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# Health care reform
**Health care reform** is for the most part governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place. Health care reform typically attempts to:
- Broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insurance programs or private sector insurance companies
- Expand the array of health care providers consumers may choose among
- Improve the access to health care specialists
- Improve the quality of health care
- Give more care to citizens
- Decrease the cost of health care
## Frameworks for health care reform {#frameworks_for_health_care_reform}
While final performance goals are largely agreed upon, different frameworks suggest different intermediate goals, such as equity, productivity, safety, innovation, and choice.
------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Framework** **Intermediate Goals**
Control knobs framework Efficiency, Access, Quality
Framework for assessing behavioural healthcare Effectiveness, Efficiency, Equity
EGIPSS model Productivity, Volume of care and services, Quality of care and services
WHO Performance framework Access, Coverage, Quality, Safety
Commonwealth Fund framework High-quality care, Efficient care, Access, System and workforce innovation and improvement
WHO Building Blocks Framework Access, Coverage, Quality, Safety
Systems Thinking Equity, Choice, Efficiency, Effectiveness
------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
### Control knobs theory {#control_knobs_theory}
In *\"Getting Health Reform Right: A Guide to Improving Performance and Equity,\"* Marc Roberts, William Hsiao, Peter Berman, and Michael Reich of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health aim to provide decision-makers with tools and frameworks for health care system reform. They propose five \"control knobs\" of health reform: financing, payment, organization, regulation, and behavior. These control knobs refer to the \"mechanisms and processes that reformers can adjust to improve system performance\". The authors selected these control knobs as representative of the most important factors upon which a policymaker can act to determine health system outcomes.
Their method emphasizes the importance of \"identifying goals explicitly, diagnosing causes of poor performance systematically, and devising reforms that will produce real changes in performance\". The authors view health care systems as a means to an end. Accordingly, the authors advocate for three intrinsic performance goals of the health system that can be adjusted through the control knobs. These goals include:
1. *Health status:* This goal refers to the overall health of the target population, assessed by metrics such as life expectancy, disease burden, and/or the distribution of these across population subgroups.
2. *Customer satisfaction:* This goal is concerned with the degree of satisfaction that the health care system produces among the target population.
3. *Financial risk protection:* This goal refers to the health system\'s ability to protect the target population from the financial burden of poor health or disease.
The authors also propose three intermediate performance measures, which are useful in determining the performance of system goals, but are not final objectives. These include:
1. *Efficiency:*
1. Technical efficiency: maximum output per unit cost
2. Allocative efficiency: a given budget maximises health system user satisfaction or other defined goals
2. *Access:* effective availability by which patients receive care
3. *Quality of care:* consideration of both the average quality and distribution of quality
The five proposed control knobs represent the mechanisms and processes that policy-makers can use to design effective health care reforms. These control knobs are not only the most important elements of a healthcare system, but they also represent the aspect that can be deliberately adjusted by reforms to affect change. The five control knobs are:
1. ***Financing***, which encompasses all the mechanisms and activities designed to raise money for the health system. With respect to mechanisms, the financing knob includes health-related taxes, insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses among others. Activities refers to the institutional organization that collects and distributes finance to participants in the health sector. In other words, financing is about the resources available to the healthcare system, who controls them and who receives them. The financing knob has clear implications for the health status of the population and particular groups in it, as well as the access to health care and protection from financial risk that these groups, and the population as a whole, have. The financing knob involves numerous potential financing mechanisms and processes that should be selected in accordance with a country\'s social values and politics.
2. ***Payment*** refers to the mechanisms and processes through which the health system or patients distribute payments to providers, including fees, capitation and budgets on the part of the government and fees paid by patients. Payment is about the distribution of available resources to the providers of health services. Health care reform can implement a variety of incentive schemes for both providers and patients in a way to optimize limited resources.
3. ***Organization*** of the health system refers to the structure of providers, their roles, activities and operations. Essentially, organization describes how the health care market is set up: who are the providers, who are the consumers, who are the competitors, and who runs them. Changes in the organization of a healthcare system happen at multiple levels at both the front-line and managerial level.
4. ***Regulation*** refers to actions at the state level that modify or alter the behavior of various actors within the health care system. The actors may include health care providers, medical associations, individual consumers, insurance agents, and more. Regulations are only effective when enforced, therefore laws that are \"on the books\" but are not implemented in practice have little effect on the system as a whole.
5. ***Behavior*** of healthcare actors includes actions of both providers (e.g., doctors\' behavior) and patients (e.g., anti-smoking campaigns) and involves \"changing individual behavior through population-based interventions\". Healthcare reform with respect to behavior revolves around the behaviors that can be used to improve the outcomes and performance of the health care system. These behaviors include health-seeking behavior, professional/doctors\' behavior, treatment compliance, and lifestyle and prevention behaviors.
#### Limitations
The five control knobs of health care reform are not designed to work in isolation; health care reform may require the adjustment of more than one knob or of multiple knobs simultaneously. Further, there is no agreed-upon order of turning control knobs to achieve specific reforms or outcomes. Health care reform varies by setting and reforms from one context may not necessarily apply in another. The knobs interact with cultural and structural factors that are not illustrated within this framework, but which have an important effect on health care reform in a given context. Rather than a prescriptive proposal of recommendations, the framework allows users to adapt their analysis and actions based on cultural context and relevance of interventions.
## Reduction of health care fraud {#reduction_of_health_care_fraud}
One key component to healthcare reform is the reduction of healthcare fraud and abuse. In the U.S. and the EU, it is estimated that as much as 10 percent of all healthcare transactions and expenditures may be fraudulent.
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# Health care reform
## Comparison between countries {#comparison_between_countries}
As evidenced by the large variety of different healthcare systems seen across the world, there are several different pathways that a country could take when thinking about reform. In comparison to the UK, physicians in Germany have more bargaining power through professional organizations (i.e., Medical association); this ability to negotiate affects reform efforts. Germany makes use of sickness funds, which citizens are obliged to join but are able to opt out if they have a very high income (Belien 87). The Netherlands used a similar system but the financial threshold for opting out was lower (Belien 89). The Swiss, on the other hand use more of a privately based health insurance system where citizens are risk-rated by age and sex, among other factors (Belien 90).
## By country {#by_country}
### United States {#united_states}
In the United States, the debate regarding health care reform includes questions of a right to health care, access, fairness, sustainability, quality and amounts spent by government. The mixed public-private health care system in the United States is the most expensive in the world, with health care costing more per person than in any other nation, and a greater portion of gross domestic product (GDP) is spent on it than in any other United Nations member state except for East Timor (Timor-Leste).
#### Hawaii and Massachusetts {#hawaii_and_massachusetts}
Both Hawaii and Massachusetts have implemented some incremental reforms in health care, but neither state has complete coverage of its citizens. For example, data from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that 5% of Massachusetts and 8% of Hawaii residents are uninsured. To date, The U.S. Uniform Law Commission, sponsored by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws has not submitted a uniform act or model legislation regarding health care insurance or health care reform.
### United Kingdom {#united_kingdom}
Healthcare was reformed in 1948 after the Second World War, broadly along the lines of the 1942 Beveridge Report, with the creation of the National Health Service or NHS. It was originally established as part of a wider reform of social services and funded by a system of National Insurance, though receipt of healthcare was never contingent upon making contributions towards the National Insurance Fund. Private health care was not abolished but had to compete with the NHS. About 15% of all spending on health in the UK is still privately funded but this includes the patient contributions towards NHS provided prescription drugs, so private sector healthcare in the UK is quite small. As part of a wider reform of social provision it was originally thought that the focus would be as much about the prevention of ill-health as it was about curing disease. The NHS for example would distribute baby formula milk fortified with vitamins and minerals in an effort to improve the health of children born in the post war years as well as other supplements such as cod liver oil and malt. Many of the common childhood diseases such as measles, mumps, and chicken pox were mostly eradicated with a national program of vaccinations.
The NHS has been through many reforms since 1974. The Conservative Thatcher administrations attempted to bring competition into the NHS by developing a supplier/buyer role between hospitals as suppliers and health authorities as buyers. This necessitated the detailed costing of activities, something which the NHS had never had to do in such detail, and some felt was unnecessary. The Labour Party generally opposed these changes, although after the party became New Labour, the Blair government retained elements of competition and even extended it, allowing private health care providers to bid for NHS work. Some treatment and diagnostic centres are now run by private enterprise and funded under contract. However, the extent of this privatisation of NHS work is still small, though remains controversial. The administration committed more money to the NHS raising it to almost the same level of funding as the European average and as a result, there was large expansion and modernisation programme and waiting times improved.
The government of Gordon Brown proposed new reforms for care in England. One is to take the NHS back more towards health prevention by tackling issues that are known to cause long term ill health. The biggest of these is obesity and related diseases such as diabetes and cardio-vascular disease. The second reform is to make the NHS a more personal service, and it is negotiating with doctors to provide more services at times more convenient to the patient, such as in the evenings and at weekends. This personal service idea would introduce regular health check-ups so that the population is screened more regularly. Doctors will give more advice on ill-health prevention (for example encouraging and assisting patients to control their weight, diet, exercise more, cease smoking etc.) and so tackle problems before they become more serious. Waiting times, which fell considerably under Blair (median wait time is about 6 weeks for elective non-urgent surgery) are also in focus. A target was set from December 2008, to ensure that no person waits longer than 18 weeks from the date that a patient is referred to the hospital to the time of the operation or treatment. This 18-week period thus includes the time to arrange a first appointment, the time for any investigations or tests to determine the cause of the problem and how it should be treated. An NHS Constitution was published which lays out the legal rights of patients as well as promises (not legally enforceable) the NHS strives to keep in England.
### Germany
Numerous healthcare reforms in Germany were legislative interventions to stabilise the public health insurance since 1983. 9 out of 10 citizens are publicly insured, only 8% privately. Health care in Germany, including its industry and all services, is one of the largest sectors of the German economy. The total expenditure in health economics of Germany was about 287.3 billion euro in 2010, equivalent to 11.6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) this year and about 3,510 euro per capita. Direct inpatient and outpatient care equal just about a quarter of the entire expenditure - depending on the perspective. Expenditure on pharmaceutical drugs is almost twice the amount of those for the entire hospital sector. Pharmaceutical drug expenditure grew by an annual average of 4.1% between 2004 and 2010.
These developments have caused numerous healthcare reforms since the 1980s. An actual example of 2010 and 2011: First time since 2004 the drug expenditure fell from 30.2 billion euro in 2010, to 29.1 billion Euro in 2011, i. e. minus 1.1 billion Euro or minus 3.6%. That was caused by restructuring the Social Security Code: manufacturer discount 16% instead of 6%, price moratorium, increasing discount contracts, increasing discount by wholesale trade and pharmacies.
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# Health care reform
## By country {#by_country}
### The Netherlands {#the_netherlands}
The Netherlands has introduced a new system of health care insurance based on risk equalization through a risk equalization pool. In this way, a compulsory insurance package is available to all citizens at affordable cost without the need for the insured to be assessed for risk by the insurance company. Furthermore, health insurers are now willing to take on high risk individuals because they receive compensation for the higher risks.
A 2008 article in the journal Health Affairs suggested that the Dutch health system, which combines mandatory universal coverage with competing private health plans, could serve as a model for reform in the US.
### Russia
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia embarked on a series of reforms intending to deliver better healthcare by compulsory medical insurance with privately owned providers in addition to the state run institutions. According to the OECD none of 1991-93 reforms worked out as planned and the reforms had in many respects made the system worse. Russia has more physicians, hospitals, and healthcare workers than almost any other country in the world on a per capita basis, but since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the health of the Russian population has declined considerably as a result of social, economic, and lifestyle changes. However, after Putin became president in 2000 there was significant growth in spending for public healthcare and in 2006 it exceed the pre-1991 level in real terms. Also life expectancy increased from 1991 to 1993 levels, infant mortality rate dropped from 18.1 in 1995 to 8.4 in 2008. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a large-scale health care reform in 2011 and pledged to allocate more than 300 billion rubles (\$10 billion) in the next few years to improve health care in the country.
### Taiwan
Taiwan changed its healthcare system in 1995 to a National Health Insurance model similar to the US Medicare system for seniors. As a result, the 40% of Taiwanese people who had previously been uninsured are now covered. It is said to deliver universal coverage with free choice of doctors and hospitals and no waiting lists. Polls in 2005 are reported to have shown that 72.5% of Taiwanese are happy with the system, and when they are unhappy, it\'s with the cost of premiums (equivalent to less than US\$20 a month).
Employers and the self-employed are legally bound to pay National Health Insurance (NHI) premiums which are similar to social security contributions in other countries. However, the NHI is a pay-as-you-go system. The aim is for the premium income to pay costs. The system is also subsidized by a tobacco tax surcharge and contributions from the national lottery
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# Henry Mayhew
**Henry Mayhew** (25 November 1812 -- 25 July 1887) was an English journalist, playwright, and advocate of reform. He was one of the co-founders of the satirical magazine *Punch* in 1841, and was the magazine\'s joint editor, with Mark Lemon, in its early days. He is also known for his work as a social researcher, publishing an extensive series of newspaper articles in the *Morning Chronicle* that was later compiled into the three-volume book *London Labour and the London Poor* (1851), a groundbreaking and influential survey of the city\'s poor.
## Biography
### Early life {#early_life}
He was born in London, the thirteenth of 17 children to Joshua Mayhew. He was educated at Westminster School before running away from his studies to the sea. He then served with the East India Company as a midshipman on a ship bound for Calcutta. He returned after several years, in 1829, becoming a trainee lawyer in Wales. He left this career to become a freelance journalist. He contributed to *The Thief*, a readers\' digest, followed quickly by founding a weekly comic journal -- *Figaro in London* (1831--1839). Mayhew reputedly fled his creditors and holed up at the Erwood Inn, a small public house in the village of Erwood, south of Builth Wells in Wales.
### Paris and writing {#paris_and_writing}
In 1835, Mayhew found himself in a state of debt and, along with a fellow writer, escaped to Paris to avoid his creditors. He spent his time writing and in the company of other writers including William Thackeray and Douglas Jerrold. Mayhew spent over 10 years in Paris, returning to England in the 1850s, whereupon he was involved in several literary adventures, mostly the writing of plays. Two of his plays -- *The* *Wandering Minstrel* (1834) and *But, However* (1842) -- were successful, whilst his early work *Figaro in London* was less successful.
### *Punch* magazine {#punch_magazine}
On 17 July 1841, Mayhew cofounded *Punch*magazine. At its founding, the magazine was jointly edited by Mayhew and Mark Lemon. The two men hired a group of writers and illustrators to aid them. These included Douglas Jerrold, Angus Reach, John Leech, Richard Doyle, and Shirley Brooks. Initially, the magazine was subtitled *The London Charivari*, referencing the satirical humour magazine published in France under the title *Le Charivari* (a work Mayhew read often whilst in Paris). Reflecting their satirical and humorous intent, the two editors took for their name and masthead the anarchic glove puppet Mr. Punch.
*Punch* was an unexpected success, selling about 6,000 copies a week in the early years. However, sales of as many as 10,000 issues a week were required to cover all costs of the magazine. In December 1842, the magazine was sold to Bradbury and Evans; Mayhew resigned as joint editor, and he continued at the magazine as \"suggestor in chief\" with Mark Lemon reappointed as editor. Mayhew eventually severed his connection with the magazine, writing his last article in February 1845. His brother Horace stayed on the board of Punch until his own death.
The *Punch* years gave Mayhew the opportunity to meet talented illustrators whom he later employed to work from daguerreotypes on *London Labour and the London Poor*. Following *Punch*, Mayhew launched *Iron Times*, a railway magazine. However, this venture lost Mayhew so much money that he was forced to appear in a court of bankruptcy in 1846.
### Formative work {#formative_work}
In 1842, Mayhew contributed to the pioneering *Illustrated London News*. By this time, he had become reasonably secure financially, had settled his debts, and married Jane Jerrold, the daughter of his friend Douglas Jerrold. She lived until 1880.
#### *London Labour and the London Poor* {#london_labour_and_the_london_poor}
The articles comprising *London Labour and the London Poor* were initially collected into three volumes in 1851; the 1861 edition included a fourth volume, co-written with Bracebridge Hemyng, John Binny, and Andrew Halliday, on the lives of prostitutes, thieves, and beggars. This extra volume took a more general and statistical approach to its subject than volumes one to three.
Mayhew wrote in volume one: \"I shall consider the whole of the metropolitan poor under three separate phases, according as they *will* work, they *can\'t* work, and they *won\'t* work\". He interviewed everyone -- beggars, street-entertainers (such as Punch and Judy men), market traders, prostitutes, labourers, sweatshop workers, even down to the \"mudlarks\" who searched the stinking mud on the banks of the River Thames for wood, metal, rope, and coal from passing ships, and the \"pure-finders\" who gathered dog faeces to sell to tanners. He described their clothes, how and where they lived, their entertainments and customs, and made detailed estimates of the numbers and incomes of those practising each trade. The books show how marginal and precarious many people\'s lives were, in what, at that time, was the richest city in the world.
Mayhew\'s richly detailed descriptions give an impression of what the street markets of his day were like. An example from volume one:
Some of the London street traders did not like the way Mayhew wrote about them. In spring/summer 1851, they established a Street Trader\'s Protection Association to guard themselves against the journalist.
## Family
Mayhew was the grandfather of Audrey Mayhew Allen (b. 1870), an author of a number of children\'s stories published in various periodicals, and of *Gladys in Grammarland*, an imitation of Lewis Carroll\'s *Wonderland* books.
