Hungary

Conscription currently imposed?	No			Suspended 2005 by constitutional amendment                                Could be reinstated in time of emergency (see below)
Conscientious objection first recognised	1989			Constitution, Article 70.
CO release of professional soldiers	–			No release during state of emergency.
Minimum recruitment age	18
Population	Total	% males 15-19		Thus approx. annual cohort reaching 18
	9,886,000	2.9		57,339
Armed forces	Total strength	Of which conscripts		Compared to annual cohort above
	32,150	–		56.1%
Military expenditure	$ (% change from 2022)		Per capita		% of GDP
	$4,355m (+33.7%)		$428.9		2.1%

Current situation & recent developments

Feedback from organisations

As reported by EBCO’s Hungarian member, BOCS Foundation:^[1]

“Military conscription may be reintroduced in the event of the threat or occurrence of an external armed attack or in order to fulfil an allied obligation. A precondition is the introduction of a state of emergency or a preventive defence situation declared by a special decision of Parliament.

In such situations, the Military Code also provides for the possibility of unarmed military service in specific cases, on the basis of a special authorisation.”^[2]

In the current academic year, defence education is being piloted as an optional subject in around 1-200 secondary schools for 1-2 hours per week and guest teachers are to be provided by the Ministry of Defence.^[3]