The Republic of Hungary (population 10.08 million)¹ is a landlocked Central European country located in the Carpathian basin that covers an area of 93,030 square kilometres (1% of the size of Europe) with more than half the area being lowlands surrounded by mountain ridges and hills.² Hungary occupies a strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and the Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and the Mediterranean basin; the north-south flowing Duna (Danube) and Tisza Rivers divide the country into three large regions. Its land boundaries border Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.³ According to the United Nations human development index (HDI), Hungary is ranked 35/177 countries worldwide (value 0.869).⁴ This places Hungary in the group of countries with high human development.