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# Henry Mayhew
## Influence
Mayhew\'s work was embraced by and was an influence on the Christian Socialists, such as Thomas Hughes, Charles Kingsley, and F. D. Maurice. Radicals also published sizeable excerpts from the reports in the *Northern Star*, the *Red Republican*, and other newspapers. The often sympathetic investigations, with their immediacy and unswerving eye for detail, offered unprecedented insights into the condition of the Victorian poor. Alongside the earlier work of Edwin Chadwick, they are also speculated as a decisive influence on the thinking of Charles Dickens
Mayhew\'s work inspired the script of director Christine Edzard\'s 1990 film *The Fool*. Mayhew has appeared as a character in television and radio histories of Victorian London; he was played by Timothy West in the documentary *London* (2004), and David Haig in the Afternoon Play *A Chaos of Wealth and Want* (2010). In the 2012 novel *Dodger* by Terry Pratchett, Mayhew and his wife appear as fictionalised versions of themselves, and he is mentioned in the dedication.
## Publications, plays and public speeches: a select list {#publications_plays_and_public_speeches_a_select_list}
Although Mayhew is most remembered for his works of non-fiction, he also authored many plays, farces, novels, public speeches (many of which have been transcribed and subsequently published) alongside his numerous works of non-fiction and newspaper articles.
- 1831 Figaro in London \[co-founder and editor, weekly, radical paper\]
- 1832 *The Thief* \[periodical\]
- 1834: *The Wandering Minstrel: A Farce in One Act* (farce first performed at the Fitzroy Royal Theatre, 16 January 1834)
- 1838 But, however: A Farce in One Act \[play by Henry Mayhew and Henry Bayliss\]
- 1841-1842: Punch (satirical magazine, co-founded with Mark Lemon, Ebenezer Landells and possibly others)
- 1844: *The Comic Almanack*, vol 2, 1844 \[co-authored with William Makepeace Thackery, Gilbert Abbott A' Beckett, Horace Mayhew (brother) and Albert Smith\]
- 1847: *The Greatest Plague of Life: or, the Adventures of a Lady in Search of a Good Servant,* Carey and Hart, London, \[satirical novel, co-authored with Augustus Mayhew (brother)\]
- 1849-1850: *Survey of Labour and the Poor* - series of 82 letters, surveying the conditions of the nation\'s labouring population as published in the Morning Chronicle in 1849-1850
- 1851: *London Labour and the London Poor*, 2 volumes, 1851, 1862 (reprinted 1865) \[book, based on the Morning Chronicle articles\]
- 1851 *The Adventures of Mr. and Mrs
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# Histogram
`{{Hatnote|For the histogram used in digital image processing, see [[Image histogram]] and [[Color histogram]].}}`{=mediawiki}
A **histogram** is a visual representation of the distribution of quantitative data. To construct a histogram, the first step is to \"bin\" (or \"bucket\") the range of values--- divide the entire range of values into a series of intervals---and then count how many values fall into each interval. The bins are usually specified as consecutive, non-overlapping intervals of a variable. The bins (intervals) are adjacent and are typically (but not required to be) of equal size.
Histograms give a rough sense of the density of the underlying distribution of the data, and often for density estimation: estimating the probability density function of the underlying variable. The total area of a histogram used for probability density is always normalized to 1. If the length of the intervals on the *x*-axis are all 1, then a histogram is identical to a relative frequency plot.
Histograms are sometimes confused with bar charts. In a histogram, each bin is for a different range of values, so altogether the histogram illustrates the distribution of values. But in a bar chart, each bar is for a different category of observations (e.g., each bar might be for a different population), so altogether the bar chart can be used to compare different categories. Some authors recommend that bar charts always have gaps between the bars to clarify that they are not histograms.
## Etymology
The term \"histogram\" was first introduced by Karl Pearson, the founder of mathematical statistics, in lectures delivered in 1892 at University College London. Pearson\'s term is sometimes incorrectly said to combine the Greek root *γραμμα* (gramma) = \"figure\" or \"drawing\" with the root *ἱστορία* (historia) = \"inquiry\" or \"history\". Alternatively the root *ἱστίον* (histion) is also proposed, meaning \"web\" or \"tissue\" (as in histology, the study of biological tissue). Both of these etymologies are incorrect, and in fact Pearson, who knew Ancient Greek well, derived the term from a different if homophonous Greek root, *ἱστός* = \"something set upright\", \"mast\", referring to the vertical bars in the graph. Pearson\'s new term was embedded in a series of other analogous neologisms, such as \"stigmogram\" and \"radiogram\".
Pearson himself noted in 1895 that although the term \"histogram\" was new, the type of graph it designates was \"a common form of graphical representation\". In fact the technique of using a bar graph to represent statistical measurements was devised by the Scottish economist, William Playfair, in his *Commercial and political atlas* (1786).
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# Histogram
## Examples
This is the data for the histogram to the right, using 500 items:
Bin/Interval Count/Frequency
--------------- -----------------
−3.5 to −2.51 9
−2.5 to −1.51 32
−1.5 to −0.51 109
−0.5 to 0.49 180
0.5 to 1.49 132
1.5 to 2.49 34
2.5 to 3.49 4
The words used to describe the patterns in a histogram are: \"symmetric\", \"skewed left\" or \"right\", \"unimodal\", \"bimodal\" or \"multimodal\".
Symmetric-histogram.png\|Symmetric, unimodal Skewed-right.png\|Skewed right Skewed-left.png\|Skewed left Bimodal-histogram.png\|Bimodal Multimodal.png\|Multimodal Symmetric2.png\|Symmetric
It is a good idea to plot the data using several different bin widths to learn more about it. Here is an example on tips given in a restaurant.
Tips-histogram1.png\|Tips using a \$1 bin width, skewed right, unimodal Tips-histogram2.png\|Tips using a 10c bin width, still skewed right, multimodal with modes at \$ and 50c amounts, indicates rounding, also some outliers
The U.S. Census Bureau found that there were 124 million people who work outside of their homes. Using their data on the time occupied by travel to work, the table below shows the absolute number of people who responded with travel times \"at least 30 but less than 35 minutes\" is higher than the numbers for the categories above and below it. This is likely due to people rounding their reported journey time. The problem of reporting values as somewhat arbitrarily rounded numbers is a common phenomenon when collecting data from people.
: {\| class=\"wikitable\" style=\"text-align:center\"
\|+Data by absolute numbers \|- ! Interval !! Width !! Quantity !! Quantity/width \|- \| 0 \|\| 5 \|\| 4180 \|\| 836 \|- \| 5 \|\| 5 \|\| 13687 \|\| 2737 \|- \| 10 \|\| 5 \|\| 18618 \|\| 3723 \|- \| 15 \|\| 5 \|\| 19634 \|\| 3926 \|- \| 20 \|\| 5 \|\| 17981 \|\| 3596 \|- \| 25 \|\| 5 \|\| 7190 \|\| 1438 \|- \| 30 \|\| 5 \|\| 16369 \|\| 3273 \|- \| 35 \|\| 5 \|\| 3212 \|\| 642 \|- \| 40 \|\| 5 \|\| 4122 \|\| 824 \|- \| 45 \|\| 15 \|\| 9200 \|\| 613 \|- \| 60 \|\| 30 \|\| 6461 \|\| 215 \|- \| 90 \|\| 60 \|\| 3435 \|\| 57 \|}
This histogram shows the number of cases per unit interval as the height of each block, so that the area of each block is equal to the number of people in the survey who fall into its category. The area under the curve represents the total number of cases (124 million). This type of histogram shows absolute numbers, with Q in thousands.
: {\| class=\"wikitable\" style=\"text-align:center\"
\|+Data by proportion \|- ! Interval !! Width !! Quantity (Q) !! Q/total/width \|- \| 0 \|\| 5 \|\| 4180 \|\| 0.0067 \|- \| 5 \|\| 5 \|\| 13687 \|\| 0.0221 \|- \| 10 \|\| 5 \|\| 18618 \|\| 0.0300 \|- \| 15 \|\| 5 \|\| 19634 \|\| 0.0316 \|- \| 20 \|\| 5 \|\| 17981 \|\| 0.0290 \|- \| 25 \|\| 5 \|\| 7190 \|\| 0.0116 \|- \| 30 \|\| 5 \|\| 16369 \|\| 0.0264 \|- \| 35 \|\| 5 \|\| 3212 \|\| 0.0052 \|- \| 40 \|\| 5 \|\| 4122 \|\| 0.0066 \|- \| 45 \|\| 15 \|\| 9200 \|\| 0.0049 \|- \| 60 \|\| 30 \|\| 6461 \|\| 0.0017 \|- \| 90 \|\| 60 \|\| 3435 \|\| 0.0005 \|}
This histogram differs from the first only in the vertical scale. The area of each block is the fraction of the total that each category represents, and the total area of all the bars is equal to 1 (the fraction meaning \"all\"). The curve displayed is a simple density estimate. This version shows proportions, and is also known as a unit area histogram.
In other words, a histogram represents a frequency distribution by means of rectangles whose widths represent class intervals and whose areas are proportional to the corresponding frequencies: the height of each is the average frequency density for the interval. The intervals are placed together in order to show that the data represented by the histogram, while exclusive, is also contiguous. (E.g., in a histogram it is possible to have two connecting intervals of 10.5--20.5 and 20.5--33.5, but not two connecting intervals of 10.5--20.5 and 22.5--32.5. Empty intervals are represented as empty and not skipped.)
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# Histogram
## Mathematical definitions {#mathematical_definitions}
The data used to construct a histogram are generated via a function *m*~*i*~ that counts the number of observations that fall into each of the disjoint categories (known as *bins*). Thus, if we let *n* be the total number of observations and *k* be the total number of bins, the histogram data *m*~*i*~ meet the following conditions:
: $n = \sum_{i=1}^k{m_i}.$
A histogram can be thought of as a simplistic kernel density estimation, which uses a kernel to smooth frequencies over the bins. This yields a smoother probability density function, which will in general more accurately reflect distribution of the underlying variable. The density estimate could be plotted as an alternative to the histogram, and is usually drawn as a curve rather than a set of boxes. Histograms are nevertheless preferred in applications, when their statistical properties need to be modeled. The correlated variation of a kernel density estimate is very difficult to describe mathematically, while it is simple for a histogram where each bin varies independently.
An alternative to kernel density estimation is the average shifted histogram, which is fast to compute and gives a smooth curve estimate of the density without using kernels.
### Cumulative histogram {#cumulative_histogram}
A cumulative histogram: a mapping that counts the cumulative number of observations in all of the bins up to the specified bin. That is, the cumulative histogram *M*~*i*~ of a histogram *m*~*j*~ can be defined as:
: $M_i = \sum_{j=1}^i{m_j}.$
### Number of bins and width {#number_of_bins_and_width}
There is no \"best\" number of bins, and different bin sizes can reveal different features of the data. Grouping data is at least as old as Graunt\'s work in the 17th century, but no systematic guidelines were given until Sturges\'s work in 1926.
Using wider bins where the density of the underlying data points is low reduces noise due to sampling randomness; using narrower bins where the density is high (so the signal drowns the noise) gives greater precision to the density estimation. Thus varying the bin-width within a histogram can be beneficial. Nonetheless, equal-width bins are widely used.
Some theoreticians have attempted to determine an optimal number of bins, but these methods generally make strong assumptions about the shape of the distribution. Depending on the actual data distribution and the goals of the analysis, different bin widths may be appropriate, so experimentation is usually needed to determine an appropriate width. There are, however, various useful guidelines and rules of thumb.
The number of bins *k* can be assigned directly or can be calculated from a suggested bin width *h* as:
$$k = \left \lceil \frac{\max x - \min x}{h} \right \rceil.$$
The braces indicate the ceiling function.
#### Square-root choice {#square_root_choice}
$$k = \lceil \sqrt{n} \rceil \,$$
which takes the square root of the number of data points in the sample and rounds to the next integer. This rule is suggested by a number of elementary statistics textbooks and widely implemented in many software packages.
#### Sturges\'s formula {#sturgess_formula}
Sturges\'s rule is derived from a binomial distribution and implicitly assumes an approximately normal distribution.
$$k = \lceil \log_2 n \rceil+ 1 , \,$$
Sturges\'s formula implicitly bases bin sizes on the range of the data, and can perform poorly if `{{math|''n'' < 30}}`{=mediawiki}, because the number of bins will be small---less than seven---and unlikely to show trends in the data well. On the other extreme, Sturges\'s formula may overestimate bin width for very large datasets, resulting in oversmoothed histograms. It may also perform poorly if the data are not normally distributed.
When compared to Scott\'s rule and the Terrell-Scott rule, two other widely accepted formulas for histogram bins, the output of Sturges\'s formula is closest when `{{math|''n'' ≈ 100}}`{=mediawiki}.
#### Rice rule {#rice_rule}
$$k = \lceil 2 \sqrt[3]{n}\rceil$$
The Rice rule is presented as a simple alternative to Sturges\'s rule.
#### Doane\'s formula {#doanes_formula}
Doane\'s formula is a modification of Sturges\'s formula which attempts to improve its performance with non-normal data.
$$k = 1 + \log_2( n ) + \log_2 \left( 1 + \frac { |g_1| }{\sigma_{g_1}} \right)$$
where $g_1$ is the estimated 3rd-moment-skewness of the distribution and
$$\sigma_{g_1} = \sqrt { \frac { 6(n-2) }{ (n+1)(n+3) } }$$
#### Scott\'s normal reference rule {#scotts_normal_reference_rule}
Bin width $h$ is given by
$$h = \frac{3.49 \hat \sigma}{\sqrt[3]{n}},$$
where $\hat \sigma$ is the sample standard deviation. Scott\'s normal reference rule is optimal for random samples of normally distributed data, in the sense that it minimizes the integrated mean squared error of the density estimate. This is the default rule used in Microsoft Excel.
#### Terrell--Scott rule {#terrellscott_rule}
$$k = \sqrt[3]{2n}$$
The Terrell--Scott rule is not a normal reference rule. It gives the minimum number of bins required for an asymptotically optimal histogram, where optimality is measured by the integrated mean squared error. The bound is derived by finding the \'smoothest\' possible density, which turns out to be $\frac 3 4 (1-x^2)$. Any other density will require more bins, hence the above estimate is also referred to as the \'oversmoothed\' rule. The similarity of the formulas and the fact that Terrell and Scott were at Rice University when the proposed it suggests that this is also the origin of the Rice rule.
#### Freedman--Diaconis rule {#freedmandiaconis_rule}
The Freedman--Diaconis rule gives bin width $h$ as:
$$h = 2\frac{\operatorname{IQR}(x)}{\sqrt[3]{n}},$$
which is based on the interquartile range, denoted by IQR. It replaces 3.5σ of Scott\'s rule with 2 IQR, which is less sensitive than the standard deviation to outliers in data.
#### Minimizing cross-validation estimated squared error {#minimizing_cross_validation_estimated_squared_error}
This approach of minimizing integrated mean squared error from Scott\'s rule can be generalized beyond normal distributions, by using leave-one out cross validation:
$$\underset{h}{\operatorname{arg\,min}} \hat{J}(h) = \underset{h}{\operatorname{arg\,min}} \left( \frac{2}{(n-1)h} - \frac{n+1}{n^2(n-1)h} \sum_k N_k^2 \right)$$
Here, $N_k$ is the number of datapoints in the *k*th bin, and choosing the value of *h* that minimizes *J* will minimize integrated mean squared error.
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# Histogram
## Mathematical definitions {#mathematical_definitions}
### Number of bins and width {#number_of_bins_and_width}
#### Shimazaki and Shinomoto\'s choice {#shimazaki_and_shinomotos_choice}
The choice is based on minimization of an estimated *L*^2^ risk function
$$\underset{h}{\operatorname{arg\,min}} \frac{ 2 \bar{m} - v } {h^2}$$
where $\textstyle \bar{m}$ and $\textstyle v$ are mean and biased variance of a histogram with bin-width $\textstyle h$, $\textstyle \bar{m}=\frac{1}{k} \sum_{i=1}^{k} m_i$ and $\textstyle v= \frac{1}{k} \sum_{i=1}^{k} (m_i - \bar{m})^2$.
#### Variable bin widths {#variable_bin_widths}
Rather than choosing evenly spaced bins, for some applications it is preferable to vary the bin width. This avoids bins with low counts. A common case is to choose *equiprobable bins*, where the number of samples in each bin is expected to be approximately equal. The bins may be chosen according to some known distribution or may be chosen based on the data so that each bin has $\approx n/k$ samples. When plotting the histogram, the *frequency density* is used for the dependent axis. While all bins have approximately equal area, the heights of the histogram approximate the density distribution.
For equiprobable bins, the following rule for the number of bins is suggested:
$$k = 2 n^{2/5}$$
This choice of bins is motivated by maximizing the power of a Pearson chi-squared test testing whether the bins do contain equal numbers of samples. More specifically, for a given confidence interval $\alpha$ it is recommended to choose between 1/2 and 1 times the following equation:
$$k = 4 \left( \frac{2 n^2}{\Phi^{-1}(\alpha)} \right)^\frac{1}{5}$$
Where $\Phi^{-1}$ is the probit function. Following this rule for $\alpha = 0.05$ would give between $1.88n^{2/5}$ and $3.77n^{2/5}$; the coefficient of 2 is chosen as an easy-to-remember value from this broad optimum.
#### Remark
A good reason why the number of bins should be proportional to $\sqrt[3]{n}$ is the following: suppose that the data are obtained as $n$ independent realizations of a bounded probability distribution with smooth density. Then the histogram remains equally \"rugged\" as $n$ tends to infinity. If $s$ is the \"width\" of the distribution (e. g., the standard deviation or the inter-quartile range), then the number of units in a bin (the frequency) is of order $n h/s$ and the *relative* standard error is of order $\sqrt{s/(n h)}$. Compared to the next bin, the relative change of the frequency is of order $h/s$ provided that the derivative of the density is non-zero. These two are of the same order if $h$ is of order $s/\sqrt[3]{n}$, so that $k$ is of order $\sqrt[3]{n}$. This simple cubic root choice can also be applied to bins with non-constant widths.
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# Histogram
## Applications
- In hydrology the histogram and estimated density function of rainfall and river discharge data, analysed with a probability distribution, are used to gain insight in their behaviour and frequency of occurrence. An example is shown in the blue figure.
