Romanian Review of Regional Studies (Jan 2007)
Demographic Processes in Hungary and their Manifestation in Small Towns
Abstract
Hungary, belonging more and more to the prestigious group of developed countries, can be characterised increasingly by the demographic characteristics of that type. Ageing population, decreasing number of live births, decreasing population size are commonly used terms when analysing the demographic profile of our country. This simplified picture can be modulated and coloured with the help of spatial data. In spite of the comparatively small-sized and relatively homogenous structure of Hungary, several differences can be found. The network of small towns could be an obvious and representative sample for the spatial investigations since it almost totally covers the area of Hungary, it is numerous enough but still easy to handle. Within a Hungarian geographical context, settlements having a maximum of 30,000 inhabitants and possessing city rank can be defined as small towns. Because of their size and functions, small towns are sensitive enough to illustrate the national demographic tendencies, but they are numerous enough to be split into different groups according to their remarkably diverse character. Traditional historic small towns widely differ from the ones located in the rapidly urbanising agglomerations, even though the socialist new towns, having similar origin, reflect significant demographic variants.
