settlements equals a mere 16% of the combined share of lakeside municipalities, Zalakaros and Hévíz. The share of the whole of the BPRZ in the total number of visitors was 20%, with 1.7 million guests. Commercial accommodation capacities continued to decline in the Balaton 42 region in 2007 to a little below 80 thousand, mainly as a consequence of the decrease registered in the lakeside municipalities. In 2007, the M7 motorway was completed all way along the southern shore, its last section under construction, between Zamárdi and Balatonszárszó, was almost 15 km long. As a result, any settlement along the southern shore of Balaton may be reached within 2 hours from the direction of the capital. However, there was no railway development. As to public utilities, the coverage of the sewage network reached 87.8% in the settlements on or near the lakeside in 2007, while this was only 53.3% in the background settlements. The amount of municipal solid waste per inhabitant was especially high around Balaton because of the high number of tourists: with 622.2 kg per capita, it was more than 1.5 times more here than the national average (394.7%). Considering only those municipalities which are on or near the lakeside, this figure was even higher, 884.5 kg per inhabitant. The total size of protected nature conservation areas of national significance in the Lake Balaton Priority Recreation Zone is 63 185 ha (92% of which is national park), so 16% of the territory of the region is under protection. 85% of the municipalities in the region, and 42 out of the 44 lakeside settlements had a monument or historic building of national importance in 2007. Forest coverage in the region is 21.8%; and there is a contrast between the 27% share of forests in the background settlements and the 11% coverage in the area of the lakeside municipalities. The water quality of Lake Balaton is regularly the worst in the Keszthely Bay, improving towards the eastern end of the lake, and it is almost always the best in the Siófok Basin. In 2007, the yearly average
chlorophyll content was higher than it had been in the years before in all basins of Balaton but Siófok Basin, where it was below 10 mg/l; in the Keszthely Basin it was 27.4 mg/l. There was no occurrence of a particularly bad condition in water quality either in open water or at the beaches. Border regions Border regions Microregions which have direct border connections and some which are within a few kilometres from a border can be regarded border microregions, altogether 57 microregions. Their combined area is 30 276 km 2, 32.5% of the national territory. The total population of these microregion was 2 million 411 thousand people in 2007: 24.0% of the total population of Hungary. The migration balance of the border microregions was a deficit of 8 thousand people in 2007, which was 50% higher than in the year before. The openness of the economy of the border region is indicated by the fact that 63% of the capital of corporate enterprises was foreign capital in 2007, in contrast with the national average of 57%. The microregions of Szombathely, Szentgotthárd and Esztergom were characterised by an outstandingly high ratio, more than 90%, while in the majority of the microregions at the Serbian, Romanian and Ukrainian borders, the share of foreign capital was below 50%. The region type average of gross added value per capita was HUF 770 thousand, which was less than 60% of Hungary s average. The majority of the Hungarian Logistic Service Centres can be found in the border regions; however, many of these were yet in the developing phase in 2007. Microregions with known attractions (Csepreg, Siklós, Gyula, Sopron- 43 Fertőd, Lenti, etc.) had the greatest volumes of tourist traffic in 2007, while three-quarters of the border microregions had values below the national average. Unemployment rate in 2007 exceeded the national average by almost 3 percentage points. The ratio of the registered unemployed was less than 2% in the microregion of Sopron-Fertőd, while in 7 border microregions in the north-eastern part of Hungary, it was more than 20%. In 2007, the 9 microregions with the highest unemployment rates in the country belonged to this region type. Due to a greater proportion and number of people belonging to national minorities, the number of participants in minority-nationality and ethnic education is also high; their share is considerably higher than their percentage nationally. In 2007, 38.4% of primary school children, and 1.8% of secondary school students attended minority-nationality schools. The number of civil organisations per 1000 inhabitants (7.1) was somewhat lower in the border regions than nationally (7.7). The microregion with the most favourable ratio as well as the one with the worst value could