- In many Digital image processing programs there is an histogram tool, which show you the distribution of the contrast / brightness of the pixels
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# Human anatomy
**Human anatomy** (gr. ἀνατομία, \"dissection\", from ἀνά, \"up\", and τέμνειν, \"cut\") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy (also called macroscopic anatomy, topographical anatomy, regional anatomy, or anthropotomy) is the study of anatomical structures that can be seen by the naked eye. Microscopic anatomy is the study of minute anatomical structures assisted with microscopes, which includes histology (the study of the organization of tissues), and cytology (the study of cells). Anatomy, human physiology (the study of function), and biochemistry (the study of the chemistry of living structures) are complementary basic medical sciences that are generally together (or in tandem) to students studying medical sciences.
In some of its facets human anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology, through common roots in evolution; for example, much of the human body maintains the ancient segmental pattern that is present in all vertebrates with basic units being repeated, which is particularly obvious in the vertebral column and in the ribcage, and can be traced from very early embryos.
The human body consists of biological systems, that consist of organs, that consist of tissues, that consist of cells and connective tissue.
The history of anatomy has been characterized, over a long period of time, by a continually developing understanding of the functions of organs and structures of the body. Methods have also advanced dramatically, advancing from examination of animals through dissection of fresh and preserved cadavers (corpses) to technologically complex techniques developed in the 20th century.
## Study
Generally, physicians, dentists, physiotherapists, nurses, paramedics, radiographers, and students of certain biological sciences, learn gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy from anatomical models, skeletons, textbooks, diagrams, photographs, lectures, and tutorials. The study of microscopic anatomy (or histology) can be aided by practical experience examining histological preparations (or slides) under a microscope; and in addition, medical and dental students generally also learn anatomy with practical experience of dissection and inspection of cadavers (dead human bodies). A thorough working knowledge of anatomy is required for all medical doctors, especially surgeons, and doctors working in some diagnostic specialities, such as histopathology and radiology.
Human anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry are basic medical sciences, which are generally taught to medical students in their first year at medical school. Human anatomy can be taught regionally or systemically; that is, respectively, studying anatomy by bodily regions such as the head and chest, or studying by specific systems, such as the nervous or respiratory systems. The major anatomy textbook, *Gray\'s Anatomy*, has recently been reorganized from a systems format to a regional format, which is in line with the modern teaching.
## Anatomy in visual arts {#anatomy_in_visual_arts}
Gross anatomy has become a key part of visual arts. Basic concepts of how muscles and bones function and deform with movement is key to drawing, painting or animating a human figure. Many books such as *Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form*, are written as a guide to drawing the human body anatomically correctly. Leonardo da Vinci sought to improve his art through a better understanding of human anatomy. In the process he advanced both human anatomy and its representation in art.
Because the structure of a living organism is complex, anatomy is organized by levels, from the smallest components of cells to the largest organs and their relationship to other organs.
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# Human anatomy
## Approaches
### Regional groups {#regional_groups}
- Head and neck -- includes everything above the thoracic inlet
- Upper limb -- includes the hand, wrist, forearm, elbow, arm, shoulder
- Thorax -- the region of the chest from the thoracic inlet to the thoracic diaphragm
- Human abdomen to the pelvic brim or to the pelvic inlet
- The back -- the spine and its components, the vertebrae, sacrum, coccyx, intervertebral disks
- Pelvis and perineum -- the pelvis consists of everything from the pelvic inlet to the pelvic diaphragm; the perineum is the region between the sex organs and the anus
- Lower limb -- everything below the inguinal ligament, including the hip, the thigh, the knee, the leg, the ankle, the foot
### Internal organs (by region) {#internal_organs_by_region}
**Head and neck**
- Brain
- Basal ganglia
- Brain stem
- Medulla
- Midbrain
- Pons
- Cerebellum
- Cerebrum
- Cerebral cortex
- Hypothalamus
- Limbic system
- Amygdala
```{=html}
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```
- Eyes (2)
- Pineal gland
- Pituitary gland
- Thyroid gland
- Parathyroid glands (4)
**Thorax**
- Heart
- Lungs (2)
- Esophagus
- Thymus gland
- Pleura
**Abdomen and pelvis (both sexes)**
- Adrenal glands (2)
- Appendix
- Bladder
- Gallbladder
- Large intestine
- Small intestine
- Kidneys (2)
- Liver
- Pancreas -- gland
- Spleen
- Stomach
**Male pelvis**
- Prostate gland
- Testes -- glands (2)
**Female pelvis**
- Ovaries -- glands (2)
- Uterus
### Major organ systems {#major_organ_systems}
- Circulatory system: pumping and channeling blood to and from the body and lungs with heart, blood, blood vessels
- Digestive system: digestion and processing food with salivary glands, esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, intestines, rectum, anus
- Endocrine system: communication within the body using hormones made by endocrine glands such as the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, pineal gland, thyroid, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands
- Immune system: the system that fights off disease; composed of leukocytes, tonsils, adenoids, thymus, spleen
- Integumentary system: skin, hair, nails
- Lymphatic system: structures involved in the transfer of lymph between tissues and the blood stream, the lymph and the nodes and vessels that transport it
- Musculoskeletal system: muscles provide movement and a skeleton provides structural support and protection with bones, cartilage, ligaments, tendons
- Nervous system: collecting, transferring and processing information with brain, spinal cord, nerves
- Reproductive system: the sex organs; in the female; ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, mammary glands, and in the male; testicles, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate, penis
- Respiratory system: the organs used for breathing, the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs, diaphragm
- Urinary system: kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra involved in fluid balance, electrolyte balance, and excretion of urine
### Surface anatomy {#surface_anatomy}
Surface anatomy, or superficial anatomy, is the study of anatomical landmarks that can be identified readily from the contours or other reference points on the surface of the body. It is important in human anatomy: with knowledge of superficial anatomy, physicians gauge the position and anatomy of deeper structures.
Common names of parts of the human body, from top to bottom:
- Head -- face -- forehead -- jaw -- cheek -- chin
- Neck -- shoulder
- Arm -- elbow -- wrist -- hand -- finger -- thumb
- Spine -- chest
- Abdomen -- groin
- Hip -- buttocks -- leg -- thigh -- knee -- calf -- ankle -- foot -- heel -- toe
- Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, throat, Adam\'s apple, breasts, penis, scrotum, vulva, and navel are also superficial structures
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# Hilter
}} `{{More citations needed|date=June 2009}}`{=mediawiki} `{{pp|small=yes}}`{=mediawiki} `{{Infobox German place
| image_coa = DEU Hilter aTW COA.svg
| image_photo = Hilter, stadhuis 2008-07-15 14.11.JPG
| image_caption = Town hall
| coordinates = {{coord|52|9|N|8|9|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| image_plan = Hilter am Teutoburger Wald in OS.svg
| state = Niedersachsen
| district = Osnabrück
| elevation = 198
| area = 52.6
| postal_code = 49176
| area_code = 05424, 05409
| licence = OS
| Gemeindeschlüssel = 03 4 59 022
| divisions = 8
| website = [http://www.hilter.de/ www.hilter.de]
| mayor = Marc Schewski<ref name="mayor">{{cite web|url=https://www.statistik.niedersachsen.de/download/169156|title=Verzeichnis der direkt gewählten Bürgermeister/-innen und Landräte/Landrätinnen|date=April 2021|publisher=[[Landesamt für Statistik Niedersachsen]]}}</ref>
| leader_term = 2020–25
| party = CDU
}}`{=mediawiki}
**Hilter** is a municipality in the district Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, Germany, in the hills of the Teutoburg Forest. As of 2020 it has a population of 10,429, and covers an area of 52.61 km^2^. Its highest elevation is the Hohnangel, 262 metres above sea level.
## History
The municipality was united on July 14, 1972, by merging the municipalities Borgloh, Hankenberge and Hilter. Already in 1977 the municipalities Allendorf, Borgloh-Wellendorf, Ebbendorf, Eppendorf and Uphöfen were joined into the *Einheitsgemeinde* Borgloh.
## Industry
Hilter was well known for mining *Hilter Gold* ochre as well as its big margarine factory which owned one of the largest whaling fleets in the early 20th century.
<File:Hilter> am Teutoburger Wald, die evangelisch-lutherische Kirche Sankt Johannes der Täufer IMG 6824 2020-07-31 12.12
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# Holiday
A **holiday** is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. *Public holidays* are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often also observed as public holidays in religious majority countries. Some religious holidays, such as Christmas, have become secularised by part or all of those who observe them. In addition to secularisation, many holidays have become commercialised due to the growth of industry.
Holidays can be thematic, celebrating or commemorating particular groups, events, or ideas, or non-thematic, days of rest that do not have any particular meaning. In Commonwealth English, the term can refer to any period of rest from work, such as vacations or school holidays. In American English, \"the holidays\" typically refers to the period from Thanksgiving to New Year\'s (late November to January 1), which contains many important holidays in American culture.
## Terminology
The word *holiday* comes from the Old English word *hāligdæg* (*hālig* \"holy\" + *dæg* \"day\"). The word originally referred only to special religious days.
The word *holiday* has differing connotations in different regions. In the United States, the word is used exclusively to refer to the nationally, religiously, or culturally observed day(s) of rest or celebration or the events themselves, whereas in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations, the word may refer to the period of time where leave from one\'s duties has been agreed upon and is used as a synonym for the US preferred *vacation*. This time is usually set aside for rest, travel, or participation in recreational activities, with entire industries targeted to coincide with or enhance these experiences. The days of leave may not coincide with any specific customs or laws. Employers and educational institutes may designate \'holidays\' themselves, which may or may not overlap nationally or culturally relevant dates, which again comes under this connotation, but it is the first implication detailed that this article is concerned with. Modern use varies geographically. In North America, it means any dedicated day or period of celebration. In the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, *holiday* is often used instead of the word *vacation*.
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# Holiday
## Global holidays {#global_holidays}
The celebration of the New Year has been a common holiday across cultures for at least four millennia. Such holidays normally celebrate the last day of a year and the arrival of the next year in a calendar system. In modern cultures using the Gregorian calendar, the New Year\'s celebration spans New Year\'s Eve on 31 December and New Year\'s Day on 1 January. However, other calendar systems also have New Year\'s celebration, such as Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tet. New Year\'s Day is the most common public holiday, observed by all countries using the Gregorian calendar except Israel.
Christmas is a popular holiday globally due to the spread of Christianity. The holiday is recognised as a public holiday in many countries in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australasia and is celebrated by over 2 billion people. Although a holiday with religious origins, Christmas is often celebrated by non-Christians as a secular holiday. For example, 61% of British people celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular way. Christmas has also become a tradition in some non-Christian countries. For many Japanese people, it has become customary to buy and eat fried chicken on Christmas.
Recently invented holidays commemorate a range of modern social and political issues and other important topics. The United Nations publishes a list of International Days and Weeks. One such day is International Women\'s Day on 8 March, which celebrates women\'s achievements and campaigns for gender equality and women\'s rights. Earth Day has been celebrated by people across the world since 1970, with 10,000 events in 2007. It is a holiday marking the dangers of environmental damage, such as pollution and the climate crisis.
## Common secular holidays {#common_secular_holidays}
Other secular holidays are observed regionally, nationally and across multi-country regions. The United Nations Calendar of Observances dedicates decades to a specific topic, but also a complete year, month, week and days. Holidays dedicated to an observance such as the commemoration of the ending of World War II, or the Shoah, can also be part of the reparation obligation as per UN General Assembly Resolution 60/147 Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law.
Another example of a major secular holiday is the Lunar New Year, which is celebrated across East Asia and South East Asia. Many other days are marked to celebrate events or people, but are not strictly holidays as time off work is rarely given; examples include Arbor Day, International Worker\'s Day (celebrated sometimes under different names and on different days in different countries), and Earth Day (22 April).
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# Holiday
## Public holidays {#public_holidays}
### Substitute holidays {#substitute_holidays}
If a holiday coincides with another holiday or a weekend day a substitute holiday may be recognised in lieu. In the United Kingdom the government website states that \"If a bank holiday is on a weekend, a \'substitute\' weekday becomes a bank holiday, normally the following Monday.\", and the list of bank holidays for the year 2020 includes Monday 28 December as \"Boxing Day (substitute day)\", as 26 December is a Saturday. The process of moving a holiday from a weekend day to the following Monday is known as **Mondayisation** in New Zealand.
### National days {#national_days}
National days are days of significance to a nation or nation state. National days are typically celebratory of a state\'s independence (e.g. 4 July in the US), founding or unification (e.g. German Unity Day), the commemoration of a revolution (e.g. Bastille Day in France) or liberation (e.g. 9 May in the Channel Islands), or the feast day for a patron saint (e.g. St Patrick\'s Day in Ireland) or ruler (e.g. 5 December in Thailand). Belgium\'s national day, on the 21st of July, commemorates the oath of office of the first King of the Belgians (an uncle of the then-future Queen Victoria), i.e., so to say, the day Belgium became a kingdom by ending the initial interregnum. Every country other than Denmark and the United Kingdom observes a national day. In the UK, constituent countries have official or unofficial national days associated with their patron saint. A British national day has often been proposed, such as the date of the Acts of Union 1707 (1 May) or the King\'s Official Birthday, but never adopted.
Other days of national importance exist, such as one to celebrate the country\'s military or veterans. For example, Armistice Day (11 November) is recognised in World War I Allied nations (and across the Commonwealth) to memoralise those lost in the World Wars. National leaders will typically attend remembrance ceremonies at national memorial sites. Maybe surprisingly, World War II Armistice Day (and victory against Nazism) day, on 8 May, is much less celebrated.
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# Holiday
## Religious holidays {#religious_holidays}
Many holidays are linked to faiths and religions (see etymology above). Christian holidays are defined as part of the liturgical year, the chief ones being Easter and Christmas. The Orthodox Christian and Western-Roman Catholic patronal feast day or \"name day\" is celebrated on each place\'s patron saint\'s day, according to the calendar of saints. Jehovah\'s Witnesses annually commemorate \"The Memorial of Jesus Christ\'s Death\", but do not celebrate other holidays with any religious significance such as Easter, Christmas or New Year. This holds especially true for those holidays that have combined and absorbed rituals, overtones or practices from non-Christian beliefs into the celebration, as well as those holidays that distract from or replace the worship of Jehovah. In Islam, the largest holidays are Eid al-Fitr (after Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha (at the end of the Hajj). Ahmadi Muslims additionally celebrate Promised Messiah Day, Promised Reformer Day, and Khilafat Day, but contrary to popular belief, neither are regarded as holidays. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs observe several holidays, one of the largest being Diwali (Festival of Light). Japanese holidays as well as few Catholic holidays contain heavy references to several different faiths and beliefs. Celtic, Norse, and Neopagan holidays follow the order of the Wheel of the Year. For example, Christmas ideas like decorating trees and colors (green, red, and white) have very similar ideas to modern Wicca (a modern Pagan belief) Yule which is a lesser Sabbat of the wheel of the year. Some are closely linked to Swedish festivities. The Baháʼí Faith observes 11 annual holidays on dates determined using the Baháʼí calendar. Jews have two holiday seasons: the Spring Feasts of Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Weeks, called Pentecost in Greek); and the Fall Feasts of Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Tabernacles), and Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly).
### Secularisation
Some religious holidays are also celebrated by many as secular holidays. For example, 61% of Brits celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular way. 81% of non-Christian Americans also celebrate Christmas. A 2019 Gallup poll found that two-thirds of Americans still celebrate an at least somewhat religious Christmas.
The claimed over-secularisation of particular holidays has caused controversy and claims of censorship of religion or political correctness. For example, in the 1990s, Birmingham City Council promoted a series of events in the Christmas season under the brand Winterval to create a more multi-cultural atmosphere about the seasonal festivities. The Bishop of Birmingham responded to the events, saying \"the secular world, which expresses respect for all, is actually embarrassed by faith. Or perhaps it is Christianity which is censored\". In the United States, conservative commentators have characterised the secularisation of Winter festivities as \"the War on Christmas\".
## Unofficial holidays {#unofficial_holidays}
These are holidays that are not traditionally marked on calendars. These holidays are celebrated by various groups and individuals. Some promote a cause, others recognize historical events not officially recognized, and others are \"funny\" holidays celebrated with humorous intent. For example, Monkey Day is celebrated on December 14, International Talk Like a Pirate Day is observed on September 19, and Blasphemy Day is held on September 30. Other examples are April Fools\' Day on April 1 and World No Tobacco Day on May 31. Various community organizers and marketers promote odd social media holidays.
## Commercialism
In the United States, holidays have been drawn into a culture of consumption since the late 19th century. Many civic, religious and folk festivals have been commercialised. As such, traditions have been reshaped to serve the needs of industry. Leigh Eric Schmidt argues that the growth of consumption culture allowed the growth of holidays as an opportunity for increased public consumption and the orderly timing of it. Thus, after the Civil War, as department stores became the spatial expression of commercialism, holidays became the temporal expression of it
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# Harold and Maude
***Harold and Maude*** is a 1971 American romantic black comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chasen (Bud Cort), a young man who is intrigued with death, and who rejects the life his detached mother (Vivian Pickles) prescribes for him. Harold develops a friendship, and eventual romantic relationship, with 79-year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon) who teaches Harold about the importance of living life to its fullest.
The screenplay by Colin Higgins began as his master\'s thesis for film school. Filming took place in and around San Francisco and San Mateo, California, with locations including both Holy Cross Cemetery and Golden Gate National Cemetery, the ruins of the Sutro Baths, Mori Point, and Rosecourt Mansion in Hillsborough, California.
Critically and commercially unsuccessful when first released, the film eventually developed a cult following, and first made a profit in 1983. The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997, and was ranked number 45 on the American Film Institute list of 100 funniest films of all time in 2000. The Criterion Collection released a special-edition Blu-ray and DVD in 2012.
