The Development of the Social Structure of Slovakian Hungarians, 1980–2001 Cover Image

A szlovákiai magyarság társadalmi szerkezetének alakulása 1980–2001 között
The Development of the Social Structure of Slovakian Hungarians, 1980–2001

Author(s): László Gyurgyík
Subject(s): History
Published by: KORALL Társadalomtörténeti Egyesület
Keywords: social history; 20th century; Hungary; Slovakia; Hungarian minority; change of regime

Summary/Abstract: The paper examines the development of the social structure of Hungarians in Slovakia during the period 1980–2001 on the basis of the data of the 1980, the 1991 and the 2001 census. The differences are analyzed from both a diachronic and a synchronic aspect. Ambivalent changes may be discerned in the structural indices of the Hungarians: the examined structural indices of the Hungarians (educational level, distribution according to occupational groups, ratio of unemployment) are less favourable than the national trends. The proportion of Hungarians amongst those holding favourable positions is below the national average and their proportion among the disadvantaged is higher. At the same time, the proportion of Hungarians in favourable positions is increasing more dynamically than the national average, though the proportion of Hungarians in disadvantageous positions is also decreasing at a slower pace than the national trend. We may assume, therefore, that social inequalities are rising faster among the Hungarians than in the country as a whole. In the second part of the study we examine the relationship between the regional distribution of the Hungarian population and the differences in social structure. The unfavourable social composition may, for the main part, be correlated with the fact that there is a grater proportion of Hungarians living in disadvantageous regions. At the same time, within the individual micro-regions we have only found minor differences between the social structure of the Hungarians and that of the entire region. By and large we may say that in economically more favourable regions the structural indices of the Hungarians are above average, while in economically disadvantaged regions they fall below the indices of the entire region concerned.

  • Issue Year: 2004
  • Issue No: 18
  • Page Range: 155-175
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Hungarian