Races,” in the article Austria), the census returns of 1880, 1890
and 1900, exhibiting the numerical strength of the different nationalities,
are of great interest. Classifying the population according
to the mother-tongue of each individual, there were, in the civil
population of Hungary proper, including Fiume:—
| Census. | Hungarians (Magyars). | Germans (Német). | Slovaks (Tót). | Rumanians (Oláh). | Ruthenians (Ruthén). | Croatians (Horvát). | Servians (Szerb). | Others. |
| 1880 | 6,404,070 | 1,870,772 | 1,855,451 | 2,403,041 | 353,229 | 639,986 | 223,054 | |
| 1890 | 7,357,936 | 1,990,084 | 1,896,665 | 2,589,079 | 379,786 | 194,412 | 495,133 | 259,893 |
| 1900 | 8,588,834 | 1,980,423 | 1,991,402 | 2,784,726 | 423,159 | 188,552 | 434,641 | 329,837 |
| i.e. in percentages of the total population: | ||||||||
| 1880 | 46.58 | 13.61 | 13.49 | 17.48 | 2.57 | 4.65 | 1.62 | |
| 1890 | 48.53 | 13.12 | 12.51 | 17.08 | 2.50 | 1.28 | 3.27 | 1.71 |
| 1900 | 51.38 | 11.88 | 11.88 | 16.62 | 2.52 | 1.17 | 2.60 | 1.95 |
The censuses show a decided tendency of change in favour of the dominating nationality, the Magyar, which reached an absolute majority in the decade 1890–1900. This is also shown by the data relating to the percentage of members of other Hungarian races speaking this language. Thus in 1900 out of a total civil population of 8,132,740, whose mother-tongue is not Magyar, 1,365,764 could speak Magyar. This represents a percentage of 16.8, while in 1890 the percentage was only 13.8. In Croatia-Slavonia the language of instruction and administration being exclusively Croat, the other races tend to be absorbed in this nationality. The Magyars formed but 3.8%, the Germans 5.6% of the population according to the census of 1900.
The various races of Hungary are distributed either in compact ethnographical groups, in larger or smaller colonies surrounded by other nationalities, or—e.g. in the Banat—so intermingled as to defy exact definition.[1] The Magyars occupy almost exclusively the great central plain intersected by the Danube and the Theiss, being in an overwhelming majority in 19 counties (99.7% in Hajdu, east of the Theiss). With these may be grouped the kindred population of the three Szekel counties of Transylvania. In 14 other counties, on the linguistic frontier, they are either in a small majority or a considerable minority (61.6% in Szatmár, 18.9% in Torontál). The Germans differ from the other Hungarian races in that, save in the counties on the borders of Lower Austria and Styria, where they form a compact population in touch with their kin across the frontier, they are scattered in racial islets throughout the country. Excluding the above counties these settlements form three groups: (1) central and northern Hungary, where they form considerable minorities in seven counties (25% in Szepes, 7% in Komárom); (2) the Swabians of southern Hungary, also fairly numerous in seven counties (35.5% in Baranya, 32.9% in Temes, 10.5% in Arad); (3) the Saxons of Transylvania, in a considerable minority in five counties (42.7% in Nagy Küküllö, 17.6% in Kis Küküllö). The Germans are most numerous in the towns, and tend to become absorbed in the Magyar population. The Slavs, the most numerous race after the Magyars, are divided into several groups: the Slovaks, mainly massed in the mountainous districts of northern Hungary; the Ruthenians, established mainly on the slopes of the Carpathians between Poprád and Máramaros Sziget; the Serbs, settled in the south of Hungary from the bend of the Danube eastwards across the Theiss into the Banat; the Croats, overwhelmingly preponderant in Croatia-Slavonia, with outlying settlements in the counties of Zala, Vas and Sopron along the Croatian and Styrian frontier. Of these the Slovaks are the most important, having an overwhelming majority in seven counties (94.7% in Árva, 66.1% in Sâros), a bare majority in three (Szepes, Bars and Poszody) and a considerable minority in five (40.6% in Gömör, 22.9% in Abauj-Torna). The Ruthenians are not in a majority in any county, but in four they form a minority of from 36 to 46% (Máramaros, Bereg, Ugocsa, Ung) and in three others (Sâros, Zemplén, Szepes) a minority of from 8.2 to 19.7%. The Serbs form considerable minorities in the counties of Torontál (31.2%), Bács-Bodrog (19.0%) and Temes (21.4%). Next to the Slav races in importance are the Rumanians (Vlachs), who are in an immense majority in ten of the eastern and south-eastern counties (90.2% in Fogaras), in eight others form from 30 to 60% of the population, and in two (Máramaros and Torontál) a respectable minority.[2]
The Jews in 1900 numbered 851,378, not counting the very great number who have become Christians, who are reckoned as Magyars. Their importance is out of all proportion to their number, since they monopolize a large portion of the trade, are with the Germans the chief employers of labour, and control not only the finances but to a great extent the government and press of the country. Owing to the improvidence of the Hungarian landowners and the poverty of the peasants the soil of the country is also gradually passing into their hands.[3]
The Gipsies, according to the special census of 1893, numbered 274,940. Of these, however, only 82,000 gave Romany as their language, while 104,000 described themselves as Magyars and 67,000 as Rumanians. They are scattered in small colonies, especially in Gömör county and in Transylvania. Only some 9000 are still nomads, while some 20,000 more are semi-nomads. Other races, which are not numerous, are Armenians, Greeks, Bulgars, Albanians and Italians.
The ethnographical map of Hungary does much to explain the political problems of the country. The central plains, which have the most fertile soil, and from the geographical conditions of the country form its centre of gravity, are occupied almost exclusively by the Magyars, the most numerous and the dominant race. But all round these, as far as the frontiers, the country is inhabited by the other races, which, as a rule, occupy it in large, compact and uniform ethnographical groups. The only exception is formed by the Banat, where Magyars, Rumanians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Croats and Germans live mixed together. Another important fact is that these races are all in direct contact with kindred peoples living outside Hungary: the Rumanians in Transylvania and Banat with those in Rumania and Bukovina; the Serbs and Croats with those on the other bank of the Danube, the Save and the Unna; the Germans in western Hungary with those in Upper Austria and Styria; the Slovaks in northern Hungary with those in Moravia; and lastly the Ruthenians with the Ruthenians of Galicia, who occupy the opposite slopes of the Carpathians. The centrifugal forces within the Hungarian kingdom are thus increased by the attraction of kindred nationalities established beyond its borders, a fact which is of special importance in considering the vexed and difficult racial problem in Hungary.
Agriculture.—Hungary is pre-eminently an agricultural country and one of the principal wheat-growing regions of Europe. At the census of 1900 nearly 69% of the total population of the country derived their income from agriculture, forestry, horticulture and other agricultural pursuits. The agricultural census taken in 1895 shows the great progress made in agriculture by Hungary, manifested by the increase in arable lands and the growth of the average production. The increase of the arable land has been effected partly by the reclamation of the marshes, but mostly by the transformation of large tracts of puszta (waste prairie land) into arable land. This latter process is growing every year, and is coupled with great improvements in agricultural methods, such as more intensive cultivation, the use of the most modern implements and the application of scientific discoveries. According to the agricultural census of 1895, the main varieties of land are distributed as follows:—
| Hungary Proper. | Croatia- Slavonia. | |
| By area in acres— | ||
| Arable land | 29,714,382 | 13,370,540 |
| Gardens | 928,053 | 136,354 |
| Meadows | 7,075,888 | 1,099,451 |
| Vineyards | 482,801 | 65,475 |
| Pastures | 9,042,267 | 1,465,930 |
| Forests | 18,464,396 | 3,734,094 |
| Marshes | 199,685 | 7,921 |
| By percentage of the total area— | ||
| Arable land | 42.81 | 32.26 |
| Gardens | 1.34 | 1.31 |
| Meadows | 10.19 | 10.52 |
| Vineyards | 0.69 | 0.63 |
| Pastures | 13.03 | 14.03 |
| Forests | 26.60 | 35.74 |
| Marshes | 0.28 | 0.08 |
The remainder, such as barren territory, devastated vineyards, water and area of buildings, amounts to 5.1% of the total.
The chief agricultural products of Hungary are wheat, rye, barley, oats and maize, the acreage and produce of which are shown in the following tables:—
- ↑ The colouring of ordinary ethnographical maps is necessarily somewhat misleading. When an attempt is made to represent in colour the actual distribution of the races (as in Dr Chavanne’s Geographischer und statistischer Handatlas) the effect is that of occasional blotches of solid colour on a piece of shot silk.
- ↑ The distribution of the races is analysed in greater detail in Mr Seton-Watson’s Racial Problems, p. 3 seq.
- ↑ Seton-Watson, op. cit. pp. 173, 188, 252; Drage, Austria-Hungary, pp. 280, 588; Gonnard, La Hongrie, p. 72.
