# Hungary and Romania compared Hungary and Romania side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 8 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/hun-vs-rou Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Hungary: 1000 — Stephen I is crowned and founds the Christian kingdom of Hungary - Romania: 1859 — Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected prince of both Moldavia and Wallachia ## Economy | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $223 B | 2024 | $383 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $23,292 | 2024 | $20,080 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 0.6% | 2024 | 0.9% | 2024 | | Inflation | 3.7% | 2024 | 5.7% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 146.5% | 2024 | 77.2% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 9.6 m | 2024 | 19 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 76.7 yrs | 2024 | 76.5 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 70.5% | 2024 | 52.2% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 56.4 | 2024 | 63.6 | 2024 | | Political stability | 73.3 | 2024 | 68.6 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 61.1 | 2024 | 59.5 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 60.1 | 2024 | 60.9 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 60.3 | 2024 | 63.4 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 48.7 | 2024 | 48.4 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 6.4% | 2023 | 5.7% | 2023 | | Physicians | 3.46 | 2022 | 3.63 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 3.7 | 2024 | 7.3 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 99.0% | 2024 | 78.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 100.0% | 2024 | 82.2% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 3.8% | 2022 | 3.3% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 102.9% | 2024 | 84.9% | 2023 | | Secondary enrolment | 107.4% | 2024 | 81.6% | 2023 | | Tertiary enrolment | 60.5% | 2024 | 55.2% | 2023 | | Adult literacy | — | — | 99.2% | 2021 | ## Technology | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 1.4% | 2023 | 0.5% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 4,567 | 2023 | 1,082 | 2023 | | Internet users | 93.8% | 2024 | 91.3% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 105 | 2024 | 120 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 22.6% | 2024 | 13.4% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 91,260 km² | 2023 | 230,080 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 22.4% | 2023 | 30.1% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 55.7% | 2023 | 55.3% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 4.5 | 2024 | 3.7 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 15.3% | 2021 | 23.6% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.4% | 2021 | 1.1% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.2% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.2% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Hungary | Observed | Romania | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 2.2% | 2024 | 2.3% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $4.7 B | 2024 | $8.7 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 46,000 | 2020 | 128,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/HUN.md and https://terralore.co/country/ROU.md. ## Entangled histories (8 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1330: **Basarab I founds Wallachia** — The voivode Basarab I defeated King Charles I of Hungary at Posada, winning recognition of Wallachia's autonomy and establishing the first Romanian principality. (from the Romania chronicle; sources: Walachia) - c. 1359: **Bogdan I founds Moldavia** — The Vlach voivode Bogdan I crossed the Carpathians from Maramures and wrenched Moldavia from Hungarian vassalage, founding the second Romanian principality. (from the Romania chronicle; sources: Walachia) - 1916: **Romania enters the First World War** — Romania joined the Allies in 1916 seeking the Romanian lands of Austria-Hungary, especially Transylvania; despite early defeats, the collapse of the empires opened the way to union. (from the Romania chronicle; sources: Treaty of Trianon) - 1918: **Greater Romania** — With Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania joined to the kingdom, Romania nearly doubled in size, gaining large Hungarian and German minorities within its enlarged borders. (from the Romania chronicle; sources: Treaty of Trianon; Romania) - 4 Jun 1920: **The Treaty of Trianon** — Hungary lost about two-thirds of its territory and population, leaving roughly three million ethnic Hungarians outside the new borders in Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and elsewhere; the trauma shaped Hungarian politics for a century. (from the Hungary chronicle; sources: Treaty of Trianon) - 4 Jun 1920: **Treaty of Trianon** — The Treaty of Trianon formally transferred Transylvania and part of the Banat from Hungary to Romania, stripping Hungary of about two-thirds of its territory and leaving a lasting dispute. (from the Romania chronicle; sources: Treaty of Trianon) - 30 Aug 1940: **Second Vienna Award** — Germany and Italy awarded Hungary northern Transylvania from Romania, deepening Hungary's dependence on the Axis powers in its quest to reverse Trianon. (from the Hungary chronicle; sources: Treaty of Trianon) - 30 Aug 1940: **Second Vienna Award and Southern Dobruja** — Under German and Italian arbitration Romania ceded northern Transylvania to Hungary; in September southern Dobruja was ceded to Bulgaria, costing Romania about 30% of its territory and people. (from the Romania chronicle; sources: Romania) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/HUN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/ROU/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Hungary and Romania compared", terralore.co/compare/hun-vs-rou, retrieved .