## Plot
Harold Chasen is a young man obsessed with death. He stages elaborate fake suicides, attends funerals (usually for people that he does not know), and drives a hearse, all to the chagrin of his self-obsessed, wealthy socialite mother. His mother sends Harold to a psychoanalyst, sets him up with blind dates, and buys him a luxury car, all schemes he subverts in his own way.
Harold meets 79-year-old Maude one day while at a random stranger\'s funeral Mass, and discovers that they share a hobby. Harold is entranced by Maude\'s quirky outlook on life, which is bright and delightfully carefree in contrast to his morbid demeanor. Maude lives in a decommissioned railroad car and thinks nothing of breaking the law; she is quite skilled at stealing cars and will swiftly uproot an ailing tree in a city sidewalk to replant it in the forest. She and Harold form a bond and Maude shows Harold the pleasures of art and music (including how to play the banjo), and teaches him how to make \"the most of his time on earth.\"
Meanwhile, Harold\'s mother is determined, against Harold\'s wishes, to find him a wife. One by one, Harold frightens and horrifies each of his appointed computer dates, by appearing to commit gruesome acts, including self-immolation, self-mutilation, and *seppuku*. His mother attempts to enlist him in the military by sending Harold to his uncle, who lost an arm serving under General MacArthur in World War II, but Harold deters the recruitment by staging a scene where Maude poses as a pacifist protester and Harold seemingly murders her out of militarist fanaticism.
As Harold and Maude grow closer, their friendship blossoms into a romance. Holding her hand, Harold discovers a number tattooed on her forearm, indicating Maude survived the Nazi death camps. Harold announces that he will marry Maude, resulting in disgusted outbursts from his family, analyst, and priest. Unbeknownst to Harold, Maude has been planning to end her own life on her 80th birthday. (Although she had actually mentioned her plan twice, early on.) Maude\'s birthday arrives, and Harold throws a surprise party for her. As the pair dance, Maude tells Harold that she \"couldn\'t imagine a lovelier farewell.\" When Maude reveals that she has taken an overdose of sleeping pills and will be dead by midnight, Harold rushes Maude to the hospital. However, she succumbs to the pill overdose. Devastated after learning of Maude\'s death, Harold speeds down a country road and sends his car off a seaside cliff, appearing to have died by suicide. Following the crash, Harold is revealed to be standing calmly atop the cliff, holding his banjo. After gazing down at the wreckage, he plucks the banjo strings and dances away to \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\".
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# Harold and Maude
## Cast
- Ruth Gordon as Dame Marjorie \"Maude\" Chardin, a 79-year-old free spirit. Maude believes in living each day to the fullest, and \"trying something new every day\". Her view of life is so joyful that, true to the film\'s motif, it crosses a blurred, shifting line into a carefree attitude toward death as well. Little is known of her past, though it is revealed that in her youth, she was a radical suffragette who fought off police constables with her umbrella, was once married, lived in pre-war Vienna, and has a Nazi concentration camp tattoo on her arm.
- Bud Cort as Harold Parker Chasen, a young man who is obsessed with death. He drives a hearse, attends funerals of strangers and stages elaborate fake suicides. Through meeting and falling in love with Maude, he discovers joy in living for the first time.
- Vivian Pickles as Mrs. Chasen, Harold\'s opulently wealthy mother, is controlling, snooty and seemingly incapable of affection. Hoping to force him into respectability, Mrs. Chasen replaces Harold\'s beloved hearse with a Jaguar (which he then converts to a miniature hearse), and sets up several blind dates (more accurately, \"bride interviews\") for her son.
- Cyril Cusack as Glaucus, the sculptor who makes an ice statue of Maude and lends them his tools to transport a tree
- Charles Tyner as General Victor Ball, Harold\'s uncle who lost an arm in the war and now pulls a hidden cord to make his wire prosthetic \"salute\". At Mrs. Chasen\'s request, he attempts to prepare Harold to join the armed forces. The effort is thwarted by a planned stunt in which Harold appears to \"kill\" Maude.
- Ellen Geer as Sunshine Doré, Harold\'s third blind date who performs an impromptu rendition of Juliet\'s death scene after his mock suicide
- Eric Christmas as the priest
- G. Wood as Harold\'s psychiatrist
- Judy Engles as Candy Gulf, Harold\'s first blind date, alarmed when he apparently sets himself on fire
- Shari Summers as Edith Phern, Harold\'s second blind date, astonished when he apparently cuts off his own hand
- Tom Skerritt (credited as \"M. Borman\") as the motorcycle officer who twice stops Maude and Harold, ultimately losing his ride to the pair.
Director Hal Ashby appears in an uncredited cameo, seen at a penny arcade watching a model train at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
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# Harold and Maude
## Production
UCLA film school student Colin Higgins wrote *Harold and Maude* as his master\'s thesis. While working as producer Edward Lewis\'s pool boy, Higgins showed the script to Lewis\'s wife, Mildred. Mildred was so impressed that she got Edward to give it to Stanley Jaffe at Paramount. Higgins sold the script with the understanding that he would direct the film, but he was told he was not ready after tests he shot proved unsatisfactory to the studio heads. Ashby said that he would only commit to directing the film after getting Higgins\' blessing, and took Higgins on as a co-producer so he could watch and learn from him on the set. Higgins says he originally thought of the story as a play. It then became a 20-minute thesis while at film school. The film script was turned into a novel and then a play, which ran for several years in Paris.
Ashby felt that the actress portraying Maude should ideally be European and his list of possible actresses included Peggy Ashcroft, Edith Evans, Gladys Cooper, and Celia Johnson, as well as Lotte Lenya, Luise Rainer, Pola Negri, Minta Durfee, and Agatha Christie. Ruth Gordon indicated that in addition, she heard that Edwige Feuillère, Elisabeth Bergner, Mildred Natwick, Mildred Dunnock, and Dorothy Stickney had been considered.
For Harold, in addition to Bud Cort, Ashby considered all promising unknowns, Richard Dreyfuss, Bob Balaban, and John Savage. Also on his list were John Rubinstein, for whom Higgins had written the part, and then-up-and-coming British singer Elton John, whom Ashby had seen live and hoped would also do the music. Anne Brebner, the casting director, was almost cast as Harold\'s mother, when Vivian Pickles was briefly unable to do the role.
Principal photography began in late December 1970 and concluded in mid-March 1971. Filming took place in and around San Francisco and San Mateo, California, including locations such as Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma (Harold catches his first glimpse of Maude at a funeral), St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Palo Alto (the church funeral where Harold first meets Maude), Oyster Point Boulevard in South San Francisco (Maude\'s railroad car), an abandoned warehouse at the Southern Pacific Railroad Bayshore Yard in Brisbane (Glaucus\' studio), Half Moon Bay, Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, Redwood City (Maude rescues a street tree to be transplanted to the forest), the Dumbarton Bridge (a motorcycle officer pulls over Harold and Maude on their way to replant the tree), Sutro Heights Park (Harold rides in a limousine and walks with Uncle Victor) and the ruins of the Sutro Baths (Maude poses as a protester and later falls through a hole to her apparent death) in San Francisco, the Emeryville mudflats (Harold discovers Maude\'s concentration camp tattoo), Oakland, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (amusement park), Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame (Maude is hospitalized), and Mori Point in Pacifica (Harold drives his car off a cliff). For the Chasen mansion, scenes were shot at Rosecourt Mansion in Hillsborough, California. According to Ashby, there were some issues securing the location because Otto Preminger had previously filmed in the Hillsborough area and had antagonized the local residents.
## Novelization
A novelization by Higgins was released alongside the film; they differ in several respects, including the film\'s omission of certain scenes and characters. Other different details include the novel\'s version of Maude having white hair (unlike Gordon in the film) and introducing herself as \"the Countess Mathilde Chardin\", a different name and title than used in the film. In the novel, Maude\'s home is characterized as a \"cottage\" (unlike the retired railroad car Maude inhabits in the film), and she and Harold briefly interact with Maude\'s neighbor, Madame Arouet, who is not present in the film. The novel includes an additional scene during the tree-planting expedition where Maude leads Harold in climbing to the top of a very tall pine tree to show him the view over the forest from near its summit.
## Release
*Harold and Maude* was released with a vague, text-only poster and very little marketing. The initial release underperformed at the box office, but it gradually found success in repertory theatres and recouped its costs after several years. Danny Peary, author of the *Cult Movies* series, referred to the film as \"\[o\]ne of the runaway cult favorites of the seventies\" and commented that it \"\[broke\] longevity records in cities like Detroit, Montreal, and most memorably, Minneapolis, where residents actually picketed the Westgate Theater trying to get management to replace the picture after a consecutive three-year run.\"
### Home media {#home_media}
The Criterion Collection released *Harold and Maude* for Region 1 on DVD and Blu-ray on June 12, 2012, including a collection of audio excerpts of Ashby from January 11, 1972, and of screenwriter Colin Higgins from January 10, 1979, a new video interview with Yusuf/Cat Stevens, a new audio commentary by Ashby biographer Nick Dawson and producer Charles B. Mulvehill, and a booklet which includes a new film essay by Matt Zoller Seitz. Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition are a new digital restoration of the film with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack and an optional remastered uncompressed stereo soundtrack. Other exclusives are a *New York Times* profile of Gordon from 1971, an interview from 1997 with Cort and cinematographer John Alonzo, and an interview from 2001 with executive producer Mildred Lewis.
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# Harold and Maude
## Reception
### Critical response {#critical_response}
At the time of its release, *Harold and Maude* received mixed reviews, with several critics being offended by the film\'s dark humor. Roger Ebert gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars. He wrote, \"And so what we get, finally, is a movie of attitudes. Harold is death, Maude life, and they manage to make the two seem so similar that life\'s hardly worth the extra bother. The visual style makes everyone look fresh from the Wax Museum, and all the movie lacks is a lot of day-old gardenias and lilies and roses in the lobby, filling the place with a cloying sweet smell. Nothing more to report today. Harold doesn\'t even make pallbearer.\"
Vincent Canby of *The New York Times* also panned the film, stating that the actors \"are so aggressive, so creepy and off-putting, that Harold and Maude are obviously made for each other, a point the movie itself refuses to recognize with a twist ending that betrays, I think, its life-affirming pretensions.\"
### Retrospective appraisal {#retrospective_appraisal}
The reputation of the film has since increased greatly. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website\'s critics consensus reads, \"Hal Ashby\'s comedy is too dark and twisted for some, and occasionally oversteps its bounds, but there\'s no denying the film\'s warm humor and big heart.\"
In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked the screenplay number 86 on its list of the \"101 Greatest Screenplays\" ever written.
In *Sight & Sound*{{\'s}} 2012 \"Greatest Films of All Time\" poll, Niki Caro, Wanuri Kahiu, and Cyrus Frisch voted for *Harold and Maude*. Frisch commented: \"An encouragement to think beyond the obvious!\"
In 2017, *Chicago Tribune* critic Mark Caro wrote a belated appreciation, \"I\'m sorry, *Harold and Maude*, for denying you for so long. You\'re my favorite movie once again.\"
### Accolades
At the 29th Golden Globe Awards, Cort and Gordon were nominated as Best Actor and Best Actress -- Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, respectively.
The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997, along with others deemed \"culturally, historically or aesthetically significant\" by the Library of Congress.
In September 2008, *Empire* ranked *Harold and Maude* number 65 on their list of the \"500 Greatest Movies of All Time\". *Entertainment Weekly* ranked the film number four on their 2003 list of \"The Top 50 Cult Films\".
#### American Film Institute lists {#american_film_institute_lists}
*Harold and Maude* has repeatedly been ranked among the various lists compiled by the American Film Institute (AFI). In 2000. the film ranked number 45 on AFI\'s 100 Years\...100 Laughs, a list of the top 100 comedies. Two years later, *Harold and Maude* ranked number 69 on AFI\'s 100 Years\...100 Passions, honoring the greatest love stories of the past century. In 2006, the film ranked number 89 on AFI\'s 100 Years\...100 Cheers, recognizing the most inspiring films. In June 2008, AFI revealed its 10 Top 10, the 10 best films in 10 \"classic\" American film genres, placing *Harold and Maude* at number nine in the romantic comedy genre.
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# Harold and Maude
## Music
The music in *Harold and Maude* was composed and performed by Cat Stevens. He had been suggested by Elton John to do the music after John had dropped out of the project. Stevens composed two original songs for the film, \"Don\'t Be Shy\" and \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\" and performed instrumental and alternative versions of the previously released songs \"On the Road to Find Out\", \"I Wish, I Wish\", \"Miles from Nowhere\", \"Tea for the Tillerman\", \"I Think I See the Light\", \"Where Do the Children Play?\" and \"Trouble\" (all from his albums *Mona Bone Jakon* and *Tea for the Tillerman*). \"Don\'t Be Shy\" and \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\" remained unreleased on any album until the 1984 compilation *Footsteps in the Dark: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2*.
Additional music in the film is sourced from well known compositions. \"Greensleeves\" is played on the harp during dinner. The opening bars of Tchaikovsky\'s Piano Concerto No. 1 are heard during the scene of Harold floating face-down in the swimming pool. The Sunnyvale HS Marching Band plays \"The Klaxon\" by Henry Fillmore outside the church following a funeral. A calliope version of the waltz \"Over the Waves\" by Juventino Rosas is played at the amusement park. Harold and Maude waltz together in her home to \"The Blue Danube\" by Johann Strauss II.
The soundtrack album charted at number 173 on the US *Billboard* 200 in July 2021.
### 1972 soundtrack
The first soundtrack was released in Japan in 1972 on vinyl and cassette (A&M Records GP-216). It omitted the two original songs and all instrumental and alternative versions of songs and was generally composed of re-released material that was in the film, along with five songs that were not in the film.
Track listing
- Side one
1. \"Morning Has Broken\" (not in the film)
2. \"Wild World\" (not in the film)
3. \"I Think I See the Light\"
4. \"I Wish, I Wish\"
5. \"Trouble\"
6. \"Father and Son\" (not in the film)
- Side two
1. \"Miles from Nowhere\"
2. \"Lilywhite\" (not in the film)
3. \"Where Do the Children Play?\"
4. \"On the Road to Find Out\"
5. \"Lady D\'Arbanville\" (not in the film)
6. \"Tea for the Tillerman\"
### 2007 soundtrack {#soundtrack_1}
The second soundtrack was released on December 28, 2007, by Vinyl Films Records as a vinyl-only limited-edition release of 2,500 copies. It contained a 30-page oral history of the making of the film, comprising the most extensive series of interviews yet conducted on *Harold and Maude*.
Track listing
- Side one
1. \"Don\'t Be Shy\"
2. \"On the Road to Find Out\"
3. \"I Wish, I Wish\"
4. \"Miles from Nowhere\"
5. \"Tea for the Tillerman\"
6. \"I Think I See the Light\"
- Side two
1. \"Where Do the Children Play?\"
2. \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\"
3. \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\" (banjo version) -- previously unreleased
4. \"Trouble\"
5. \"Don\'t Be Shy\" (alternate version) -- previously unreleased
6. \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\" (instrumental version) -- previously unreleased
- Bonus 7″ single
1. \"Don\'t Be Shy\" (demo version) -- previously unreleased
2. \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\" (alternative version) -- previously unreleased
### 2021 soundtrack {#soundtrack_2}
A Record Store Day limited edition, available in yellow or orange vinyl, was released July 2021. It contained all the main songs from the 2007 album, but omitted the bonus material.
- Side one
1. \"Don\'t Be Shy\"
2. \"On the Road to Find Out\"
3. \"I Wish, I Wish\"
4. \"Miles from Nowhere\"
- Side two
1. \"Tea for the Tillerman\'
2. \"I Think I See the Light\"
3. \"Where Do the Children Play?\"
4. \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\"
5. \"Trouble\"
### 2022 soundtrack {#soundtrack_3}
The full soundtrack album received its first regular wide commercial release on February 11, 2022, to commemorate the film\'s 50th anniversary. The entire album was remastered at Abbey Road Studios. The disc includes previously unheard audio masters discovered in the Island/A&M Records archive for the two original songs Stevens wrote for the film, \"Don\'t Be Shy\" and \"If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out\". While there was an LP, this was also the album\'s first-ever release on CD. The digital release contains eight additional tracks.
- Side one
1. \"Don\'t Be Shy\"
2. Dialogue 1 (I Go to Funerals)
3. \"On the Road to Find Out\"
4. \"I Wish, I Wish\"
5. Tchaikovsky\'s Concerto No.1 in B
6. Dialogue 2 (How Many Suicides)
7. Marching Band / Dialogue 3 (Harold Meets Maude)
8. \"Miles from Nowhere\"
9. \"Tea for the Tillerman\"
- Side two
1. \"I Think I See the Light\"
2. Dialogue 4 (Sunflower)
3. \"Where Do the Children Play?\"
4. \"If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out\" (Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort vocal)
5. Strauss\' Blue Danube
6. Dialogue 5 (Somersaults)
7. \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\"
8. Dialogue 6 (Harold Loves Maude)
9. \"Trouble\"
10. \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out (ending)
- Additional tracks included in digital release:
1. \"Don\'t Be Shy (Demo)\"
2. \"I Wish, I Wish (Studio Demo)\"
3. \"Miles from Nowhere (Demo Version)\"
4. \"I Think I See the Light (Studio Demo)\"
5. \"If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out\" (Demo)
6. \"Trouble (Studio Demo)\"
7. \"You Can Do (Whatever)!\"
8. \"Don\'t Be Shy (No Piano / Alternate Take)\"
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# Harold and Maude
## Adaptations
### Stage play adaptation {#stage_play_adaptation}
Colin Higgins turned the story into a stage play, which, itself adapted into French by Jean-Claude Carrière, opened in 1973 at the Théâtre Récamier in Paris and proved a major hit. With Madeleine Renaud as Maude and Daniel Rivière as Harold, the play was directed by Renaud\'s husband, Jean-Louis Barrault, and costumed by Yves Saint Laurent. Renaud would reprise the role in multiple revivals.
