

TheHungarian diaspora orMagyar diaspora refers to ethnicHungarians (Magyars) living outside the borders of present-dayHungary. The diaspora can be divided into two main groups.
The first group includes those who are autochthonous to their homeland, living in parts of neighbouring regions that were part of Hungary (Kingdom of Hungary) before the Treaty of Trianon.[2][note 1] FollowingWorld War I, theTreaty of Trianon in 1920 led to the separation of 32% of ethnic Hungarians, along with many entirely Hungarian-populated regions, from their historical Hungarian motherland. Most of theanti-Hungarian sentiment and incidents still occur today in Hungary's neighboring countries (modern Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine), as their predecessor states received large historical Hungarian territories.
The other main group is the emigrants who have left Hungary at various times, and their descendants. Migrations increased during certain pivotal events, notably theHungarian Revolution of 1956 and theFall of the Berlin Wall. There has been some emigration since Hungary joined the EU in 2004, especially to countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom,[3] but those patterns have been less extensive than for certain other countries ofCentral and Eastern Europe, such asPoland andBulgaria. Additionally, there are theMagyarabs, a small community inNubia resulting from a historical migration of Magyars, likely during theOttoman period in Hungary.[4]




| Country | Hungarian population | Note | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neighboring countries | |||
| 1,002,151 (2021)[5] (excludingCsángós)[6] | Native toTransylvania,[7]Csángós inWestern Moldavia (moved from Transylvania there in the past), and a very small community ofSzeklers also inBukovina (see alsoSzékelys of Bukovina) | Hungarians in Romania | |
| 456,154 (2021)[8] | Autochthonous[9] | Hungarians in Slovakia | |
| 184,442 (2021)[10] | Autochthonous inVojvodina | Hungarians in Serbia | |
| 156,600 (2001)[11] | Autochthonous inZakarpattia Oblast | Hungarians in Ukraine | |
| 107,347 (2024)[12] | Autochthonous inBurgenland | Hungarians in Austria | |
| 10,315 (2021)[13] | Autochthonous inCroatia, except inIstria andDalmatia | Hungarians in Croatia | |
| 10,500 (2021)[citation needed] | Autochthonous inPrekmurje | Hungarians in Slovenia | |
| Other countries | |||
| 1,563,081 (2006)[14] | Immigrants | Hungarian Americans | |
| 348,085 (2016)[15] | Immigrants | Hungarian Canadians | |
| 296,000 (2021)[16] | Immigrants | Hungarians in Germany | |
| 200,000 to 250,000 (2000s)[17] | Immigrants; most areHungarian Jews | ||
| 200,000 to 250,000 (2020)[18][19] | Immigrants | Hungarians in the United Kingdom | |
| 200,000 (2021)[20] | Immigrants | Hungarians in France | |
| 80,000 (2002)[21] | Immigrants | Hungarian Brazilians | |
| 69,167 (2011)[22] | Immigrants | Hungarian Australians | |
| 200,000 (2025)[23] | Immigrants | Hungarian Argentines | |
| 33,018 (2018)[24] | Immigrants | Hungarians in Sweden | |
| 27,000 (2019)[25] | Immigrants | ||
| 26,172 (2020)[26] | Immigrants | ||
| 20,000 (2013)[27] | People of Hungarian descent forcibly relocated from the Slovak part of theThird Czechoslovak Republic | ||
| 15,000 (2013)[27] | Immigrants | ||
| 14,000 (2019)[25] | Immigrants | ||
| 10,000 (2019)[25] | Immigrants | ||
| 9,000 (2019)[25] | Immigrants | ||
| 8,316 (2015)[28] | Immigrants | ||
| 7,000 (2013)[27] | Immigrants | Hungarian New Zealanders | |
| 6,800 (2001) | Immigrants | Hungarians in Turkey | |
| 6,000 (2019)[25] | Immigrants | ||
| 5,600 (2022)[25] | Immigrants | ||
| 4,000[citation needed] | Immigrants | ||
| 4,000 (2013)[27] | Immigrants | ||
| 4,000 (2013)[27] | Immigrants | Hungarian Venezuelans | |
| 3,500 (2006) | Immigrants | Hungarian Mexicans | |
| 3,000 (2019)[25] | Immigrants | Hungarians in Finland | |
| 3,000 (2013)[27] | Immigrants | Hungarian Uruguayans | |
| 2,387 (2018)[19] | Immigrants | ||
| 2,000 (2012)[29] | Immigrants | Hungarians in Chile | |
| 2,000 (2019)[25] | Immigrants | ||
| 1,728 (2011)[30] | Immigrants | Hungarians in Poland | |
| 1,460 (2021)[31] | Immigrants | ||
| 1,230 (2022)[32] | Foreign citizens only; for instance, excludes 79 Luso-Hungarians who have acquiredPortuguese citizenship since 2008[33] | ||
| 1,000 (2019)[25] | Immigrants | ||
| 620 (2018)[19] | Immigrants | ||
| 500 (2021)[34] | Immigrants | ||
| 400[citation needed] | Immigrants | ||
| 300[citation needed] | Immigrants | ||
| 300[citation needed] | Immigrants | ||
| 206 (2010)[35] | Immigrants | ||
| 200 (2015)[28] | Immigrants | ||
| 200[citation needed] | Immigrants | ||
| 173 (2018)[19] | Immigrants | ||
| 153 (2015)[28] | Immigrants | ||
| 100 (2015)[36] | Immigrants | ||
| 44 (2015)[28] | Immigrants | ||
| 23 (2015)[28] | Immigrants | ||
| Total | 5.2–5.5 million | Hungarians | |
Hungarian immigration patterns to Western Europe increased in the 1990s and especially since 2004, after Hungary's admission in theEuropean Union. Thousands of Hungarians from Hungary sought available work through guest-worker contracts in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal.

