TERRITORIAL DIFFERENTIATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUNGARY.

One of the main objectives of the regional policy of Hungary and of the European Union is to reduce regional disparities. For this reason, the elimination of backwardness, the development and the catching-up of the regions is a key strategic task of the Member States. The effective use of development-aid based on the principles of regional policy can help to prevent or re-invigorate the irreversible breakdown of certain areas. The differences between the development of the various regions are influenced by socio-economic factors, as well as by natural conditions. After the regime change and later, following the accession to the European Union, there were significant regional development differences in Hungary. For this reason, analyses are needed to answer what positive or negative changes occurred in this field in recent years. The analysis examines the differentiated development of the 20 territorial units of Hungary (19 counties + Budapest), as well as the development level of Hungary. Mathematical-statistical methods (rang-ratio, relative rank, correlation) were applied to present the changes in recent years with special regard to the extent and the direction of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]