Budapest Fact File

Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial and transportation centre.

Budapest has approximately 1.7 million inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s peak of 2.1 million. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with the amalgamation on 17 November 1873 of right-bank (west) Buda (Ofen in German) and Óbuda (Old Buda or Alt-Ofen) together with Pest on the left (east) bank. It is the nineth largest city in the European Union.

Budapest’s Climate
Budapest’s Population
Budapest’s Time Zone
Budapest’s Public Holidays
Electricity in Budapest
Using the Telephone in Budapest

Budapest’s Climate
Budapest has a temperate continental climate. Seasons are usually well defined, with July and August the hottest months (28-30° C, 82-86° F) and December and January the coldest, when temperatures may fall to –15° C or just +5° F. Average sunshine from April to September is in excess of eight hours a day.

Budapest’s Population

Population:

1800: 54,200
1830: 102,700
1850: 178,000
1880: 370,800
1900: 733,400
1910: 882,000
1925: 957,800
1990: 2,016,100
2003: 1,719,343

Budapest’s Time Zone
Budapest is in the Central European Time Zone. In the winter months this means clocks are set at GMT + 1 hour, and in the summer (March to the end of October) GMT + 2 hours.

Budapest’s Public Holidays
Public holidays are observed on the three national holidays (15th March, 20th August and 23rd October), on 1st May, and on the main religious festivals and holidays (New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, Whitsunday and Whit Monday, All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day).

Electricity in Budapest
Voltage in Hungary is 230 volts, and plugs are of the two-pin continental type.

Using the Telephone in Budapest
The international code for Hungary is 36, the area code for Budapest is 1. To call a number within Hungary, first dial 06. Budapest telephone numbers comprise seven digits, all other areas’ have six digits (excluding the area code in both cases). To make an international call from Hungary, first dial 00, then the country code followed by the area code and the subscriber’s telephone number. Public telephones accept either coins (20, 50, and 100 forints) or telephone cards (available from tobacconists, newsagents, post offices, and petrol stations). Cheap rate runs at night and on public holidays. To call a (Hungarian) mobile telephone, first dial 06, followed by the subscriber’s seven-digit number starting with either 20-, 30- or 70-.

In Budapest call +36 1 266 78 68