Hajdú–Bihar (, ) is an administrative county (comitatus or vármegye) 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 populationnépesség.com, "Hajdú-Bihar megye népessége 1870–2015" Change 1949 498,271 n/a 1960 522,787 4.92% 1970 524,952 0.41% 1980 551,448 5.05% 1990 548,728 -0.49% 2001 552,998 (record) 0.78% 2011 546,721 -1.34%2015 537,268 -1.75%2018 530,464 -1.28%

Ethnicity The main minority populations in the county are Roma (about 18,000), Romanian (about 2,000), and German (about 1,000).

Total population (2011 census): 546,721 Ethnic groups (2011 census): Hungarians: 461,809 (95.05%) Romani: 18,132 (3.73%) Others and indefinable: 5,936 (1.22%) About 77,000 people in Hajdú-Bihar County did not declare their ethnicity during the 2011 census.

Religion

Religious adherence in the county according to 2011 census:2011. ÉVI NÉPSZÁMLÁLÁS, 3. Területi adatok, 3.9 Hajdú-Bihar megye,

Reformed – 158,513; Catholic – 86,084 (Roman Catholic – 53,697; Greek Catholic – 32,359); Evangelical – 1,086; Orthodox – 862; other religions – 10,330; Non-religious – 147,001; Atheism – 6,416; Undeclared – 136,429.

Regional structure

No.English andHungarian names Area (km2) Population (2011) Density (pop./km2) Seat No. ofmunicipalities1Balmazújváros District Balmazújvárosi járás 827.45 30,191 36Balmazújváros52Berettyóújfalu District Berettyóújfalui járás 1,073.90 44,995 42Berettyóújfalu253Debrecen District Debreceni járás 531.12 224,228 423Debrecen24Derecske District Derecskei járás 650.30 41,701 64Derecske135Hajdúböszörmény District Hajdúböszörményi járás 471.43 40,568 86Hajdúböszörmény26Hajdúhadház District Hajdúhadházi járás 137.02 22,183 162Hajdúhadház37Hajdúnánás District Hajdúnánási járás 547.27 29,614 54Hajdúnánás68Hajdúszoboszló District Hajdúszoboszlói járás 732.65 43,061 59Hajdúszoboszló59Nyíradony District Nyíradonyi járás 510.28 29,534 58Nyíradony910Püspökladány District Püspökladányi járás 729.04 40,426 55Püspökladány12 Hajdú-Bihar County 6,210.51 546,721 88Debrecen82

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

County Assembly

The Hajdú–Bihar County Council, elected at the 2024 local government elections, is made up of 24 counselors, with the following party composition:

Party Seats Current County Assembly  Fidesz-KDNP 15                                   Our Homeland Movement 4                                 Momentum Movement 3                                   Democratic Coalition 2                                

Presidents of the General Assembly PresidentÖnkormányzati választások eredményei TerminusZoltán Pajna (Fidesz-KDNP)2014–

Members of the National Assembly The following members elected of the National Assembly during the 2022 parliamentary election:

ConstituencyMemberParty Hajdú-Bihar County 1st constituency Lajos Kósa Fidesz–KDNP Hajdú-Bihar County 2nd constituency László Pósán Fidesz–KDNP Hajdú-Bihar County 3rd constituency László Tasó Fidesz–KDNP Hajdú-Bihar County 4th constituency István Vitányi Fidesz–KDNP Hajdú-Bihar County 5th constituency Sándor Bodó Fidesz–KDNP Hajdú-Bihar County 6th constituency István Tiba Fidesz–KDNP

Municipalities Hajdú–Bihar County has 1 urban county, 20 towns, 10 large villages and 51 villages. Hajdú–Bihar has a comparatively small number of inhabited places: 21 towns and 61 villages. The four largest cities – both by area and by population – are Debrecen, Hajdúböszörmény, Hajdúnánás and Hajdúszoboszló.

City with county rights (ordered by population, as of 2011 census) Debrecen (211,320) – county seat

Towns

Hajdúböszörmény (31,725) Hajdúszoboszló (23,933) Balmazújváros (17,537) Hajdúnánás (17,063) Berettyóújfalu (15,472) Püspökladány (14,895) Hajdúsámson (13,121) Hajdúhadház (12,588) Derecske (8,922) Nádudvar (8,853) Hajdúdorog (8,843) Polgár (8,098) Nyíradony (7,585) Létavértes (6,966) Téglás (6,432) Kaba (5,960) Komádi (5,421) Vámospércs (5,362) Tiszacsege (4,713) Biharkeresztes (4,149)

Villages

Álmosd Ártánd Bakonszeg Bagamér Báránd Bedő Berekböszörmény Bihardancsháza Biharnagybajom Bihartorda Bocskaikert Bojt Csökmő Darvas Ebes Egyek Esztár Folyás Földes Furta Fülöp Gáborján Görbeháza Hajdúbagos Hajdúszovát Hencida Hortobágy Hosszúpályi Kismarja Kokad Konyár Körösszakál Körösszegapáti Magyarhomorog Mezőpeterd Mezősas Mikepércs Monostorpályi Nagyhegyes Nagykereki Nagyrábé Nyíracsád Nyírábrány Nyírmártonfalva Pocsaj Sáp Sáránd Sárrétudvari Szentpéterszeg Szerep Tépe Tetétlen Tiszagyulaháza Told Újiráz Újléta Újszentmargita Újtikos Váncsod Vekerd Zsáka

municipalities are large villages.

Gallery

International relations Hajdú-Bihar County has a partnership relationship with:

Bihor County, Romania Cluj County, Romania East Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan Eure-et-Loir, Centre-Val de Loire, France Harghita County, Romania Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland Toyama Prefecture, Chūbu, Japan

References

External links Official site in Hungarian Hajdú Online (haon.hu) – The county portal