A London production, with Bessie Love mentioned for Maude, was planned for 1978 but didn\'t happen. Two years later, the Broadway production, starring Janet Gaynor as Maude and Keith McDermott as Harold, closed after four performances in February 1980.
The Yugoslav premiere of *Harold i Mod* was staged at the Belgrade Drama Theatre (BDP) on March 23, 1980, directed by Paolo Magelli, with Tatjana Lukjanova (Maude), Milan Erak (Harold), and Žiža Stojanović (Mrs. Chasen). Slobodan Beštić later assumed the role of Harold. The play remained in the BDP repertoire until Lukjanova\'s death in 2003.
In Brazil, the first run of the play premiered in 2007, directed by João Falcão and starring Arlindo Lopes as Harold and Gloria Menezes as Maude. Nivea Maria later assumed the role of Maude.
### French television adaptation {#french_television_adaptation}
A French adaptation for television, translated and written by Jean-Claude Carrière, aired in 1978. It was also adapted for the stage by the Compagnie Viola Léger in Moncton, New Brunswick, starring Roy Dupuis.
### Musical adaptation {#musical_adaptation}
A musical adaptation, with songs by Joseph Thalken and Tom Jones, premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, in January 2005. The production starred Estelle Parsons as Maude and Eric Millegan as Harold.
### Unproduced sequel and prequel {#unproduced_sequel_and_prequel}
Higgins expressed interest in 1978 regarding both a sequel and prequel to *Harold and Maude*: Cort would return for *Harold\'s Story*, living life after Maude. Higgins also imagined the prequel *Grover and Maude*, where Maude learns how to steal cars from Grover Muldoon---the character portrayed by Richard Pryor in Higgins\' 1976 film *Silver Streak*---with Gordon and Pryor reprising their respective roles
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# Habitus (sociology)
In sociology, **habitus** (`{{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|æ|b|ɪ|t|ə|s}}`{=mediawiki}) is the way that people perceive and respond to the social world they inhabit, by way of their personal habits, skills, and disposition of character.
## Overview
People with a common cultural background (social class, religion, and nationality, ethnic group, education, and profession) share a habitus as the way that group culture and personal history shape the mind of a person; consequently, the habitus of a person influences and shapes the social actions of the person.
The sociologist Pierre Bourdieu said that the *habitus* consists of the *hexis*, a person\'s carriage (posture) and speech (accent), and the mental habits of perception, classification, appreciation, feeling, and action. The habitus allows the individual person to consider and resolve problems based upon gut feeling and intuition. This way of living (social attitudes, mannerisms, tastes, morality, etc.) influences the availability of opportunities in life; thus the habitus is structured by the person\'s social class, but also gives structure to the future paths available to the person. Therefore, the reproduction of social structures results from the habitus of the individual persons who compose the given social structure.
The habitus is criticised as being a deterministic concept, because, as *social actors*, people behave as *automata*, in the sense proposed in the Monadology of the philosopher G.W. Leibniz.
## Origins
The concept of the *habitus* was used as early as Aristotle. In contemporary usage it was introduced by Marcel Mauss and later Maurice Merleau-Ponty; however, it was Pierre Bourdieu who used it as a cornerstone of his sociology, and to address the sociological problem of agency and structure.
In Bourdieu\'s work, the habitus is shaped by structural position and generates action. Thus, when people act and demonstrate agency, they simultaneously reflect and reproduce social structure. Bourdieu elaborated his theory of the habitus while borrowing ideas on cognitive and generative schemes from Noam Chomsky and Jean Piaget regarding dependency on history and human memory. For instance, a certain behaviour or belief becomes part of a society\'s structure when the original purpose of that behaviour or belief can no longer be recalled and becomes socialized into individuals of that culture.
According to Bourdieu, habitus is composed of: `{{blockquote|systems of durable, transposable dispositions, structured structures predisposed to function as structuring structures, that is, as principles which generate and organize practices and representations that can be objectively adapted to their outcomes without presupposing a conscious aiming at ends or an express mastery of the operations necessary in order to attain them.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bourdieu|first=Pierre|title=The Logic of Practice|newspaper=Polity Press.|year=1990}}</ref>}}`{=mediawiki}
Loïc Wacquant wrote that habitus is an old philosophical notion, originating in the thought of Aristotle, whose notion of *hexis* (\"state\") was translated into *habitus* by the Medieval Scholastics. Giorgio Agamben stresses that this term *habitus* itself \"originally signified \'a way of being or acting\'\" in the Christian monastic tradition; he claims that the term had been in use already among the Stoics as a description of personal attributes synonymous with virtue. Bourdieu first adapted the term in his 1967 postface to Erwin Panofsky\'s *Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism*. The term was earlier used in sociology by Norbert Elias in *The Civilizing Process* (1939) and in Marcel Mauss\'s account of \"body techniques\" (*techniques du corps*). The concept is also present in the work of Max Weber, Gilles Deleuze, and Edmund Husserl.
Mauss defined habitus as those aspects of culture that are anchored in the body or daily practices of individuals, groups, societies, and nations. It includes the totality of learned habits, bodily skills, styles, tastes, and other non-discursive knowledges that might be said to \"go without saying\" for a specific group (Bourdieu 1990:66-67) - in that way it can be said to operate beneath the level of rational ideology.
## Non-sociological uses {#non_sociological_uses}
### Literary criticism {#literary_criticism}
The term has also been adopted in literary criticism, adapting from Bourdieu\'s usage of the term. For example, Joe Moran\'s examination of authorial identities in *Star Authors: Literary Celebrity in America* uses the term in discussion of how authors develop a habitus formed around their own celebrity and status as authors, which manifests in their writing.
### Use in literary theory {#use_in_literary_theory}
Bourdieu\'s principle of habitus is interwoven with the concept of structuralism in literary theory. Peter Barry explains, \"in the structuralist approach to literature there is a constant movement away from interpretation of the individual literary work and a parallel drive towards understanding the larger structures which contain them\" (2009, p. 39). There is therefore a strong desire to understand the larger influencing factors which makes an individual literary work. As Bourdieu explains, habitus
As a result, habitus may be employed in literary theory in order to understand those larger, external structures which influence individual theories and works of literature.
### Body habitus {#body_habitus}
Body habitus (or \"bodily habitus\") is the medical term for physique, and is categorized as either endomorphic (relatively short and stout), ectomorphic (relatively long and thin) or mesomorphic (muscular proportions). In this sense, habitus has in the past been interpreted as the physical and constitutional characteristics of an individual, especially as related to the tendency to develop a certain disease. For example, \"Marfanoid bodily habitus\".
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# Habitus (sociology)
## Scholars researching habitus {#scholars_researching_habitus}
- Loïc Wacquant - a sociologist and ethnographer who studied the construction of the \"pugilistic habitus\" in a boxing gym of the black ghetto of Chicago in *Body & Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer* (2004) and in \"Habitus as Topic and Tool\" (2009).
- Bernard Lahire - a French sociologist who suggested that the habitus is not (or no longer) a system shared by a class, but rather an eclectic set of dispositions that are often contradictory, due to non-typical socialization paths in late modernity.
- Gabriel Ignatow explored how the notion of habitus can contribute to the sociology of morality.
- Philippe Bourgois - an anthropologist who incorporates the concept of \"habitus\" into much of his work with intravenous drug users in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Saba Mahmood - an anthropologist who suggested that the habitus can be shaped and transformed not only through unconscious mimesis but also through pedagogic process, while reverting from Bourdieu\'s account to that of Aristotle.
- Stephen Parkin - a sociologist who considers the \"habitus\" construct as an explanatory mechanism for the production of drug related harm in drug using environments located in public settings in \"Habitus and Drug Using Environments: Health Place and Lived-Experience\" (published by Ashgate in August 2013).
- Heinrich Wilhelm Schäfer -- [Center for the Interdisciplinary Research on Religion and Society (CIRRuS)](https://www.uni-bielefeld.de/fakultaeten/theologie/cirrus/) at Bielefeld University (Germany)
- Ori Schwarz - a sociologist who studied the \"sonic habitus\", schemes that organize the production of sounds, their classification (e.g. as \"noise\") and the reaction to them.
- Loren Ludwig, US - a musicologist researching the way that [instrumental chamber music allows for the cultivation and experience of habitus by its players](http://lorenludwig.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Ludwig-Loren-Equal-to-All-Alike-A-Cultural-History-of-the-Viol-Consort-in-England-c.1550-1675.pdf).
- Norbert Elias - a German sociologist studying how the habitus is determined on our culturally accepted manners. In ''The Civilizing Process'', his theory is also extended to a \'national habitus\' of Germans, used to justify the Holocaust.
- Dov Cohen and Hans IJzerman - psychologists who studied the habitus in social psychology, examining how [Latinos and Anglos embody honor differently](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.806/abstract).
- Sudhir Chella Rajan, who shows how automobility forms a complex discursive apparatus built on fragile assumptions around individuality, autonomy, and [driving](https://upittpress.org/books/9780822956068/) and is so ideologically powerful as to constitute the very bodily disposition of liberal political theory.
- Victor J. Friedman and Israel J. Sykes [likens](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-007-7220-5_9) the idea of habitus to the idea of theory-in-action developed by Chris Argyris and Donald Schön.
- William Cockerham - American medical sociologist, uses Bourdieu\'s habitus as a basis for his health lifestyle theory
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
**Hypoxia** is a condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply at the tissue level. Hypoxia may be classified as either *generalized*, affecting the whole body, or *local*, affecting a region of the body. Although hypoxia is often a pathological condition, variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise.
Hypoxia differs from hypoxemia and anoxemia, in that hypoxia refers to a state in which oxygen present in a tissue or the whole body is insufficient, whereas hypoxemia and anoxemia refer specifically to states that have low or no oxygen in the blood. Hypoxia in which there is complete absence of oxygen supply is referred to as **anoxia**.
Hypoxia can be due to external causes, when the breathing gas is hypoxic, or internal causes, such as reduced effectiveness of gas transfer in the lungs, reduced capacity of the blood to carry oxygen, compromised general or local perfusion, or inability of the affected tissues to extract oxygen from, or metabolically process, an adequate supply of oxygen from an adequately oxygenated blood supply.
Generalized hypoxia occurs in healthy people when they ascend to high altitude, where it causes altitude sickness leading to potentially fatal complications: high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and high altitude cerebral edema (HACE). Hypoxia also occurs in healthy individuals when breathing inappropriate mixtures of gases with a low oxygen content, e.g., while diving underwater, especially when using malfunctioning closed-circuit rebreather systems that control the amount of oxygen in the supplied air. Mild, non-damaging intermittent hypoxia is used intentionally during altitude training to develop an athletic performance adaptation at both the systemic and cellular level.
Hypoxia is a common complication of preterm birth in newborn infants. Because the lungs develop late in pregnancy, premature infants frequently possess underdeveloped lungs. To improve blood oxygenation, infants at risk of hypoxia may be placed inside incubators that provide warmth, humidity, and supplemental oxygen. More serious cases are treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Classification
Hypoxia exists when there is a reduced amount of oxygen in the tissues of the body. Hypoxemia refers to a reduction in arterial oxygenation below the normal range, regardless of whether gas exchange is impaired in the lung, arterial oxygen content (C~a~O~2~~~ -- which represents the amount of oxygen delivered to the tissues) is adequate, or tissue hypoxia exists. The classification categories are not always mutually exclusive, and hypoxia can be a consequence of a wide variety of causes.
### By cause {#by_cause}
- Hypoxic hypoxia, also referred to as generalised hypoxia, may be caused by:
- Hypoventilation, which is insufficient ventilation of the lungs due to any cause (fatigue, excessive work of breathing, barbiturate poisoning, pneumothorax, sleep apnea, etc.).
- Low-inspired oxygen partial pressure, which may be caused by breathing normal air at low ambient pressures due to altitude, by breathing hypoxic breathing gas at an unsuitable depth, by breathing inadequately re-oxygenated recycled breathing gas from a rebreather, life support system, or anesthetic machine.
- Hypoxia of ascent (latent hypoxia) in freediving and rebreather diving.
- Airway obstruction, choking, drowning.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Neuromuscular diseases or interstitial lung disease
- Malformed vascular system such as an anomalous coronary artery.
- Hypoxemic hypoxia is a lack of oxygen caused by low oxygen tension in the arterial blood, due to the inability of the lungs to sufficiently oxygenate the blood. Causes include hypoventilation, impaired alveolar diffusion, and pulmonary shunting. This definition overlaps considerably with that of hypoxic hypoxia.
- is hypoxia from hypoxemia due to abnormal pulmonary function, and occurs when the lungs receive adequately oxygenated gas which does not oxygenate the blood sufficiently. It may be caused by:
- Ventilation perfusion mismatch (V/Q mismatch), which can be either low or high. A reduced V/Q ratio can be caused by impaired ventilation, which may be a consequence of conditions such as bronchitis, obstructive airway disease, mucus plugs, or pulmonary edema, which limit or obstruct the ventilation. In this situation there is not enough oxygen in the alveolar gas to fully oxygenate the blood volume passing through, and P~a~O~2~~~ will be low. Conversely, an increased V/Q ratio tends to be a consequence of impaired perfusion, in which circumstances the blood supply is insufficient to carry the available oxygen, P~a~O~2~~~ will be normal, but tissues will be insufficiently perfused to meet the oxygen demand. A V/Q mismatch can also occur when the surface area available for gas exchange in the lungs is decreased.
- Pulmonary shunt, in which blood passes from the right to the left side of the heart without being oxygenated. This may be due to anatomical shunts, in which the blood bypasses the alveoli, via intracardiac shunts, pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, fistulas, and hepatopulmonary syndrome, or physiological shunting, in which blood passes through non-ventilated alveoli.
- Impaired diffusion, a reduced capacity for gas molecules to move between the air in the alveoli and the blood, which occurs when alveolar--capillary membranes thicken. This can happen in interstitial lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and connective tissue disorders.
- , also known as ischemic hypoxia or stagnant hypoxia, is caused by abnormally low blood flow to the lungs, which can occur during shock, cardiac arrest, severe congestive heart failure, or abdominal compartment syndrome, where the main dysfunction is in the cardiovascular system, causing a major reduction in perfusion. Arterial gas is adequately oygenated in the lungs, and the tissues are able to accept the oxygen available, but the flow rate to the tissues is insufficient. Venous oxygenation is particularly low.
- Anemic hypoxia or hypemic hypoxia is the lack of capacity of the blood to carry the normal level of oxygen. It can be caused by anemia or:
- Carbon monoxide poisoning, in which carbon monoxide combines with the hemoglobin, to form carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) preventing it from transporting oxygen.
- Methemoglobinemia, a change in the hemoglobin molecule from a ferrous ion (Fe~2~^+^) to a ferric ion (Fe~3~^+^), which has a lesser capacity to bind free oxygen molecules, and a greater affinity for bound oxygen. This causes a left shift in the O~2~--Hb curve. It can be congenital or caused by medications, food additives or toxins, including chloroquine, benzene, nitrites, benzocaine.
- Histotoxic hypoxia (Dysoxia) or `{{visible anchor|Cellular hypoxia}}`{=mediawiki} occurs when the cells of the affected tissues are unable to use oxygen provided by normally oxygenated hemoglobin. Examples include cyanide poisoning which inhibits cytochrome c oxidase, an enzyme required for cellular respiration in mitochondria. Methanol poisoning has a similar effect, as the metabolism of methanol produces formic acid which inhibits mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase.`{{clarify|is there a difference between cellular and histotoxic hypoxia? if so, what exactly? both refer to cyanide poisoning as an example, but the explanations differ|date=December 2022}}`{=mediawiki}
Intermittent hypoxic training induces mild generalized hypoxia for short periods as a training method to improve sporting performance. This is not considered a medical condition. Acute cerebral hypoxia leading to blackout can occur during freediving. This is a consequence of prolonged voluntary apnea underwater, and generally occurs in trained athletes in good health and good physical condition.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Classification
### By extent {#by_extent}
Hypoxia may affect the whole body, or just some parts.
#### Generalized hypoxia {#generalized_hypoxia}
The term *generalized hypoxia* may refer to hypoxia affecting the whole body, or may be used as a synonym for hypoxic hypoxia, which occurs when there is insufficient oxygen in the breathing gas to oxygenate the blood to a level that will adequately support normal metabolic processes, and which will inherently affect all perfused tissues.
The symptoms of generalized hypoxia depend on its severity and acceleration of onset. In the case of altitude sickness, where hypoxia develops gradually, the symptoms include fatigue, numbness / tingling of extremities, nausea, and cerebral hypoxia. These symptoms are often difficult to identify, but early detection of symptoms can be critical.
In severe hypoxia, or hypoxia of very rapid onset, ataxia, confusion, disorientation, hallucinations, behavioral change, severe headaches, reduced level of consciousness, papilloedema, breathlessness, pallor, tachycardia, and pulmonary hypertension eventually leading to the late signs cyanosis, slow heart rate, cor pulmonale, and low blood pressure followed by heart failure eventually leading to shock and death.
Because hemoglobin is a darker red when it is not bound to oxygen (deoxyhemoglobin), as opposed to the rich red color that it has when bound to oxygen (oxyhemoglobin), when seen through the skin it has an increased tendency to reflect blue light back to the eye. In cases where the oxygen is displaced by another molecule, such as carbon monoxide, the skin may appear \'cherry red\' instead of cyanotic. Hypoxia can cause premature birth, and injure the liver, among other deleterious effects.
#### Localized hypoxia {#localized_hypoxia}
Hypoxia that is localized to a region of the body, such as an organ or a limb. is usually the consequence of ischemia, the reduced perfusion to that organ or limb, and may not necessarily be associated with general hypoxemia. A locally reduced perfusion is generally caused by an increased resistance to flow through the blood vessels of the affected area.
Ischemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ, causing a shortage of oxygen. Ischemia is generally caused by problems with blood vessels, with resultant damage to or dysfunction of tissue i.e. hypoxia and microvascular dysfunction. It also means local hypoxia in a given part of a body sometimes resulting from vascular occlusion such as vasoconstriction, thrombosis, or embolism. Ischemia comprises not only insufficiency of oxygen, but also reduced availability of nutrients and inadequate removal of metabolic wastes. Ischemia can be a partial (poor perfusion) or total blockage.
Compartment syndrome is a condition in which increased pressure within one of the body\'s anatomical compartments results in insufficient blood supply to tissue within that space. There are two main types: acute and chronic. Compartments of the leg or arm are most commonly involved.
If tissue is not being perfused properly, it may feel cold and appear pale; if severe, hypoxia can result in cyanosis, a blue discoloration of the skin. If hypoxia is very severe, a tissue may eventually become gangrenous.
#### By affected tissues and organs {#by_affected_tissues_and_organs}
Any living tissue can be affected by hypoxia, but some are particularly sensitive, or have more noticeable or notable consequences.
##### Cerebral hypoxia {#cerebral_hypoxia}
Cerebral hypoxia is hypoxia specifically involving the brain. The four categories of cerebral hypoxia in order of increasing severity are: diffuse cerebral hypoxia (DCH), focal cerebral ischemia, cerebral infarction, and global cerebral ischemia. Prolonged hypoxia induces neuronal cell death via apoptosis, resulting in a hypoxic brain injury.
Oxygen deprivation can be hypoxic (reduced general oxygen availability) or ischemic (oxygen deprivation due to a disruption in blood flow) in origin. Brain injury as a result of oxygen deprivation is generally termed hypoxic injury. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a condition that occurs when the entire brain is deprived of an adequate oxygen supply, but the deprivation is not total. While HIE is associated in most cases with oxygen deprivation in the neonate due to birth asphyxia, it can occur in all age groups, and is often a complication of cardiac arrest.
##### Corneal hypoxia {#corneal_hypoxia}
Although corneal hypoxia can arise from any of several causes, it is primarily attributable to the prolonged use of contact lenses. The corneas are not perfused and get their oxygen from the atmosphere by diffusion. Impermeable contact lenses form a barrier to this diffusion, and therefore can cause damage to the corneas. Symptoms may include irritation, excessive tearing and blurred vision. The sequelae of corneal hypoxia include punctate keratitis, corneal neovascularization and epithelial microcysts.
##### Intrauterine hypoxia {#intrauterine_hypoxia}
Intrauterine hypoxia, also known as fetal hypoxia, occurs when the fetus is deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen. It may be due to a variety of reasons such as prolapse or occlusion of the umbilical cord, placental infarction, maternal diabetes (prepregnancy or gestational diabetes) and maternal smoking. Intrauterine growth restriction may cause or be the result of hypoxia. Intrauterine hypoxia can cause cellular damage that occurs within the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). This results in an increased mortality rate, including an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Oxygen deprivation in the fetus and neonate have been implicated as either a primary or as a contributing risk factor in numerous neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders such as epilepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders and cerebral palsy.
##### Tumor hypoxia {#tumor_hypoxia}
Tumor hypoxia is the situation where tumor cells have been deprived of oxygen. As a tumor grows, it rapidly outgrows its blood supply, leaving portions of the tumor with regions where the oxygen concentration is significantly lower than in healthy tissues. Hypoxic microenvironements in solid tumors are a result of available oxygen being consumed within 70 to 150 μm of tumour vasculature by rapidly proliferating tumor cells thus limiting the amount of oxygen available to diffuse further into the tumor tissue. The severity of hypoxia is related to tumor types and varies between different types. Research has shown that the level of oxygenation in hypoxic tumor tissues is poorer than normal tissues and it is reported somewhere between 1%--2% O2. In order to support continuous growth and proliferation in challenging hypoxic environments, cancer cells are found to alter their metabolism. Furthermore, hypoxia is known to change cell behavior and is associated with extracellular matrix remodeling and increased migratory and metastatic behavior. Tumour hypoxia is usually associated with highly malignant tumours, which frequently do not respond well to treatment.
##### Vestibular system {#vestibular_system}
In acute exposure to hypoxic hypoxia on the vestibular system and the visuo-vestibular interactions, the gain of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) decreases under mild hypoxia at altitude. Postural control is also disturbed by hypoxia at altitude, postural sway is increased, and there is a correlation between hypoxic stress and adaptive tracking performance.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Signs and symptoms {#signs_and_symptoms}
Arterial oxygen tension can be measured by blood gas analysis of an arterial blood sample, and less reliably by pulse oximetry, which is not a complete measure of circulatory oxygen sufficiency. If there is insufficient blood flow or insufficient hemoglobin in the blood (anemia), tissues can be hypoxic even when there is high arterial oxygen saturation.
- Cyanosis
- Headache
- Increased reaction time, disorientation, and uncoordinated movement.
- Impaired judgment, confusion, memory loss and cognitive problems.
- Euphoria or dissociation
- Visual impairment A moderate level of hypoxia can cause a generalized partial loss of color vision affecting both red-green and blue-yellow discrimination at an altitude of 12,000 ft.
- Lightheaded or dizzy sensation, vertigo
- Fatigue, drowsiness, or tiredness
- Shortness of breath
- Palpitations may occur in the initial phases. Later, the heart rate may reduce significantly degree. In severe cases, abnormal heart rhythms may develop.
- Nausea and vomiting
- Initially raised blood pressure followed by lowered blood pressure as the condition progresses.
- Severe hypoxia can cause loss of consciousness, seizures or convulsions, coma and eventually death. Breathing rate may slow down and become shallow and the pupils may not respond to light.
- Tingling in fingers and toes
- Numbness
### Complications
- Local tissue death and gangrene is a relatively common complication of ischaemic hypoxia. (diabetes, etc.)
- Brain damage -- cortical blindness is a known but uncommon complication of acute hypoxic damage to the cerebral cortex.
- Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a risk factor for cerebrovascular disease and cognitive dysfunction.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Causes
Oxygen passively diffuses in the lung alveoli according to a concentration gradient, also referred to as a partial pressure gradient. Inhaled air rapidly reaches saturation with water vapour, which slightly reduces the partial pressures of the other components. Oxygen diffuses from the inhaled air to arterial blood, where its partial pressure is around 100 mmHg (13.3 kPa). In the blood, oxygen is bound to hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells. The binding capacity of hemoglobin is influenced by the partial pressure of oxygen in the environment, as described by the oxygen--hemoglobin dissociation curve. A smaller amount of oxygen is transported in solution in the blood.
In systemic tissues, oxygen again diffuses down a concentration gradient into cells and their mitochondria, where it is used to produce energy in conjunction with the breakdown of glucose, fats, and some amino acids. Hypoxia can result from a failure at any stage in the delivery of oxygen to cells. This can include low partial pressures of oxygen in the breathing gas, problems with diffusion of oxygen in the lungs through the interface between air and blood, insufficient available hemoglobin, problems with blood flow to the end user tissue, problems with the breathing cycle regarding rate and volume, and physiological and mechanical dead space. Experimentally, oxygen diffusion becomes rate limiting when arterial oxygen partial pressure falls to 60 mmHg (5.3 kPa) or below.`{{clarify|date=December 2022}}`{=mediawiki}
Almost all the oxygen in the blood is bound to hemoglobin, so interfering with this carrier molecule limits oxygen delivery to the perfused tissues. Hemoglobin increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood by about 40-fold, with the ability of hemoglobin to carry oxygen influenced by the partial pressure of oxygen in the local environment, a relationship described in the oxygen--hemoglobin dissociation curve. When the ability of hemoglobin to carry oxygen is degraded, a hypoxic state can result.
### Ischemia
Ischemia, meaning insufficient blood flow to a tissue, can also result in hypoxia in the affected tissues. This is called \'ischemic hypoxia\'. Ischemia can be caused by an embolism, a heart attack that decreases overall blood flow, trauma to a tissue that results in damage reducing perfusion, and a variety of other causes. A consequence of insufficient blood flow causing local hypoxia is gangrene that occurs in diabetes.
Diseases such as peripheral vascular disease can also result in local hypoxia. Symptoms are worse when a limb is used, increasing the oxygen demand in the active muscles. Pain may also be felt as a result of increased hydrogen ions leading to a decrease in blood pH (acidosis) created as a result of anaerobic metabolism.
G-LOC, or g-force induced loss of consciousness, is a special case of ischemic hypoxia which occurs when the body is subjected to high enough acceleration sustained for long enough to lower cerebral blood pressure and circulation to the point where loss of consciousness occurs due to cerebral hypoxia. The human body is most sensitive to longitudinal acceleration towards the head, as this causes the largest hydrostatic pressure deficit in the head.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Causes
### Hypoxemic hypoxia {#hypoxemic_hypoxia}
This refers specifically to hypoxic states where the arterial content of oxygen is insufficient. This can be caused by alterations in respiratory drive, such as in respiratory alkalosis, physiological or pathological shunting of blood, diseases interfering in lung function resulting in a ventilation-perfusion mismatch, such as a pulmonary embolus, or alterations in the partial pressure of oxygen in the environment or lung alveoli, such as may occur at altitude or when diving.
Common disorders that can cause respiratory dysfunction include trauma to the head and spinal cord, nontraumatic acute myelopathies, demyelinating disorders, stroke, Guillain--Barré syndrome, and myasthenia gravis. These dysfunctions may necessitate mechanical ventilation. Some chronic neuromuscular disorders such as motor neuron disease and muscular dystrophy may require ventilatory support in advanced stages.
#### Carbon monoxide poisoning {#carbon_monoxide_poisoning}
Carbon monoxide competes with oxygen for binding sites on hemoglobin molecules. As carbon monoxide binds with hemoglobin hundreds of times tighter than oxygen, it can prevent the carriage of oxygen. Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur acutely, as with smoke intoxication, or over a period of time, as with cigarette smoking. Due to physiological processes, carbon monoxide is maintained at a resting level of 4--6 ppm. This is increased in urban areas (7--13 ppm) and in smokers (20--40 ppm). A carbon monoxide level of 40 ppm is equivalent to a reduction in hemoglobin levels of 10 g/L.`{{notetag|The formula <math> Hb_{CO}(\%) = \frac {CO - 2.34} {5.09} </math> can be used to calculate the amount of carbon monoxide-bound hemoglobin. For example, at carbon monoxide level of 5 ppm, <math>= \frac {5 - 2.34} {5.09} = .5\%</math>, or a loss of half a percent of their blood's hemoglobin.<ref name = "CO ppm"/>}}`{=mediawiki}
Carbon monoxide has a second toxic effect, namely removing the allosteric shift of the oxygen dissociation curve and shifting the foot of the curve to the left.`{{clarify|what does this actually mean?|date=December 2022}}`{=mediawiki} In so doing, the hemoglobin is less likely to release its oxygen at the peripheral tissues.`{{clarify|why?|date=December 2022}}`{=mediawiki} Certain abnormal hemoglobin variants also have higher than normal affinity for oxygen, and so are also poor at delivering oxygen to the periphery.`{{clarify|Is this specifically relevant to carbon monoxide poisoning, or should it be in another section, as it is relevant to hypoxia, but maybe anaemic hypoxia? If relevant, explain more, otherwise move to where relevant, and if necessary, explain more|date=December 2022}}`{=mediawiki}
#### Altitude
Atmospheric pressure reduces with altitude and proportionally, so does the oxygen content of the air. The reduction in the partial pressure of inspired oxygen at higher altitudes lowers the oxygen saturation of the blood, ultimately leading to hypoxia. The clinical features of altitude sickness include: sleep problems, dizziness, headache and oedema.
#### Hypoxic breathing gases {#hypoxic_breathing_gases}
The breathing gas may contain an insufficient partial pressure of oxygen. Such situations may lead to unconsciousness without symptoms since carbon dioxide levels remain normal and the human body senses pure hypoxia poorly. Hypoxic breathing gases can be defined as mixtures with a lower oxygen fraction than air, though gases containing sufficient oxygen to reliably maintain consciousness at normal sea level atmospheric pressure may be described as normoxic even when the oxygen fraction is slightly below normoxic. Hypoxic breathing gas mixtures in this context are those which will not reliably maintain consciousness at sea level pressure.
One of the most widespread circumstances of exposure to hypoxic breathing gas is ascent to altitudes where the ambient pressure drops sufficiently to reduce the partial pressure of oxygen to hypoxic levels.
Gases with as little as 2% oxygen by volume in a helium diluent are used for deep diving operations. The ambient pressure at 190 msw is sufficient to provide a partial pressure of about 0.4 bar, which is suitable for saturation diving. As the divers are decompressed, the breathing gas must be oxygenated to maintain a breathable atmosphere.
It is also possible for the breathing gas for diving to have a dynamically controlled oxygen partial pressure, known as a set point, which is maintained in the breathing gas circuit of a diving rebreather by addition of oxygen and diluent gas to maintain the desired oxygen partial pressure at a safe level between hypoxic and hyperoxic at the ambient pressure due to the current depth. A malfunction of the control system may lead to the gas mixture becoming hypoxic at the current depth.
A special case of hypoxic breathing gas is encountered in deep freediving where the partial pressure of the oxygen in the lung gas is depleted during the dive, but remains sufficient at depth, and when it drops during ascent, it becomes too hypoxic to maintain consciousness, and the diver loses consciousness before reaching the surface.
Hypoxic gases may also occur in industrial, mining, and firefighting environments. Some of these may also be toxic or narcotic, others are just asphyxiant. Some are recognisable by smell, others are odourless.
Inert gas asphyxiation may be deliberate with use of a suicide bag. Accidental death has occurred in cases where concentrations of nitrogen in controlled atmospheres, or methane in mines, has not been detected or appreciated.
#### Other
Hemoglobin\'s function can also be lost by chemically oxidizing its iron atom to its ferric form. This form of inactive hemoglobin is called methemoglobin and can be made by ingesting sodium nitrite`{{ums|date=June 2019}}`{=mediawiki} as well as certain drugs and other chemicals.
### Anemia
Hemoglobin plays a substantial role in carrying oxygen throughout the body, and when it is deficient, anemia can result, causing \'anaemic hypoxia\' if tissue oxygenation is decreased. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia. As iron is used in the synthesis of hemoglobin, less hemoglobin will be synthesised when there is less iron, due to insufficient intake, or poor absorption.
Anemia is typically a chronic process that is compensated over time by increased levels of red blood cells via upregulated erythropoetin. A chronic hypoxic state can result from a poorly compensated anaemia.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Causes
### Histotoxic hypoxia {#histotoxic_hypoxia}
Histotoxic hypoxia (also called histoxic hypoxia) is the inability of cells to take up or use oxygen from the bloodstream, despite physiologically normal delivery of oxygen to such cells and tissues. Histotoxic hypoxia results from tissue poisoning, such as that caused by cyanide (which acts by inhibiting cytochrome oxidase) and certain other poisons like hydrogen sulfide (byproduct of sewage and used in leather tanning).
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Mechanism
Tissue hypoxia from low oxygen delivery may be due to low haemoglobin concentration (anaemic hypoxia), low cardiac output (stagnant hypoxia) or low haemoglobin saturation (hypoxic hypoxia). The consequence of oxygen deprivation in tissues is a switch to anaerobic metabolism at the cellular level. As such, reduced systemic blood flow may result in increased serum lactate. Serum lactate levels have been correlated with illness severity and mortality in critically ill adults and in ventilated neonates with respiratory distress.
### Physiological responses {#physiological_responses}
All vertebrates must maintain oxygen homeostasis to survive, and have evolved physiological systems to ensure adequate oxygenation of all tissues. In air breathing vertebrates this is based on lungs to acquire the oxygen, hemoglobin in red corpuscles to transport it, a vasculature to distribute, and a heart to deliver. Short term variations in the levels of oxygenation are sensed by chemoreceptor cells which respond by activating existing proteins, and over longer terms by regulation of gene transcription. Hypoxia is also involved in the pathogenesis of some common and severe pathologies.
The most common causes of death in an aging population include myocardial infarction, stroke and cancer. These diseases share a common feature that limitation of oxygen availability contributes to the development of the pathology. Cells and organisms are also able to respond adaptively to hypoxic conditions, in ways that help them to cope with these adverse conditions. Several systems can sense oxygen concentration and may respond with adaptations to acute and long-term hypoxia. The systems activated by hypoxia usually help cells to survive and overcome the hypoxic conditions. Erythropoietin, which is produced in larger quantities by the kidneys under hypoxic conditions, is an essential hormone that stimulates production of red blood cells, which are the primary transporter of blood oxygen, and glycolytic enzymes are involved in anaerobic ATP formation.
Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are transcription factors that respond to decreases in available oxygen in the cellular environment, or hypoxia. The HIF signaling cascade mediates the effects of hypoxia on the cell. Hypoxia often keeps cells from differentiating. However, hypoxia promotes the formation of blood vessels, and is important for the formation of a vascular system in embryos and tumors. The hypoxia in wounds also promotes the migration of keratinocytes and the restoration of the epithelium. It is therefore not surprising that HIF-1 modulation was identified as a promising treatment paradigm in wound healing.
Exposure of a tissue to repeated short periods of hypoxia, between periods of normal oxygen levels, influences the tissue\'s later response to prolonged ischaemic exposure. This is known as ischemic preconditioning, and it is known to occur in many tissues.
### Acute
If oxygen delivery to cells is insufficient for the demand (hypoxia), electrons will be shifted to pyruvic acid in the process of lactic acid fermentation. This temporary measure (anaerobic metabolism) allows small amounts of energy to be released. Lactic acid build up (in tissues and blood) is a sign of inadequate mitochondrial oxygenation, which may be due to hypoxemia, poor blood flow (e.g., shock) or a combination of both. If severe or prolonged it could lead to cell death.
