More than a century after the Treaty of Trianon (1920) redrew the map of Central Europe, large Hungarian communities live in the countries that border Hungary. They are not immigrants: they live where their families have lived for centuries, and became minorities when the borders moved. Their rights to their language, schools, churches and political representation have been a core concern of the American Hungarian Federation for decades.
The communities at a glance
Figures are from each country’s most recent census:
- Romania (Transylvania, Székely Land, Partium): 1,002,151 people declared Hungarian ethnicity in the 2021 census (held in 2022), about 6 percent of the population.
- Slovakia (southern Slovakia, “Felvidék”): about 422,000 people declared Hungarian nationality in the 2021 census, about 7.75 percent.
- Serbia (Vojvodina, “Délvidék”): 184,442 people in the 2022 census, about 2.7 percent.
- Ukraine (Transcarpathia, “Kárpátalja”): about 151,500 in the 2001 census, the last one held. Researchers estimated about 130,000 before the 2022 Russian invasion, and tens of thousands have left since.
Together that is roughly 1.7 million people. Smaller historic Hungarian communities also live in Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.
In this series
- Hungarians in Romania
- Hungarians in Slovakia
- Hungarians in Ukraine (Transcarpathia)
- Hungarians in Serbia (Vojvodina)
Each article links to Hungarian-language newspapers and community organizations in that country, so readers can follow events directly. Many more are on our Links page.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Hungarians in Romania (2021 census)
- Slovak Radio (RSI): Census: Hungarians largest ethnic minority
- Minority Rights Group: Hungarians in Serbia (2022 census)
- Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian University: Exodus of the Hungarian minority from Ukraine? (research)
- Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN)