1996. ÉVI MIKROCENZUS A népesség és a lakások jellemzői (1996)

BEVEZETŐ

INTRODUCTION The Hungárián Central Statistical Office has been carrying out decennial population and housing censuses since 1870. Between two censuses, the main demographic and social processes are monitored through so-called microcensuses. The se are census type sample surveys that have been carried out on a 1-2 per cent sample of the population since the 1960s. The microcensus carried out according to Act LXXXVI of 1995 in April 1996, covered 2 per cent of the population. The results obtained from the most recent, 1990 population and housing census reflected the initial stage of fundamental changes in the social and economic processes. The post-censal period, the first half of the 1990s was characterised by rapid changes in the labour markét and in the economic activity of the population. The joint evaluation of the results of the 1990 census and of the 1996 microcensus shows the complex demographic, employment, family, household, housing implications of the rapid changes, both on the macro level and on the level of certain population groups. The data of the 1996 microcensus, therefore, contribute to the scientific evaluation of the transition period and to the better foundation of social policy decision-making. The present volume contains the detailed results of the microcensus, a description of the social and demographic processes, supplemented with graphics and a large set of tables. The main findings of the survey are the following: — The long term demographic processes, in particular declining fertility and increasing mortality that has lead to population decline since 1980, place Hungary among the countries with the most unfavourable population potential in Europe. — Population ageing, the decline in the proportion of children and young adults and the increase in the proportion of the elderly population, continues. Children constitute 18 per cent of the population, adults 63 per cent and 19 per cent of the population is aged 60 years or over. The number of children per 100 adults is 29, the number of aged persons per 100 adults is 31. — The long-term tendency in the marital status composition of the population aged 15 and over is the decline in the proportion married, that is accompanied, among both sexes, by the increase in the proportions widowed, divorced and ne ver married. — The educational attainments continue to improve; one third of the population aged 18 or over has completed at least secondary, 12 per cent of the population aged 25 or over has completed post-secondary educational attainments. — On the whole, economic activity has declined. The proportion of active income recipients declined by 4 per cent between 1980 and 1990, and by a further 9 per cent since 1990. Parallel to the decline in the number of children, the proportion of the dependent population has declined, whereas population ageing has contributed to the increase in the proportion of inactive income recipients. Besides changes in the age composition of the population, large numbers have withdrawn 21