REGIONAL STATUS REPORT OF HUNGARY The economic performance of the farmstead rebe found in this same region type: in the microregion of Őriszentpéter, there were 14.9 civil organisations gions was half of the national average in 2007 (HUF per 1000 inhabitants, while in the microregion of 1.3 million). The major cities with extensive farmstead areas around them (Nyíregyháza, Debrecen, KecskeHajdúhadház, there were only 3.6 per 1000 people. The role of border crossing points in 2007 was re- mét, Zalaegerszeg) had values double the national avevaluated towards several of the neighbouring coun- erage, while the majority of the typical farmstead settries; control became stricter along the Romanian, tlements found in Szabolcs, Nyírség, Homokhátság, Serbian, Croatian and Ukrainian borders, so here the and Kiskunság had values generally below HUF 100 separating function of the border was strengthened. thousand. The proportion of tax payers was 44.1% The density of border crossings was mostly sufficient, in this region type in 2007, which is about equal to it was still the Croatian part of the border which caus- the national average (43.8%), or in fact, it is even es some problems, where there are some longer sec- slightly better. The rate of unemployment is 6.7% in tions without a crossing point because of the Dráva whole region, which is lower than the national rate. There were on average, 3 agricultural enterprises river. per 1000 inhabitants in the farmstead regions, which was higher than the national average (2 enterprises). Farmstead regions Higher agricultural entrepreneurial activity was esthe farmstead settlement system deserves attention as pecially characteristic to the farmstead areas in the a special residential area, as a possible background of Southern Great Plain. The provision of infrastructure in farmstead settlesustainable farming, and because of its special conditions of accessibility and public utility infrastructure. A ments has always been a prominent problem: the municipality which has at least 200 inhabitants, and at Farmstead regions and regions of small villages least 2% of its total population living on its outlying area can be regarded a farmstead region. There are 280 such municipalities in Hungary. Their total area is 22.2 thousand km2, which is 23.9% of the total national territory. In Hungary, the population living in outlying areas was 298.9 thousand people according to the data from the census held 2001, from this, 223.5 thousand people lives in the outlying areas of the farmstead regions, that is, three-quarters of the total population living in outlying areas (74.8%). The total population of the municipalities in farmstead regions was 2 million 496 thousand people in 2007, 24.9% of the population of Hungary. The migration balance of these regions showed a surplus of 3 400 people in 2007. 44
proportion of surfaced roads in the areas within municipal borders was lower than 24%, community transport was still underdeveloped, and had further deteriorated due to railway line closures. The connectedness of homes to the potable water supply network is less than 90%, and the coverage of the sewage network did not reach 60% either. The situation was especially bad in those outlying areas where a number of places lacked even the supply of electric power. Regions of small villages Due to their sizes, small villages are very vulnerable both from the social and from the economic points of view. The lack of jobs and the problems with the provision of public services lead to out-migration, or to the settling in of deprived segments of the population, resulting in their segregation. Regions of small villages are those which contain municipalities with populations lower than 500 inhabitants. In 2007, 1 044 municipalities in Hungary belonged to this region type, their combined area was 12 061 km 2, which is close to 13% of the national territory. Their total population was 272.9 thousand people in 2007. In 2007, the net migration deficit in the regions of small villages was 2700 people in total, about 600 people more than in 2006. The dependency rate here was by far higher than the national average. In these areas, the combined number of children under 14 and people over 60 per 100 active age (15-59) people was 64.3, while this was around 56.8 people nationally. The unemployment rate was about 1.5 times higher here than nationally: it was 10.4% in 2007. Territorial disparities were significant in this regard: while in a few 45 Transdanubian small villages, there was not a single registered unemployed person in 2007, there were 4 settlements where unemployment rate was above 50%. The level of income also indicates the backwardness of this region type: income per capita was 62% of the national average in 2007, HUF 493.7 thousand. The number of people receiving regular social benefit per 1000 inhabitants was 46 here in 2007, which was more than double of the national average (19). In 2007, in 16% of the municipalities in this region type, there was not any person receiving regular social benefit, while there were 9 settlements where their numbers per 1000 inhabitants exceeded 200. In the small villages, there were on average, 6 agricultural enterprises per 1000 inhabitants, which was three times the national figure. This outstanding value clearly signifies the dominant role of agriculture in the life of small villages. The situation with monument protection is less favourable than elsewhere partly due to an insufficient level of surveying, but especially because of the high expenses of protection. Therefore, the proportion of municipalities having a monument of national significance is 54% in this region type, lower than the national average (68%). Forest cover of the small village regions is extensive, on average, 30%; 165 of Hungary s 343 municipalities that had above 50% forest coverage were small villages in 2007. To attain a sewage network including all houselholds is often technologically irrational in the case of small villages. Therefore, the level of public utility provision in this region type is more suitably expressed by the extent of the natural gas supply network. This is 92.6%, only 1 percentage point less than the national rate.
