Hajdú-Bihar County

For the Indian province, see Bihar.
Hajdú-Bihar County


Flag

Coat of arms
Country Hungary
Region Northern Great Plain
County seat Debrecen
Government
  President of the General Assembly Zoltán Pajna (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
  Total 6,210.51 km2 (2,397.89 sq mi)
Area rank 4th in Hungary
Population (2011 census)
  Total 546,721
  Rank 4th in Hungary
  Density 88/km2 (230/sq mi)
Postal code 40xx – 422x, 4241 – 4243, 425x – 429x
Area code(s) (+36) 52, 54
ISO 3166 code HU-HB
Website www.hbmo.hu

Hajdú-Bihar (Hungarian: Hajdú-Bihar megye) is an administrative county (comitatus or megye) in eastern Hungary, on the border with Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and Békés. The capital of Hajdú-Bihar county is Debrecen. Together with Bihor County in Romania it constitutes the Biharia Euroregion.

Geography

The area of the county does not form a geographical unit; it shares several features with the neighbouring areas: from northeast the sand hills of the Nyírség spread over the county borders. The western part is the Hortobágy National Park ("Puszta"), a large flat area of the country.

The county of Hajdú-Bihar occupies the eastern part of Hungary. Most of its territory is completely flat and is part of the Pannonian Plain region (called the Grand Plain in the country). The highest point hardly rises over 170.5 metres in the north. It seems that the county slopes to the south because the lowest point is situated in this part of Hajdú-Bihar and hits the 85 metres height.

The wind and rivers formed and shaped the land for thousands of years. First the area of the present-day Hungary was occupied by an inland sea. Then, after some underground movement, the huge peaks of the Carpathians rose from this sea. The wild and rapid rivers of the mountains slowly made that inland sea disappear. Later, the great Hungarian plain was formed by the alluvial deposits of the rivers, the wind began to work and from the great rocks became smaller and smaller sand-grains, the so-called loess. This covers thickly the Hajdú-Bihar plain as well and makes a fertile soil.

There are two great rivers in this area, the Tisza and the Körös. The Hortobágy area was formed by the first one. It used to be the flood area of the Tisza river and after the river was controlled, the Hortobágy became dry, resulting in special fauna.

History

Hajdú-Bihar county was created after World War II from the pre-1938 counties Hajdú and Bihar. See the articles of those counties for the history before World War II.

Demographics

In 2015, it had a population of 537,268 and the population density was 87/km².

Year County population[1] Change
1949 498,271 n/a
1960 Increase 522,787 4.92%
1970 Increase 524,952 0.41%
1980 Increase 551,448 5.05%
1990 Decrease 548,728 -0.49%
2001 Increase 552,998 (record) 0.78%
2011 Decrease 546,721 -1.34%

Ethnicity

Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 18,000), Romanians (2,000) and Germans (1,000).

Total population (2011 census): 546,721
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[2] Identified themselves: 485 877 persons:

Approx. 77,000 persons in Hajdú-Bihar County did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.

Religion

Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:[3]

Regional structure

District of Hajdú-Bihar County
English and
Hungarian names
Area
(km²)
Population
(2011)
Density
(pop./km²)
Seat № of
municipalities
1 Balmazújváros District
Balmazújvárosi járás
827.45 30,091 36 Balmazújváros 5
2 Berettyóújfalu District
Berettyóújfalui járás
1,073.90 44,995 42 Berettyóújfalu 25
3 Debrecen District
Debreceni járás
531.12 224,228 423 Debrecen 2
4 Derecske District
Derecskei járás
650.30 41,701 64 Derecske 13
5 Hajdúböszörmény District
Hajdúböszörményi járás
471.43 40,568 86 Hajdúböszörmény 2
6 Hajdúhadház District
Hajdúhadházi járás
137.02 22,183 162 Hajdúhadház 3
7 Hajdúnánás District
Hajdúnánási járás
547.27 29,614 54 Hajdúnánás 6
8 Hajdúszoboszló District
Hajdúszoboszlói járás
732.65 43,061 59 Hajdúszoboszló 5
9 Nyíradony District
Nyíradonyi járás
510.28 29,534 58 Nyíradony 9
10 Püspökladány District
Püspökladányi járás
729.04 40,426 55 Püspökladány 12
Hajdú-Bihar County 6,210.51 546,721 88 Debrecen 82

Economy

Infrastructure

Highways no. 4, 33, 35, 42 and 47 lead to the county and the county can also be reached Hajdú-Bihar via the M3 motorway (this motorway is now a spur to Debrecen). The total length of the public roads in the county is 1,511 km. 122 road bridges span the rivers and canals. The roads cross the national borders to Romania at the cities of Ártánd and Nyírábrány.

Politics

The Hajdú-Bihar County Council, elected at the 2014 local government elections, is made up of 24 counselors, with the following party composition:[4]

    Party Seats Current County Assembly
  Fidesz-KDNP 14                            
  Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) 6                            
  Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) 3                            
  Democratic Coalition (DK) 1                            

Municipalities

Compared to the average, Hajdú-Bihar has a small number of inhabited places: 19 towns and 62 villages. The four largest cities both by area and by population are Debrecen, Hajdúböszörmény, Hajdúnánás and Hajdúszoboszló. For a long time these were the only ones with city/town status, the rest were only villages, but after 1979 when Berettyóújfalu became a town several villages were promoted.

Hajdú-Bihar County has 1 city with county rights (megyei jogú város), 20 towns (város), 10 large villages (nagyközség) and 51 villages (falu):

City with county rights

Towns

(ordered by population, as of 2011 census)

Villages

municipalities are large villages.

International relations

Hajdú-Bihar County has a partnership relationship with:[5][6]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hajdú-Bihar County.

Coordinates: 47°25′N 21°30′E / 47.417°N 21.500°E / 47.417; 21.500

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.