hungarian minority in romania

The Hungarian Minority in Romania is mostly situated in the northwestern part of Romania in Transylvania, with the Carpathian Mountains in the East and the Transylvanian Alps in the south. The Hungarian Population in Romania makes up approximately 20 percent of the population of Transylvania and 6.6 percent of the total population, or 1,431,807 citizens and is the largest minority in Romania and one of the largest minorities in Europe. The remaining 3.9 percent of the population are a combination of Roma, Ukrainian, German, Russian and Turkish. They form a majority in the Szekler Region (the counties of Harghita and Covasna; historically, the Szekler Region also comprised parts of present-day Mureş county, including Trgu Mureş).

History

1920 Transylvania was incorporated into Romania
1989 The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania was founded
1995 A basic treaty on the relations between Hungary and Romania was signed - in the treaty Hungary renounces claims to Romania territory and Romania promises to respect the rights of ethnic Hungarians citizens

Politics

The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (DAHR) is 1 of 56 organizations in the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. The aim of DAHR is to achieve local government, cultural and territorial autonomy and the right to self-determination. The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania is a member of the European Democrat Union (EDU) and an associated member of the European People's Party (EPP). DAHR's first two ministers were elected in the 1996 Romanian parliamentary elections. The ethnic party Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania holds as of 2004 10 seats in the Senate (6.23%) and 22 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of Romania (6.17%) and has been since 1996 part of the ruling coalition in Romania. (to be written about autonomy of the Szekely land movement)

Population

Nation-wide

1992 - 1,624,959 persons, 7,1% of the population
2002 - 1,431,807 persons, 6,6% of the population

By county

Hungarians form the majority of population in two counties of South-Eastern Transylvania: Harghita and Covasna.

County	Hungarians	Percentage of the population
Harghita	275,841	84.61%
Covasna	164,055	73.81%
Mureş	227,673	39.26%
Satu Mare	129,998	35.22%
Bihor	155,554	25.92%
Sălaj	57,318	23.07%
Cluj	122,131	17.37%
Arad	49,399	10.70%
Maramureş	46,250	9.06%
Braşov	51,470	8.75%
Timiş	51,421	7.59%
Bistriţa-Năsăud	18,394	5.89%
Alba	20,682	5.40%
Hunedoara	25,321	5.20%
Sibiu	15,478	3.67%
Caraş-Severin	5,859	1.76%
Bacău	4,528	0.64%
Bucharest	5,834	0.31%

Each of the other counties of Romania has a Hungarian population of less than 1,000 people.

Culture

(to be written)