Rural regions inhabited by national minorities Minority nationalities populate significantly diverse regions in Hungary. The preservation and development of their national identities, cultures and linkages to the motherlands provide a common basis and purpose for their exploration. This region type includes 26 microregions where, according to the data from the census held in 2001, the percentage of minority nationalities in the population was more than double of the national average. During the census in 2001, 103 thousand people declared themselves as belonging to a national minority in Hungary. Their total area is 13 533 km 2, which is 14.5% of the area of Hungary. Their combined population was 1 million 267.5 thousand people in 2007, and their migration balance was positive: there were 1 100 more people moving in than migrating away from these microregions. The highest migration surplus was registered in the microregion of Pilisvörösvár (approx. 1 300 people). Rural regions inhabited by national minorites 46 In 2007, the share of foreign capital was 55% in this region type, very close to the national figure (57%). The microregion of Szentgotthárd stands out with a 95%, and share of foreign capital was also higher in the microregions of Dabas, Mór and Rétság; while at the bottom of the list, the microregion of Sellye had only 0.5%. The percentage of children participating in minority-nationality primary education in 2007 was 14% in this region type, only slightly higher than their national share (12%).The protection of built heritage in the region is also an important part of preserving minority-nationality identities: the percentage of municipalities within this region type which has a monument of national significance was 72.8%, 4.5 percentage points higher than the national average in 2007; every settlement in the microregions of Gyula and Szentendre had such a monument. Regions with high ratios of Romani population The Romani people, similarly to the other minority nationalities, live in a great variety of regions; it is rather difficult to find here a clear-cut geographical pattern. The social-economic problems which affect the majority of the Romani people however, have territorial consequences, too. In particular, their living conditions and social circumstances impose imperative problems in all of these regions. Regions with a high proportion of Romani population are those where the ratio of people declaring themselves as Romani during the 2001 census is more than the double of the Romani s proportion on the national level. This means 44 microregions in Hungary. Their combined area is 22 646 km 2, which is about one-fifth (24.3%) of the national ter-
REGIONAL STATUS REPORT OF HUNGARY ritory. Their total population was 1 million 387.5 thousand people in 2007, 13,8% of the population of Hungary. The natural decrease per 1000 inhabitants was 3.8 people in 2007, which was not much worse than the national average (3.5). However, in 2007, from among the 44 microregions, only the microregion of Hajdúhadháza had a positive migration balance; a substantial migration deficit characterised this region type in general. In 2007, the number of out-migrants per 1000 inhabitants was 9.2, which, regarding all microregions within this region type, had resulted in a 12.8 thousand total population loss for this year. In 2007, the unemployment rate approached 15% in these microregions, and in 7 microregions, it even exceeded 20%. The particularly disadvantaged socialeconomic situation shows also in the per capita income: here it was only about two-thirds of the national average in 2007, hardly more than half a million forints (HUF 507 thousand). The situation was the worst in the microregions of Bodrogköz, Baktalórántháza and Csenger, where the income per capita did not reach HUF 400 thousand. The microregion with the highest figure, HUF 677.2 thousand, was that of Salgótarján, and this was still only 88.2% of the national average. In 2007, the yearly average number of people receiv- Regions with high ratios of Romani population ing regular social benefit per 1000 inhabitants was 56.3 in this region type, which is almost three times higher than the national figure (19.3). The regions with high ratios of Romani population have mostly underdeveloped infrastructure, concerning pubic utilities as well as transport and accessibility. The proportion of households connected to the potable water supply network had not reached 90% by 2007 (the national average was 94.7%); and the percentage of homes connected to the sewage system was only 45%, while the national average was 69.8% in this regard. 47
