Hungary has a population of around 9.7 million, a figure that has been slowly declining for decades. Ethnic Hungarians (Magyars) make up about 85% of the population; the largest minorities are Roma (around 3–4%), Germans, and Slovaks, with smaller communities of Romanians, Croats, and Serbs. Significant Hungarian communities live in neighbouring countries — particularly Romania (Transylvania), Slovakia, and Serbia — a legacy of the post-World War I Trianon Treaty, which reduced Hungary's territory by two-thirds.
Hungarian is an unusual language: Finno-Ugric in origin and unrelated to its Slavic and Germanic neighbours, it arrived with the Magyar tribes who settled the Carpathian Basin in 895 AD. Hungarians are often quietly proud of this distinctiveness.
The country is predominantly Christian, with Roman Catholics the largest group (around 37%), followed by Calvinists (11%) and Lutherans. Religious practice has declined significantly since communism, though the Catholic Church remains culturally influential.
Hungarians tend to be reserved with strangers but warm once acquainted. Hospitality — especially around food and drink — is taken seriously. Refusing a glass of pálinka (fruit brandy) at someone's home can cause genuine offence. There's a dark streak of humour that runs through Hungarian culture, born partly of a turbulent history: Ottoman occupation, Habsburg rule, fascism, Soviet communism, and the crushed 1956 revolution have left their marks.
Budapest holds about 1.7 million people — nearly a fifth of the entire country — making Hungary one of the more extreme examples of a capital-dominated nation in Europe.