Population. – There was also no lack of population movements in this period. Thus in May-June 1994, 113.500 Magyars, coming from Bucovina, came to settle as settlers in Bačka, where they occupied 5 villages, first inhabited by Serbs; they had already lived for 180 years along the banks of the Suceava (tributary of the Siret), where they had settled after the destruction of their village, ordered by the Austrians in 1764 following a revolt. Within the new borders the alloglots were estimated at more than 3.5 million of which about 1,144,000 Romanians, 866,000 Germans, 587,000 Ruthenians, 513,000 Serbs and Croats, 308,000 Slovaks, 161,000 Jews and 73,000 of other nationalities. For the Romanians living in the territory ceded following the arbitration of 1940 provided for the right of option in favor of Romania and the exchange with the optants in favor of Hungary who remained in Romanian Transylvania. A census, carried out in 1941, classified the population, as regards the mother tongue, as follows: Hungarians 77.5%; Slovaks 1.8%; Germans 4.9 oo; Romanians 7.5%; Ruthenians 3.8%; Croatians 0, 9%; Serbs 1, 1%; “bunjevci” and “sokci” (Serbochroates) 0.5%; Slovenians 0.5%; gypsies 0.4%; Jews 0.9%; other 0.2%. On the same date a nationality census was also carried out, which gave the following results: Hungarian 80.9%; German 4.3%; Slovak 1.2%; Romanian 7.2%; Ruthenian 3.7%; Croatian 0.1%; Serbian 1.1%; Hebrew 1.0%; gypsy 0.5%.

According to the census carried out on January 31, 1941, the 15 most populous cities in Hungary were the following: Budapest, 1,162,822; Seghedino, 136,375; Debrecen, 125,969; Koloszvár (Cluj), 110,418; Nagyvárad (Oradea Mare), 92,798; Kecskemét, 87,318; Miskolc, 77,290; Pestszenterzsébet, 76,894; Újpest, 76,072; Pécs (Cinquechiese), 72,307; Kassa (Košice), 66.961; Kispest, 65,139; Hódmezővásárhely, 61,729; Nyíregyháza 59.105; Győr 57.109. The increase in the number of municipalities around Budapest appears to be remarkable, bringing the population of the capital to 1,700,000. Miskolc, an industrial center, has also registered a considerable rate of increase (21%) in the last decade.

The peace treaty contains some political clauses aimed at guaranteeing the defense of the democratic regime, at protecting the political and civic rights of citizens without distinction of race, class or nationality, at protecting ethnic minorities. The repairs, set at $ 300 million, were calculated on the basis of 25% of current agricultural production, 15% of industrial production, 60-70% of steel, iron and mechanical industries 10-15% of others. The pre-war German properties were placed under the control of the occupiers: primarily the great shipping company on the Danube. For the Hungarian minorities who remained outside the borders, the treaty recommends a direct agreement, leading to an exchange of population. Czechoslovakia, for its part, provided for this (February 1946) by arranging that most of the Hungarians be transferred to Hungarian territory, but this did not happen without incidents. On the other hand, the presence of strong groups of Hungarians in Transylvania and Vojvodina keeps Hungarian nationalism alive.

Economic conditions. – According to Ebizdir, the Hungarian economy has suffered serious damage from the destruction caused by the war, the German stripping, the occupation costs, the requisitions; now it is settling within the Soviet sphere of influence. Economic relations between the two countries were regulated by a trade agreement, under which the USSR grants Hungary raw materials (cotton, wool, coal, steel, iron), in exchange for manufactured goods (textiles, electrical appliances, mechanical material); in this way the USSR will absorb a large part of the Hungarian production and will assume in the Hungarian economy the place previously occupied by Germany, except that the nature of the relations is reversed, since Hungary supplied Germany with raw materials and bought manufactured products. In many respects the new orientation is more favorable,

In 1939 about half of the foreign trade took place with Germany (48.6% for imports and 50.1% for exports), followed by Italy (7.1% imports and 15.5% exports)..) and Great Britain (4.8% and 5.2%); then came Romania, the United States and Yugoslavia. The traffic of imported and exported goods by sea, reached its maximum in 1939, then underwent a sharp decline and the importance of German ports (Hamburg, Bremen, Szczecin) decreased compared to the Italian ones (Rijeka and Trieste) . By 1939 Hungary had received 250,000 tonnes. of goods (scrap iron, cotton, cast iron, phosphates, colonial goods, fruit, rice) and had shipped 850,000 t. (mainly cereals).

For twenty years now, Hungarian industry has been strengthening and the pace of transformation has recently been more intense, with the tendency to move towards a form of controlled economy. Among the new plants we should mention the Ajka factory, in the Veszprém committee.

During the decade some irrigation works were built on the plain; the most notable is the navigable canal, about one hundred kilometers long, which connects the Tisza with the Korös. It is also planned to connect the Tisza to the Danube by means of a canal, which, crossing the Hungarian Mesopotamia, will connect the surroundings of Budapest with a place located just upstream of the confluence of the Körös into the Tisza.