Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1975 (3. évfolyam, 6-8. szám)
1975 / 6. szám
HUNGARY CZECHOSLOVAKIA AUSTRIA ROMANIA YUGOSLAVIA U.S.S.R. TABLE 1 Selected demographic data, Hungary, 1870-1970 Interim increase or decrease of population Yearly average---------------------------- increase or decrease Census Population (thousands) Density of population (per square kilometer) Number (thousands) Percent of population (percent) 1870 5,011 54 0.76 1880 5,329 57 318 6.3 0.56 1890 6,009 65 680 12.8 1.21 1900 6,854 74 794 13.2 1.25 1910 7,612 82 758 11.1 1.05 1920 7,987 86 375 4.9 0.48 1930 8,685 93 698 8.7 0.84 1941 9,316 100 631 7.3 0.70 1949 9,205 99-111-1.2-0.15 1960 9,961 107 756 8.2 0.72 1970 10,316 111 353 3.5 0.35 Households In January 1970, there were 3,358,000 households with an average of 3.0 persons per household. Eighty-four percent of all households consisted of families. Almost all nonfamily households consisted of one person. Of the family households, 93 percent were one-family and slightly less than 7 percent were two-family. Over 80 percent of family households contained from two to four members; a little more than 6 percent had six or more members. About 90 percent included both husband and wife. Married Women of Reproductive Age Married women of childbearing age numbered 1.6 million in 1949 and 1.9 million in 1973. During this period, their proportion in the female population aged 15 years and older remained almost unchanged. Marriage Rate As in other European countries, the marriage rate in Hungary has been relatively stable for several decades, fluctuating between 8.1 and 9.4 per thousand population, except after World Wars I and II, when it was higher. In 1972 the marriage rate was 9.4 per thousand. During most of the twentieth century the distribution of the population by marital status was characterized by a decline in the proportion of unmarried persons and an increase in the proportion of married couples. This trend ended in 1960. Since that time the proportion of single men has increased to a small extent and that of single women has remained stable. The recent decrease in the proportion of married persons is due primarily to the great increase in the proportion divorced. The following table shows the percentage distribution of males and females aged 15 and over by marital status in 1970. The largest difference between the sexes in marital status is in the percent widowed. Marital status Male Female Single 25 17 Married 70 64 Widowed 3 15 Divorced 2 4 Total 100 100 As a result of improved socioeconomic conditions since World War II, the average age at first marriage has declined, from 23.0 for females and 27.5 for males in 1941, to 20.9 for females and 23.8 for males in 1972. Growth Patterns Fertility One hundred years ago—in the 1870s and 1880s—Hungary had one of the highest birth rates in Europe, more than 40 per thousand population per year. In the late 1880s, the birth rate began to decline, reaching 35 per thousand by 1910 and 20 per thousand by 1938. Since that time, the birth rate has alternately risen and fallen in response to various factors. The strict enforcement of existing laws against illegal abortion in 1953 resulted in a temporary increase in the birth rate, and in 1954, at 23 per thousand, the birth rate was the highest it had been since the early 1930s. Eight years later, however, it had dropped to an all-time low of 12.9 (see Table 2). Although this sharp TABLE 2 Vital rates, Hungary, 1960-1969 Live Natural births Deaths increase Year (per thousand population) 1960 14.7 10.2 4.5 1962 12.9 10.8 2.1 1964 13.1 10.0 3.1 1966 13.6 10.0 3.6 1968 15.1 11.2 3.9 1960-1969 (average) 13.9 10.4 3.5 6