A proposal supported by theDAHR to grant Hungarian citizenship to Hungarians living inRomania but without meeting Hungarian-law residency requirements was narrowly defeated at a 2004 referendum in Hungary.[37] The referendum was invalid because of not enough participants. After the failure of the 2004 referendum, the leaders of the Hungarian ethnic parties in the neighboring countries formed the HTMSZF organization in January 2005, as an instrument lobbying for preferential treatment in the granting of Hungarian citizenship.[38]
In 2010, some amendments were passed in Hungarian law facilitating an accelerated naturalization process for ethnic Hungarians living abroad; among other changes, the residency-in-Hungary requirement was waived.[39] In May 2010, Slovakia announced it would strip Slovak citizenship from anyone applying for Hungarian citizenship.[40] Romania's PresidentTraian Băsescu declared in October 2010: "We have no objections to the adoption by the Hungarian government and parliament of a law making it easier to grant Hungarian citizenship to ethnic Hungarians living abroad."[41]
The new citizenship law took effect on 1 January 2011. It did not grant the right to vote, even in national elections, to Hungarian citizens unless they also resided in Hungary on a permanent basis.[42] In February 2011, theFidesz government announced that it intended to grant the right to vote to its new citizens.[43] Between 2011 and 2012, 200,000 applicants took advantage of the new, accelerated naturalization process;[44] there were another 100,000 applications pending in the summer of 2012.[45] As of February 2013, the Hungarian government had granted citizenship to almost 400,000 Hungarians ‘beyond the borders’.[46] In June 2013, Deputy Prime MinisterZsolt Semjén announced that he expected the number to reach about half a million by the end of the year.[47]
Hungarian citizens abroad have been able to participate in the parliamentary elections without Hungarian residency starting from the2014 Hungarian parliamentary election, however, they cannot vote for a candidate running for the seat in a single-seat constituency, but for a party list.
