Csongrád-Csanád County

Csongrád-Csanád County

Csongrád-Csanád vármegye
Csongrád-Csanád County Csongrád-Csanád vármegye
Counties of Hungary
	Descending, from top: Maros river embankment near Makó, Ópusztaszer National Heritage Park, and Cathedral of Szeged
	Flag Coat of arms
	Csongrád-Csanád County within Hungary
Country	Hungary
Region	Southern Great Plain
County seat	Szeged
Districts	7 districts Csongrád District; Hódmezővásárhely District; Kistelek District; Makó District; Mórahalom District; Szeged District; Szentes District;
Government
• President of the General Assembly	Béla Kakas (Fidesz-KDNP)
Area
• Total	4,262.71 km2 (1,645.84 sq mi)
• Rank	12th in Hungary
Population (2018)
• Total	400,238
• Rank	8th in Hungary
GDP
• Total	HUF 1,091 billion; €3.504 billion (2016)
Postal code	66xx – 69xx
Area code(s)	(+36) 62, 63
ISO 3166 code	HU-CS
Website	www.csongrad-megye.hu

Csongrád-Csanád (Hungarian: Csongrád-Csanád vármegye [ˈt͡ʃoŋɡraːd ˈt͡ʃɒnaːd]) is an administrative county (comitatus or vármegye) in southern Hungary, straddling the river Tisza, on the border with Serbia and Romania. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties Bács-Kiskun County, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County and Békés. The administrative centre of Csongrád-Csanád county is Szeged. The county is also part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion.

History

On October 3, 2017, the Hungarian Parliament passed a resolution to rename Csongrád County to Csongrád-Csanád County, which took effect on June 4, 2020.^[3] The resolution was submitted by János Lázár, then-Minister of the Prime Minister's Office, who called the renaming symbolic as more than a dozen settlements in the area still share Csanád County's identity.^[4]

Geography

This county has a total area of 4,263 km² (1,646 sq mi) – 4,58% of Hungary.

The area of Csongrád-Csanád County is flat. It has a high number of sunshine hours and excellent soil, which makes it the most important agricultural area of Hungary. Its most famous products are paprika from Szeged and onions from Makó, but grain, vegetables, and fruits are also significant. Half of the onions, paprika, and vegetables produced in Hungary are from Csongrád-Csanád. The county is also rich in oil and natural gas.

The highest point is Ásotthalom (125 m), the lowest is Gyálarét (78 m; lowest point of Hungary).

Neighbours

Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County in the North.
Békés County in the East.
Romania and Serbia in the South – Timiș County, Arad County, North Banat District and North Bačka District
Bács-Kiskun County in the West.

Demographics

Religion in Csongrád-Csanád County (2022 census – of those who declared their religion (58.1%))

Roman Catholic (47.8%)

Calvinistic (9.6%)

Lutheran (1.3%)

Greek Catholic (0.8%)

Other Christian denomination (4.6%)

Other religion (0.7%)

Not religious (35.2%)

After the end of the Ottoman occupation in 1715, the county was nearly uninhabited, with a population density of less than 5/km². In the 18th and 19th centuries, the county was repopulated by ethnic Hungarians from the relatively overpopulated northern and western counties of the Kingdom of Hungary.^[5] According to the 2001 census, the county is home for 423,826 people (216,936 people live in urban counties) with a population density is 100/km². It has a Hungarian majority.^[6]

In 2015, it had a population of 406,205 and the population density was 95/km².

Year	County population^[7]	Change
1949	429,083	n/a
1960	434,046	1.16%
1970	445,220	2.57%
1980	456,300 (record)	2.49%
1990	438,842	-3.83%
2001	433,344	-1.25%
2011	417,456	-3.67%
2015	406,205	-2.76%
2018	400,238	-1.49%

Ethnicity

Besides the Hungarian majority, the main minorities are the Roma (approx. 5,000), Romanian (1,500), German (1,300) and Serb (1,300).