In humans, hypoxia is detected by the peripheral chemoreceptors in the carotid body and aortic body, with the carotid body chemoreceptors being the major mediators of reflex responses to hypoxia. This response does not control ventilation rate at normal P~O~2~~, but below normal the activity of neurons innervating these receptors increases dramatically, so much as to override the signals from central chemoreceptors in the hypothalamus, increasing P~O~2~~ despite a falling P~CO~2~~
In most tissues of the body, the response to hypoxia is vasodilation. By widening the blood vessels, the tissue allows greater perfusion.
By contrast, in the lungs, the response to hypoxia is vasoconstriction. This is known as hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction, or \"HPV\", and has the effect of redirecting blood away from poorly ventilated regions, which helps match perfusion to ventilation, giving a more even oxygenation of blood from different parts of the lungs. In conditions of hypoxic breathing gas, such as at high altitude, HPV is generalized over the entire lung, but with sustained exposure to generalized hypoxia, HPV is suppressed. Hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) is the increase in ventilation induced by hypoxia that allows the body to take in and transport lower concentrations of oxygen at higher rates. It is initially elevated in lowlanders who travel to high altitude, but reduces significantly over time as people acclimatize.
### Chronic
When the pulmonary capillary pressure remains elevated chronically (for at least 2 weeks), the lungs become even more resistant to pulmonary edema because the lymph vessels expand greatly, increasing their capability of carrying fluid away from the interstitial spaces perhaps as much as 10-fold. Therefore, in patients with chronic mitral stenosis, pulmonary capillary pressures of 40 to 45 mm Hg have been measured without the development of lethal pulmonary edema.
There are several potential physiologic mechanisms for hypoxemia, but in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) mismatching is most common, with or without alveolar hypoventilation, as indicated by arterial carbon dioxide concentration. Hypoxemia caused by V/Q mismatching in COPD is relatively easy to correct, and relatively small flow rates of supplemental oxygen (less than 3 L/min for the majority of patients) are required for long term oxygen therapy (LTOT). Hypoxemia normally stimulates ventilation and produces dyspnea, but these and the other signs and symptoms of hypoxia are sufficiently variable in COPD to limit their value in patient assessment. Chronic alveolar hypoxia is the main factor leading to development of cor pulmonale --- right ventricular hypertrophy with or without overt right ventricular failure --- in patients with COPD. Pulmonary hypertension adversely affects survival in COPD, proportional to resting mean pulmonary artery pressure elevation. Although the severity of airflow obstruction as measured by forced expiratory volume tests FEV1 correlates best with overall prognosis in COPD, chronic hypoxemia increases mortality and morbidity for any severity of disease. Large-scale studies of long term oxygen therapy in patients with COPD show a dose--response relationship between daily hours of supplemental oxygen use and survival. Continuous, 24-hours-per-day oxygen use in appropriately selected patients may produce a significant survival benefit.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Mechanism
### Pathological responses {#pathological_responses}
#### Cerebral ischemia {#cerebral_ischemia}
The brain has relatively high energy requirements, using about 20% of the oxygen under resting conditions, but low reserves, which make it specially vulnerable to hypoxia. In normal conditions, an increased demand for oxygen is easily compensated by an increased cerebral blood flow. but under conditions when there is insufficient oxygen available, increased blood flow may not be sufficient to compensate, and hypoxia can result in brain injury. A longer duration of cerebral hypoxia will generally result in larger areas of the brain being affected. The brainstem, hippocampus and cerebral cortex seem to be the most vulnerable regions. Injury becomes irreversible if oxygenation is not soon restored. Most cell death is by necrosis but delayed apoptosis also occurs. In addition, presynaptic neurons release large amounts of glutamate which further increases Ca^2+^ influx and causes catastrophic collapse in postsynaptic cells. Although it is the only way to save the tissue, reperfusion also produces reactive oxygen species and inflammatory cell infiltration, which induces further cell death. If the hypoxia is not too severe, cells can suppress some of their functions, such as protein synthesis and spontaneous electrical activity, in a process called *penumbra*, which is reversible if the oxygen supply is resumed soon enough.
#### Myocardial ischemia {#myocardial_ischemia}
Parts of the heart are exposed to ischemic hypoxia in the event of occlusion of a coronary artery. Short periods of ischaemia are reversible if reperfused within about 20 minutes, without development of necrosis, but the phenomenon known as *stunning* is generally evident. If hypoxia continues beyond this period, necrosis propagates through the myocardial tissue. Energy metabolism in the affected area shifts from mitochondrial respiration to anaerobic glycolysis almost immediately, with concurrent reduction of effectiveness of contractions, which soon cease. Anaerobic products accumulate in the muscle cells, which develop acidosis and osmotic load leading to cellular edema. Intracellular Ca2+ increases and eventually leads to cell necrosis. Arterial flow must be restored to return to aerobic metabolism and prevent necrosis of the affected muscle cells, but this also causes further damage by reperfusion injury. Myocadial stunning has been described as \"prolonged postischaemic dysfunction of viable tissue salvaged by reperfusion\", which manifests as temporary contractile failure in oxygenated muscle tissue. This may be caused by a release of reactive oxygen species during the early stages of reperfusion.
#### Tumor angiogenesis {#tumor_angiogenesis}
As tumors grow, regions of relative hypoxia develop as the oxygen supply is unevenly utilized by the tumor cells. The formation of new blood vessels is necessary for continued tumor growth, and is also an important factor in metastasis, as the route by which cancerous cells are transported to other sites.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Diagnosis
### Physical examination and history {#physical_examination_and_history}
Hypoxia can present as acute or chronic.
Acute presentation may include dyspnea (shortness of breath) and tachypnea (rapid, often shallow, breathing). Severity of symptom presentation is commonly an indication of severity of hypoxia. Tachycardia (rapid pulse) may develop to compensate for low arterial oxygen tension. Stridor may be heard in upper airway obstruction, and cyanosis may indicate severe hypoxia. Neurological symptoms and organ function deterioration occur when the oxygen delivery is severely compromised. In moderate hypoxia, restlessness, headache and confusion may occur, with coma and eventual death possible in severe cases.
In chronic presentation, dyspnea following exertion is most commonly mentioned. Symptoms of the underlying condition that caused the hypoxia may be apparent, and can help with differential diagnosis. A productive cough and fever may be present with lung infection, and leg edema may suggest heart failure.
Lung auscultation can provide useful information.
### Tests
An arterial blood gas test (ABG) may be done, which usually includes measurements of oxygen content, hemoglobin, oxygen saturation (how much of the hemoglobin is carrying oxygen), arterial partial pressure of oxygen (P~a~O~2~~~), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (P~a~CO~2~~~), blood pH level, and bicarbonate (HCO~3~)
- An arterial oxygen tension (P~a~O~2~~~) less than 80 mmHg is considered abnormal, but must be considered in context of the clinical situation.
- In addition to diagnosis of hypoxemia, the ABG may provide additional information, such as P~CO~2~~, which can help identify the etiology. The arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide is an indirect measure of exchange of carbon dioxide with the air in the lungs, and is related to minute ventilation. P~CO~2~~ is raised in hypoventilation.
- The normal range of P~a~O~2~~~:F~i~O~2~~~ ratio is 300 to 500 mmHg, if this ratio is lower than 300 it may indicate a deficit in gas exchange, which is particularly relevant for identifying acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). A ratio of less than 200 indicates severe hypoxemia.
- The alveolar--arterial gradient (A-a~O~2~~, or A--a gradient), is the difference between the alveolar (A) concentration of oxygen and the arterial (a) concentration of oxygen. It is a useful parameter for narrowing the differential diagnosis of hypoxemia. The A--a gradient helps to assess the integrity of the alveolar capillary unit. For example, at high altitude, the arterial oxygen P~a~O~2~~~ is low, but only because the alveolar oxygen P~A~O~2~~~ is also low. However, in states of ventilation perfusion mismatch, such as pulmonary embolism or right-to-left shunt, oxygen is not effectively transferred from the alveoli to the blood which results in an elevated A-a gradient. P~a~O~2~~~ can be obtained from the arterial blood gas analysis and P~A~O~2~~~ is calculated using the alveolar gas equation.
- An abnormally low hematocrit (volume percentage of red blood cells) may indicate anemia.
X-rays or CT scans of the chest and airways can reveal abnormalities that may affect ventilation or perfusion.
A ventilation/perfusion scan, also called a V/Q lung scan, is a type of medical imaging using scintigraphy and medical isotopes to evaluate the circulation of air and blood within a patient\'s lungs, in order to determine the ventilation/perfusion ratio. The ventilation part of the test looks at the ability of air to reach all parts of the lungs, while the perfusion part evaluates how well blood circulates within the lungs.
Pulmonary function testing may include:
- Tests that measure oxygen levels during the night
- The six-minute walk test, which measures how far a person can walk on a flat surface in six minutes to test exercise capacity by measuring oxygen levels in response to exercise.
- Diagnostic measurements that may be relevant include: Lung volumes, including lung capacity, airway resistance, respiratory muscle strength, diffusing capacity
- Other pulmonary function tests which may be relevant include: Spirometry, body plethysmography, forced oscillation technique for calculating the volume, pressure, and air flow in the lungs, bronchodilator responsiveness, carbon monoxide diffusion test (DLCO), oxygen titration studies, cardiopulmonary stress test, bronchoscopy, and thoracentesis
### Differential diagnosis {#differential_diagnosis}
Treatment will depend on severity and may also depend on the cause, as some cases are due to external causes and removing them and treating acute symptoms may be sufficient, but where the symptoms are due to underlying pathology, treatment of the obvious symptoms may only provide temporary or partial relief, so differential diagnosis can be important in selecting definitive treatment.
Hypoxemic hypoxia: Low oxygen tension in the arterial blood (P~a~O~2~~~) is generally an indication of inability of the lungs to properly oxygenate the blood. Internal causes include hypoventilation, impaired alveolar diffusion, and pulmonary shunting. External causes include hypoxic environment, which could be caused by low ambient pressure or unsuitable breathing gas. Both acute and chronic hypoxia and hypercapnia caused by respiratory dysfunction can produce neurological symptoms such as encephalopathy, seizures, headache, papilledema, and asterixis. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome may cause morning headaches
Circulatory Hypoxia: Caused by insufficient perfusion of the affected tissues by blood which is adequately oxygenated. This may be generalised, due to cardiac failure or hypovolemia, or localised, due to infarction or localised injury.
Anemic Hypoxia is caused by a deficit in oxygen-carrying capacity, usually due to low hemoglobin levels, leading to generalised inadequate oxygen delivery.
Histotoxic Hypoxia (Dysoxia) is a consequence of cells being unable to utilize oxygen effectively. A classic example is cyanide poisoning which inhibits the enzyme cytochrome C oxidase in the mitochondria, blocking the use of oxygen to make ATP.
Critical illness polyneuropathy or myopathy should be considered in the intensive care unit when patients have difficulty coming off the ventilator.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Prevention
Prevention can be as simple as risk management of occupational exposure to hypoxic environments, and commonly involves the use of environmental monitoring and personal protective equipment. Prevention of hypoxia as a predictable consequence of medical conditions requires prevention of those conditions. Screening of demographics known to be at risk for specific disorders may be useful. `{{expand section|more detail|date=December 2022}}`{=mediawiki}
### Prevention of altitude induced hypoxia {#prevention_of_altitude_induced_hypoxia}
To counter the effects of high-altitude diseases, the body must return arterial P~a~O~2~~~ toward normal. Acclimatization, the means by which the body adapts to higher altitudes, only partially restores P~O~2~~ to standard levels. Hyperventilation, the body\'s most common response to high-altitude conditions, increases alveolar P~O~2~~ by raising the depth and rate of breathing. However, while P~O~2~~ does improve with hyperventilation, it does not return to normal. Studies of miners and astronomers working at 3000 meters and above show improved alveolar P~O~2~~ with full acclimatization, yet the P~O~2~~ level remains equal to or even below the threshold for continuous oxygen therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In addition, there are complications involved with acclimatization. Polycythemia, in which the body increases the number of red blood cells in circulation, thickens the blood, raising the risk of blood clots.
In high-altitude situations, only oxygen enrichment or compartment pressurisation can counteract the effects of hypoxia. Pressurisation is practicable in vehicles, and for emergencies in ground installations. By increasing the concentration of oxygen in the at ambient pressure, the effects of lower barometric pressure are countered and the level of arterial P~O~2~~ is restored toward normal capacity. A small amount of supplemental oxygen reduces the equivalent altitude in climate-controlled rooms. At 4000 m, raising the oxygen concentration level by 5% via an oxygen concentrator and an existing ventilation system provides an altitude equivalent of 3000 m, which is much more tolerable for the increasing number of low-landers who work in high altitude. In a study of astronomers working in Chile at 5050 m, oxygen concentrators increased the level of oxygen concentration by almost 30 percent (that is, from 21 percent to 27 percent). This resulted in increased worker productivity, less fatigue, and improved sleep.
Oxygen concentrators are suited for high altitude oxygen enrichment of climate-controlled environments. They require little maintenance and electricity, utilise a locally available source of oxygen, and eliminate the expensive task of transporting oxygen cylinders to remote areas. Offices and housing often already have climate-controlled rooms, in which temperature and humidity are kept at a constant level.
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# Hypoxia (medicine)
## Treatment and management {#treatment_and_management}
Treatment and management depend on circumstances. For most high altitude situations the risk is known, and prevention is appropriate. At low altitudes hypoxia is more likely to be associated with a medical problem or an unexpected contingency, and treatment is more likely to be provided to suit the specific case. It is necessary to identify persons who need oxygen therapy, as supplemental oxygen is required to treat most causes of hypoxia, but different oxygen concentrations may be appropriate.
### Treatment of acute and chronic cases {#treatment_of_acute_and_chronic_cases}
Treatment will depend on the cause of hypoxia. If it is determined that there is an external cause, and it can be removed, then treatment may be limited to support and returning the system to normal oxygenation. In other cases a longer course of treatment may be necessary, and this may require supplemental oxygen over a fairly long term or indefinitely.
There are three main aspects of oxygenation treatment: maintaining patent airways, providing sufficient oxygen content of the inspired air, and improving the diffusion in the lungs. In some cases treatment may extend to improving oxygen capacity of the blood, which may include volumetric and circulatory intervention and support, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and treatment of intoxication.
Invasive ventilation may be necessary or an elective option in surgery. This generally involves a positive pressure ventilator connected to an endotracheal tube, and allows precise delivery of ventilation, accurate monitoring of F~i~O~2~~~, and positive end-expiratory pressure, and can be combined with anaesthetic gas delivery. In some cases a tracheotomy may be necessary. Decreasing metabolic rate by reducing body temperature lowers oxygen demand and consumption, and can minimise the effects of tissue hypoxia, especially in the brain, and therapeutic hypothermia based on this principle may be useful.
Where the problem is due to respiratory failure. it is desirable to treat the underlying cause. In cases of pulmonary edema, diuretics can be used to reduce the oedems. Steroids may be effective in some cases of interstitial lung disease, and in extreme cases, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) can be used.
Hyperbaric oxygen has been found useful for treating some forms of localized hypoxia, including poorly perfused trauma injuries such as Crush injury, compartment syndrome, and other acute traumatic ischemias. It is the definitive treatment for severe decompression sickness, which is largely a condition involving localized hypoxia initially caused by inert gas embolism and inflammatory reactions to extravascular bubble growth. It is also effective in carbon monoxide poisoning and diabetic foot.
A prescription renewal for home oxygen following hospitalization requires an assessment of the patient for ongoing hypoxemia.
## Outcomes
Prognosis is strongly affected by cause, severity, treatment, and underlying pathology.
Hypoxia leading to reduced capacity to respond appropriately, or to loss of consciousness, has been implicated in incidents where the direct cause of death was not hypoxia. This is recorded in underwater diving incidents, where drowning has often been given as cause of death, high altitude mountaineering, where exposure, hypothermia and falls have been consequences, flying in unpressurized aircraft, and aerobatic maneuvers, where loss of control leading to a crash is possible. `{{expand section|date=November 2022}}`{=mediawiki}
## Epidemiology
Hypoxia is a common disorder but there are many possible causes. Prevalence is variable. Some of the causes are very common, like pneumonia or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; some are quite rare like hypoxia due to cyanide poisoning. Others, like reduced oxygen tension at high altitude, may be regionally distributed or associated with a specific demographic.
Generalized hypoxia is an occupational hazard in several high-risk occupations, including firefighting, professional diving, mining and underground rescue, and flying at high altitudes in unpressurised aircraft.
Potentially life-threatening hypoxemia is common in critically ill patients.
Localized hypoxia may be a complication of diabetes, decompression sickness, and of trauma that affects blood supply to the extremities.
Hypoxia due to underdeveloped lung function is a common complication of premature birth. In the United States, intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia were listed together as the tenth leading cause of neonatal death. `{{expand section|date=December 2022}}`{=mediawiki}
### Silent hypoxia {#silent_hypoxia}
Silent hypoxia (also known as happy hypoxia) is generalised hypoxia that does not coincide with shortness of breath. This presentation is known to be a complication of COVID-19, and is also known in atypical pneumonia, altitude sickness, and rebreather malfunction accidents.
## History
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to William G. Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe, and Gregg L. Semenza in recognition of their discovery of cellular mechanisms to sense and adapt to different oxygen concentrations, establishing a basis for how oxygen levels affect physiological function.
The use of the term *hypoxia* appears to be relatively recent, with the first recorded use in scientific publication from 1945. Previous to this the term *anoxia* was extensively used for all levels of oxygen deprivation. Investigation into the effects of lack of oxygen date from the mid 19th century.
### Etymology
Hypoxia is formed from the Greek roots υπo (hypo), meaning under, below, and less than, and oξυ (oxy), meaning acute or acid, which is the root for oxygen
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# History of the petroleum industry in the United States
The **history of the petroleum industry in the United States** goes back to the early 19th century, although the indigenous peoples, like many ancient societies, have used petroleum seeps since prehistoric times; where found, these seeps signaled the growth of the industry from the earliest discoveries to the more recent.