| Country | Name | Occupation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferenc Anisits | Engineer | ||
| Albert-László Barabási | Physicist and discoverer ofscale-free networks | ||
| Drew Barrymore | Actress | [48][49] | |
| Béla Barényi | Engineer and prolific inventor | ||
| Josef von Báky | Film director | ||
| Béla Bartók | Composer | ||
| Zoltán Bay | Physicist and engineer | ||
| György von Békésy | Biophysicist andNobel Prize winner | ||
| Pal Benko | Chess player and a record eight-timeU.S. Open winner | ||
| Adrien Brody | Actor and youngest winner of theAcademy Award for Best Actor | [50] | |
| György Buzsáki[51] | Neuroscientist | ||
| Mihály Csíkszentmihályi | Psychologist offlow | ||
| Larry Csonka | American football fullback | ||
| Tony Curtis | Actor | [52][53] | |
| György Cziffra | Pianist | ||
| Louis C.K. | Comedian | [54] | |
| Rodney Dangerfield | Comedian | [55] | |
| Frank Darabont | Film director and screenplay writer | ||
| Ernst von Dohnányi | Composer, pianist, and conductor | ||
| Bobby Fischer | Chess player | ||
| Ferenc Fricsay | Conductor | ||
| Stephen Fry | Comedian | [56] | |
| Zsa Zsa Gabor | Actress | [57] | |
| Peter Carl Goldmark | Engineer and inventor | ||
| Andrew Grove | Businessman and entrepreneur | ||
| Mickey Hargitay | Actor, body builder, and1955 Mr. Universe | ||
| Harry Houdini | Escapologist and magician | ||
| Tim Howard | Soccer goalkeeper | ||
| George de Hevesy | Radiochemist and co-discoverer ofhafnium | [58] | |
| Ilonka Karasz | Designer and illustrator known for her manyNew Yorker magazine covers | ||
| Katalin Karikó | Biochemist andNobel Prize winner | ||
| Theodore von Kármán | Aeronautical engineer | ||
| John George Kemeny | Mathematician, computer scientist, and co-developer ofBASIC | [59] | |
| Laszlo B. Kish | Physicist | ||
| George Klein | Microbiologist and author | ||
| Ferenc Krausz | Physicist andNobel Prize winner | ||
| Alexandre Lamfalussy | Economist | ||
| Philipp Lenard | Physicist andNobel Prize winner | ||
| Bela Lugosi | Actor | ||
| Luis Mandoki | Film director | ||
| Ilona Massey | Actress | ||
| Paul Neményi | Physicist and mathematician | [60] | |
| John von Neumann | Mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, and polymath | [61][62] | |
| Ľudovít Ódor | Prime Minister,Deputy Governor of the national bank | ||
| Thomas Peterffy | Businessman and founder ofInteractive Brokers | ||
| Joaquin Phoenix | Actor | [63] | |
| Joseph Pulitzer | Journalist | [64] | |
| Árpád Pusztai | Biochemist | ||
| Ľudovít Rajter | Conductor | ||
| Fritz Reiner | Conductor | ||
| Marcel Riesz | Mathematician | ||
| Nicolas Sarkozy | 23rdPresident of France | [65] | |
| Franz Schmidt | Composer | ||
| Jerry Seinfeld | Comedian, actor, writer, and producer | [66] | |
| Monica Seles | Tennis player | ||
| Gene Simmons | Musician | [67] | |
| Hans Selye | Endocrinologist | ||
| Charles Simonyi | Software architect | ||
| Victor Szebehely | Astronomist and physicist | ||
| Albert Szent-Györgyi | Biochemist andNobel Prize winner | ||
| Leó Szilárd | Physicist and inventor | [68] | |
| Mária Telkes | Biophysicist and inventor | ||
| Edward Teller | Physicist, engineer, and “father of thehydrogen bomb | [69] | |
| Kálmán Tihanyi | Physicist, engineer, and inventor | ||
| Tomáš Ujfaluši | Association football player | ||
| Victor Vasarely | Artist ofop art movement | ||
| Gabriel von Wayditch | Composer | ||
| Richárd Zsigmondy | Chemist andNobel Prize winner | ||
| Gyula Halász (Brassaï) | Photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker | ||
| Ivan Soltész | Scientist | ||
| Tomáš Ujfaluši | Football player | ||
| Yair Lapid | Former Prime Minister of Israel | ||
| Benny Gantz | Former Israeli Minister of Defence | ||
| Peter Malinauskas | Premier of South Australia | ||
| Don Hany | Actor | ||
| Michael Peter Balzary | Musician, bass guitarist of theRed Hot Chili Peppers | ||
| Frank Lowy | Businessman, founder ofWestfield Corporation |
Since the Hungarian diaspora could start voting in elections in Hungary from 2012,[70] they have overwhelmingly supported the rulingFidesz. In the2014 Hungarian parliamentary election, Fidesz won over 95% of the vote,[71] in the2018 Hungarian parliamentary election, over 96%, while in the2019 European Parliament election in Hungary, Fidesz received 96%.[72]
In the2022 Hungarian parliamentary election, over 93%, while in the2024 European Parliament election in Hungary, Fidesz received 90%.
In several Eastern European countries, parties that represent the interests of Hungarian minorities have emerged.
| Country | Party | Party support at last election |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia | ||
| Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania | 585,589 6.34% | |
| Hungarian Alliance of Transylvania | ||
| Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians | 64,747 1.74% | |
| Hungarian Alliance | 130,183 4.39% | |
| Party of Hungarians of Ukraine (KMKSZ) |
Since the Great Powers who dictated the peace terms disregarded the principle of national self-determination in Hungary's case and did not draw the new borders of Hungary to follow ethnic and linguistic lines, 3.3 million ethnicHungarians were lost to the successor states.
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