Total population (2011 census): 417,456
Ethnic groups (2011 census):^[8] Identified themselves: 367,193 persons:

Hungarians: 355,554 (96.83%)
Gypsies: 4,720 (1.29%)
Others and indefinable: 6,919 (1.88%)

Approximately 59,000 persons in Csongrád-Csanád County did not declare their ethnic group on the 2011 census.

Religion

Religious adherence in the county according to the 2011 census:^[9]

Catholic – 165,955 (Roman Catholic – 164,060; Greek Catholic – 1,855);
Reformed – 29,289;
Evangelical – 3,488;
Orthodox – 923;
Judaism – 263;
Other religions – 7,278;
Non-religious – 90,836;
Atheism – 6,585;
Undeclared – 112,839.

Regional structure

№	English and Hungarian names	Area (km²)	Population (2011)	Density (pop./km²)	Seat	№ of municipalities
1	Csongrád District Csongrádi járás	339.24	22,996	68	Csongrád (town)	4
2	Hódmezővásárhely District Hódmezővásárhelyi járás	707.77	56,560	80	Hódmezővásárhely	4
3	Kistelek District Kisteleki járás	410.20	18,185	44	Kistelek	6
4	Makó District Makói járás	688.85	45,138	66	Makó	15
5	Mórahalom District Mórahalmi járás	561.71	28,986	52	Mórahalom	10
6	Szeged District Szegedi járás	741.10	204,263	276	Szeged	13
7	Szentes District Szentesi járás	813.84	41,328	51	Szentes	8
Csongrád-Csanád County		4,262.71	417,456	98	Szeged	60

Transport

Road network

In 2012, Csongrád-Csanád County had a dense network of public roads, in total length of 1,350 km, of which 281 km were main roads.^[10] Inland, connections were provided by 1,049 km of county and communal roads and 20 km were covered with light road surfaces.

Highway network

runs from Budapest to Röszke (Serbian border). ~ 47 km
runs from Szombathely to Szeged. (planned)
runs from Szeged to Csanádpalota (Romanian border). - 58 km

Road network

runs from Budapest to Röszke (Serbian border), via Kistelek and Szeged. - 52 km
runs from Szeged to Nagylak (Romanian border), via Makó. - 55 km
runs from Makó to Hódmezővásárhely. - 30 km
runs from Makó to Kiszombor (Romanian border). - 6 km
runs from Kunszentmárton to Hódmezővásárhely, via Szentes. - 43 km
runs from Szeged to Debrecen, via Hódmezővásárhely.
runs from Szeged to Bátaszék, via Mórahalom.
runs from Kiskunfélegyháza to Szentes, via Csongrád.
western bypass of Szeged.

Politics

County Assembly

The Csongrád-Csanád County Council, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 20 counselors,^[11] with the following party composition:

Party		Seats	Current County Assembly
	Fidesz-KDNP	12
	Hungarian Socialist Party	2
	Jobbik	2
	Our Homeland Movement	2
	Democratic Coalition	1
	Momentum Movement	1

Presidents of the County Assembly

President^[12]	Terminus
István Lehmann (MSZP)	1990–1998
Dr. József Frank (Fidesz)	1998–2006
Anna Magyar (Fidesz-KDNP)	2006–2014
Béla Kakas (Fidesz-KDNP)	2014–

Members of the National Assembly

The following members elected of the National Assembly during the 2022 parliamentary election:^[13]

Constituency	Member
Csongrád-Csanád County 1st constituency	Sándor Szabó	MSZP
Csongrád-Csanád County 2nd constituency	Béla Mihálffy	Fidesz–KDNP
Csongrád-Csanád County 3rd constituency	Sándor Farkas	Fidesz–KDNP
Csongrád-Csanád County 4th constituency	János Lázár	Fidesz–KDNP

Municipalities

Csongrád-Csanád County has 2 urban counties, 8 towns, 7 large villages and 43 villages.

As a typical Great Plain county, Csongrád-Csanád has a relatively small number of municipalities. 72.5% of the population lives in cities/towns, so it is one of the most urbanized county in Hungary.^[14]