METHODOLOGY The report relies on data from 2007 and provides the territorial-regional analyses of the factor groups and indicators related to social, economic, environmental and technological infrastructures which influence the spatial structure and which are also defined by the Regional Development Monitoring and Assessment System (T-MER), using the database of the National Regional Development and Spatial Planning Information System (TeIR). The professional foundations of these analyses were supplied by the annual report on regional processes titled Regional Status Report of Hungary, 2007, prepared in 2009. Due to the explorative nature and snapshot approach of this status report, its purpose is the comprehensive description of regional processes and phenomena, as well as the presentation of territorial disparities. The choice of year 2007 could ensure that the data to be processed were controlled, available and comparable, and thus the data that were analysed were ones that could be compared with the 2006 data. To ensure regularity and continuity, only those data and factors were selected and processed, which constitute a system that is easy to follow and is available in the long term, and which makes it possible to reference back. The majority of the data acquired through TeIR are from the collection by the Central Statistical Office (KSH), which was complemented with international data from Eurostat as well as with information gathered from sectoral institutions responsible for specific fields, especially in the case of infrastructure and environmental protection. The selected data were processed on comparable territorial scales, primarily on the microregional level. Only the unavailability of data could prevent this, and it also had to be taken into consideration that certain factors are more meaningful on the level of larger territorial entities - therefore a higher spatial scale is justified in their study. The structure of the report is in line with the objectives defined in the second, reformed National Spatial Development Concept (OTK) endorsed by the Parliamentary Decree No. 97/2005. (XII.25.) and it investigates the territorial-regional phenomena with respect to these objectives. In the descriptions of the regions, the emphasis is on their specific features and on the national funds they received for regional development in 2007, as well as on their most significant projects implemented. The regional disparities revealed by means of the major indicators are also presented in a summarising table. In addition to the analyses carried out along the long-term objectives of OTK the conditions of those special region types are described which were defined in line with the medium-term goals of the OTK Comprehending the situation of these special regions means a focus on specific major problem areas of regional development. As the most versatile instruments for studying spatiality, maps received particular significance in this status report. Instead of listing data, thematic maps are given much emphasis in the portrayal of regional differences, which are more informative and can present the special terrains of the studied indicators. A new and colourful add-on to this issue of the Report is the use of 3D maps, which facilitate the representation of territorial differences in an even more expressive way. 48
Present publication was commissioned and supported by the Ministry for National Development and Economy. The compilation of the professional material and the coordination of tasks related to publication were carried out by VÁTI Nonprofit Ltd. Editors: VÁTI Nonprofit Ltd. Spatial Planning and Assessment Directorate, Territorial Analysis, Assessment and Monitoring Department Thematic experts (NFGM): János Sára Anna Cs. Pavisa dr. Ferenc Tipold Gyula Géczy Anna Sallai Contributors (VÁTI): Dr. Tamás Czira, Attila Balogh, Zoltán Brodorits Gábor Ginter, Csaba Kiss, Zoltán Kohán, András Nagy, Adrienn Rideg, Pál Selmeczi, Krisztina Sóvágó, Attila Gergely Sütő, Géza Péter Juhász, János Csák, Endre Fáy, Éva Judit Kőrös, Nikolett Németh, Dr. Sarolta Németh Printing: PrintXBudavár Ltd. Ministry for National Development and Economy VÁTI Hungarian Nonprofit Ltd. for Regional Development and Town Planning Ministry for National Development and Economy, VÁTI Nonprofit Ltd., 2009