Petroleum became a major industry following the oil discovery at Oil Creek, Pennsylvania, in 1859. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, the US was the largest oil producing country in the world. US regained the position of the largest oil producing country in the world in 2018 and has kept it every year since as of 2022.
## 19th century {#th_century}
### Before the Drake well {#before_the_drake_well}
Native Americans had known of the oil in western Pennsylvania, and had made some use of it for many years before the mid-19th century. Early European explorers noted seeps of oil and natural gas in western Pennsylvania and New York. Interest grew substantially in the mid-1850s as scientists reported on the potential to manufacture kerosene from crude oil, if a sufficiently large oil supply could be found.
The Jesuit Relations of 1657 states: `{{Blockquote|As one approaches nearer to the country of the [[Erie people|Cats]], one finds heavy and thick water, which ignites like brandy, and boils up in bubbles of flame when fire is applied to it. It is, moreover, so oily, that all our Savages use it to anoint and grease their heads and their bodies.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/relations/relations_43.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20011215144512/http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/relations/relations_43.html| archive-date = 2001-12-15| title = The Jesuit Relations: Volume 43}}</ref>}}`{=mediawiki}
Salt was a valuable commodity, and an industry developed near salt springs in the Ohio River Valley, producing salt by evaporating brine from the springs. Salt wells were sunk at the salt springs to increase the supply of brine for evaporation. Some of the wells were hand-dug, but salt producers also learned to drill wells by percussion (cable tool) methods. In a number of locations in western Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, oil and natural gas came up the wells along with the brine. The oil was mostly a nuisance, but some salt producers saved it and sold it as illuminating oil or medicine. In some locations, enough natural gas was produced to be used as fuel for the salt evaporating pans. Early salt brine wells that produced byproduct oil included the Thorla-McKee Well of Ohio in 1814, a well near Burkesville, Kentucky, in 1828, and wells at Burning Springs, West Virginia, by 1836.
The US natural gas industry started in 1821 at Fredonia, Chautauqua County, New York, when William Hart dug a well to a depth of 27 ft into gas-bearing shale, then drilled a borehole 43 ft further, and piped the natural gas to a nearby inn where it was burned for illumination. Soon many gas wells were drilled in the area, and the gas-lit streets of Fredonia became a tourist attraction.
### Drake well, Titusville, Pennsylvania {#drake_well_titusville_pennsylvania}
*Main article: Pennsylvania oil rush*
On August 27, 1859, George Bissell and Edwin L. Drake made the first successful use of a drilling rig on a well drilled especially to produce oil, at a site on Oil Creek near Titusville, Pennsylvania. The Drake partners were encouraged by Benjamin Silliman (1779--1864), a chemistry professor at Yale, who tested a sample of the oil, and assured them that it could be distilled into useful products such as kerosene for lamps.
The Drake well is often referred to as the first \"commercial oil well.\" Before the Drake well, oil-producing wells in the United States were wells that were drilled for salt brine, and produced oil and gas only as accidental byproducts. Historians have noted that the importance of the Drake well was not in being the first well to produce oil, but in attracting the first great wave of investment in oil drilling, refining, and marketing:
: \"The importance of the Drake well was in the fact that it caused prompt additional drilling, thus establishing a supply of petroleum in sufficient quantity to support business enterprises of magnitude.
### Appalachian Basin {#appalachian_basin}
The success of the Drake well quickly led to oil drilling in other locations in the western Appalachian Mountains, where oil was seeping to the surface, or where salt drillers had previously found oil fouling their salt wells. During the American Civil War, the oil-producing region spread over much of western Pennsylvania, up into western New York state, and down the Ohio River valley into the states of Ohio, Kentucky, and the western part of Virginia (now West Virginia). The Appalachian Basin continued to be the leading oil-producing region in the United States through 1904.
The first commercial oil well in New York was drilled in 1865. New York\'s (and Northwestern Pennsylvania) crude oil is very high in paraffin.
The principal product of the oil in the 19th century was kerosene, which quickly replaced whale oil for illuminating purposes in the United States. Originally dealing in whale oil which was widely used for illumination, Charles Pratt (1830--1891) of Massachusetts was an early pioneer of the natural oil industry in the United States. He was founder of Astral Oil Works in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York. Pratt\'s product later gave rise to the slogan, \"*The holy lamps of Tibet are primed with Astral Oil*.\" He joined with his protégé Henry H. Rogers to form Charles Pratt and Company in 1867. Both companies became part of John D. Rockefeller\'s Standard Oil in 1874.
### Lima-Indiana District {#lima_indiana_district}
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# History of the petroleum industry in the United States
## 19th century {#th_century}
### Mid-Continent {#mid_continent}
The Mid-continent area is an area generally including Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, North Louisiana and the part of Texas away from the Gulf Coast. The first commercially successful oil well drilled in Kansas was the Norman No. 1 near Neodesha, Kansas, on November 28, 1892.
- Corsicana, Texas, 1894, Texas, plus 44000000 oilbbl
- McCamey, 1928, Baker No. 1., Texas.
#### Oklahoma
Oil was discovered at Bartlesville and Burbank in 1897. But the initial discoveries created no great excitement until the discovery gusher of the Glenn Pool in 1905. The Glenn discovery came when Gulf Coast production was declining rapidly, and the operators were eager for new areas to drill. The increased drilling resulted in major discoveries at Cushing in 1912 and Healdton in 1913.
- Greater Seminole, 1926, Oklahoma, plus 200000000 oilbbl
- Oklahoma City, No. 1 Discovery Well, 1928, Oklahoma. The Mary Sudik No. 1, *\"Wild Mary Sudik\"*, gusher did not blow until March 25, 1930---she sprayed an estimated 3000 oilbbl an hour (133 L/s) for the next 14 days.
#### East Texas {#east_texas}
The largest oil field in the lower 48 states, the East Texas oil field, was not discovered until 1930, when wildcatter Columbus Marion Joiner (more commonly known as \"Dad\" Joiner) drilled the Daisy Bradford No. 3 well, in Rusk County, Texas.
#### North Louisiana {#north_louisiana}
In 1906, the Caddo-Pine Island Field in northern Caddo Parish, Louisiana was discovered, and a rush of leasing and drilling activity ensued. In 1908, the first natural gas pipeline was constructed to transport gas from Caddo-Pine Island to Shreveport, Louisiana. This was one of the earliest commercial uses of natural gas, which was commonly viewed as an undesirable by-product of oil production and often \"flared\" or burnt off at the well site.
Other innovations in the Caddo-Pine Island Field included the first over-water oil platform, which was constructed in the field on Caddo Lake in 1910. In that same year, a major oil pipeline was constructed from Caddo-Pine Island Field to a refinery built and operated by Standard Oil Company of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The refinery continues to operate today.
Other early petroleum discoveries in North Louisiana included the Bull Bayou Field, Red River Parish, Louisiana (1913), Monroe Gas Field, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana (1916), Homer Field, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana (1919) and Haynesville Field, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana (1921).
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# History of the petroleum industry in the United States
## 19th century {#th_century}
### California
Native Americans had known of the tar seeps in southern California for thousands of years, and used the tar to waterproof their canoes. Spanish settlers also knew of the seeps, such as at Rancho La Brea (Spanish for *Tar Ranch*) in present-day Los Angeles, from which the priests obtained tar to waterproof the roofs of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel missions.
Despite the abundance of well-known seeps in southern California, the first commercial oil well in California was drilled in Humboldt County, northern California in 1865.
Some attempts were made in the 1860s to exploit oil deposits under tar seeps in the Ventura Basin of Ventura County and northeastern Los Angeles County. The early efforts failed because of complex geology, and, more importantly, because the refining techniques then available could not manufacture high-quality kerosene from California crude oil, which differed chemically from Pennsylvania crude oil. Most California crude oil in the early years was turned into the less lucrative products of fuel oil and asphalt.
Oil production in the Los Angeles Basin started with the discovery of the Brea-Olinda Oil Field in 1880, and continued with the development of the Los Angeles City Oil Field in 1893, the Beverly Hills Oil Field in 1900, the Salt Lake Oil Field in 1902, and many others. The discovery of the Long Beach Oil Field in 1921, which proved to be the world\'s richest in production per-acre of the time, increased the importance of the Los Angeles Basin as a worldwide oil producer. This increased again with the discovery of the Wilmington Oil Field in 1932, and the development of the Port of Los Angeles as a means of shipping crude oil overseas.
Production in Santa Barbara County began in the 1890s with the development of the Summerland Oil Field, which included the world\'s first offshore oil wells. With the discovery of the Orcutt and Lompoc fields, northern Santa Barbara County became a regional center of production; towns such as Orcutt owe their existence to the quickly growing industry.
Oil in the San Joaquin Basin was first discovered at the Coalinga field in 1890. By 1901, the San Joaquin Basin was the main oil-producing region of California, and it remains so in the 21st century, with huge oil fields including the Midway-Sunset, Kern River, and Belridge fields producing much of California\'s onshore oil.
### Rocky Mountains {#rocky_mountains}
The first commercial oil well in the Rocky Mountains was drilled near Cañon City, Colorado in 1862. The wells in the Cañon City-Florence field, drilled near surface oil seeps, produced from fractures in the Pierre Shale.
- Bighorn Basin
- Denver Basin
- Green River Basin
- North Park (Colorado basin)
- Paradox Basin
- Piceance Basin
- Powder River Basin
- Raton Basin
- San Juan Basin
- Uinta Basin
### Alaska
A Russian sea captain noted oil seeps along the shore of the Cook Inlet as early as 1853, and oil drilling began in 1898 in a number of locations along the southern coast of Alaska. Production was relatively small, however, until huge discoveries were made on Alaska\'s remote North Slope.
Petroleum seeps on the North Slope have been known for many years, and in 1923, the federal government created US Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 to cover the presumed oil fields beneath the seeps. Some exploration drilling was done in the reserve during World War II and the 1950s, but the remote location deterred intensive exploration until the 1960s. The Prudhoe Bay Oil Field, the largest oil field in the United States in terms of total oil produced, was discovered in 1968. Production began in 1977, following completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Through 2005, the field has produced 13 Goilbbl of oil (an average of 1.5 million barrels/day), and is estimated to contain another 2 Goilbbl of economically recoverable oil.
### Brooklyn, New York {#brooklyn_new_york}
In the late 1800s, a number of oil refineries were concentrated in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn, beginning with Astral Oil Works in 1867. In the 1970s, the Greenpoint oil spill was discovered, one of the largest spills in the history of the United States.
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# History of the petroleum industry in the United States
## 20th century {#th_century_1}
### Gulf Coast {#gulf_coast}
Capt. Anthony Francis Lucas, an experienced mining engineer and salt driller, drilled a well to find oil at Spindletop Hill. On the morning of January 10, 1901, the little hill south of Beaumont, Texas began to tremble and mud bubbled up over the rotary table. A low rumbling sound came from underground, and then, with a force that shot 6 tons of 4-inch (100 mm) diameter pipe out over the top of the derrick, knocking off the crown block, the Lucas Gusher roared in and the Spindletop oil field was born. Spindletop became the focus of frenzied drilling; oil production from the field peaked in 1902 at 17400000 oilbbl, but by 1905 production had declined 90% from the peak.
Spindletop Hill turned out to be the surface expression of an underground salt dome, around which the oil accumulated. The Spindletop gusher started serious oil exploration of the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana, an area that had previously been dismissed by oil men. Other salt dome mounds were quickly drilled, resulting in discoveries at Sour Lake (1902), Batson (1904) and Humble (1905).
The Standard Oil Company was slow to appreciate the economic potential of the Spindletop oil field, and the Gulf Coast generally, which gave greater opportunity to others; Spindletop became the birthplace of oil giants Texaco and Gulf Oil. Although in 1899 Standard Oil controlled more than 85% of the oil production in the older oil regions in the Appalachian Basin and the Lima-Indiana trend, it never controlled more than 10% of the oil production in the new Gulf Coast province.
### Federal price regulation {#federal_price_regulation}
By the Natural Gas Act of 1938, the federal government imposed price controls on natural gas in interstate commerce. The Federal Power Commission was mandated to set interstate gas prices at \"just and reasonable\" rates. The FPC at first only regulated the price at which pipelines sold gas to utilities and industry, but later put limits on the wellhead price of gas sold to an interstate pipeline. Gas producers challenged the controls, but lost in the Supreme Court in Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Wisconsin (1954).
The federal government had controlled the price of natural gas that crossed state lines, but not of gas produced and sold within a state. In the 1970s, the low interstate price set by the federal government caused supply shortages of gas in consuming states, because gas producers sold as much as they could of their product for higher prices in the local markets within gas-producing states. In the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978, the federal government extended price controls to all natural gas in the country. At the same time, the government created a complex price system in which the price paid to the producer depended on the date the well was drilled, the depth of the well, the geological formation, the distance to other gas wells, and several other factors. The price system was an attempt to keep the average price low while encouraging new production.
The last federal price controls on natural gas were removed by the Natural Gas Decontrol Act of 1989, which phased out the last remaining price control as of 1 January 1993.
### Technology
Hydraulic fracturing experiments began in the 1940s in the United States. Massive hydraulic fracturing, generally involving injecting over 150 short tons, or approximately 300,000 pounds (136 metric tonnes), of proppant, was first applied by Pan American Petroleum in Stephens County, Oklahoma, USA in 1968. By the 1970s, massive hydraulic fracturing was employed in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom in the North Sea. Hydraulic fracturing operations have grown exponentially since the mid-1990s, when technologic advances and increases in the price of natural gas made this technique economically viable.
Oil rig technology advanced rapidly in the 20th century, with many innovations made by US companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico. The first jackup oil rig was used in the Gulf of Mexico in 1954.
### Environmental impact {#environmental_impact}
A number of major environmental incidents in the United States in the 20th Century are linked to the petroleum industry.
In 1910, the Lakeview Gusher in Kern County, California was a well blowout that created the largest accidental oil spill in history.
The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill occurred in the Santa Barbara Channel, near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California. It was the largest oil spill in United States waters by that time, and now ranks third after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon and 1989 Exxon Valdez spills. It remains the largest oil spill to have occurred in the waters off California. The public outrage engendered by the spill, which received prominent media coverage in the United States, resulted in numerous pieces of environmental legislation within the next several years, legislation that forms the legal and regulatory framework for the modern environmental movement in the U.S.
The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska was the largest spill in US waters up to that date, as of 2020 only exceeded by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in terms of volume released.
In 2010 the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico became the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.
Beginning in 2004, the Taylor oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues as of 2020.
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# History of the petroleum industry in the United States
## 21st century {#st_century}
### North Dakota {#north_dakota}
The North Dakota oil boom, lasting from 2006 to 2015, involved rapidly expanding oil extraction from the Bakken formation in the state of North Dakota. The boom began with the discovery of Parshall Oil Field in 2006, and peaked in 2012, but with substantially less growth noted since 2015 due to a global decline in oil prices. The boom relied upon horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to recover oil from tight oil deposits.
### Keystone Pipeline {#keystone_pipeline}
Commissioned in 2010, the Keystone Pipeline is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, as of 2019 owned solely by TC Energy. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and also to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma. The pipeline became well known when a planned fourth phase, **Keystone XL**, attracted opposition from environmentalists, becoming a symbol of the battle over climate change and fossil fuels
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# Hoplite
thumb\|upright=0.8\|right\|A Greek hoplite **Hoplites** (`{{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɒ|p|l|aɪ|t|s}}`{=mediawiki} `{{respell |HOP|lytes}}`{=mediawiki}) (*hoplîtai* `{{IPA|el|hoplîːtai̯|}}`{=mediawiki}) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the soldiers from acting alone, for this would compromise the formation and minimize its strengths. The hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens -- propertied farmers and artisans -- who were able to afford a linen or bronze armour suit and weapons (estimated at a third to a half of its able-bodied adult male population). Some states maintained a small elite professional unit, known as the *epilektoi* or logades (\'the chosen\') because they were picked from the regular citizen infantry. These existed at times in Athens, Sparta, Argos, Thebes, and Syracuse, among other places. Hoplite soldiers made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies.
In the 8th century BC, Greek armies started to adopted the phalanx formation. The formation proved successful in defeating the Persians when employed by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC during the First Greco-Persian War. The Persian archers and light troops who fought in the Battle of Marathon failed because their bows were too weak for their arrows to penetrate the wall of Greek shields of the phalanx formation. The phalanx was also employed by the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC and at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC during the Second Greco-Persian War.
The word *hoplite* (Greek: *ὁπλίτης* *hoplítēs*; pl. *ὁπλῖται* *hoplĩtai*) derives from *hoplon* (*ὅπλον* : *hóplon*; plural *hópla* *ὅπλα*), referring to the hoplite\'s equipment. In the modern Hellenic Army, the word *hoplite* (Greek: *oπλίτης* : *oplítîs*) is used to refer to an infantryman.
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# Hoplite
## Warfare
The fragmented political structure of Ancient Greece, with many competing city-states, increased the frequency of conflict, but at the same time limited the scale of warfare. Limited manpower did not allow most Greek city-states to form large armies which could operate for long periods because they were generally not formed from professional soldiers. Most soldiers had careers as farmers or workers and returned to these professions after the campaign. All hoplites were expected to take part in any military campaign when called for duty by leaders of the state. The Lacedaemonian citizens of Sparta were renowned for their lifelong combat training and almost mythical military prowess, while their greatest adversaries, the Athenians, were exempted from service only after the age of 60. This inevitably reduced the potential duration of campaigns and often resulted in the campaign season being restricted to one summer.`{{clarify|Why?|date=June 2019}}`{=mediawiki}
Armies generally marched directly to their destination, and in some cases the battlefield was agreed to by the contestants in advance. Battles were fought on level ground, and hoplites preferred to fight with high terrain on both sides of the phalanx so the formation could not be flanked. An example of this was the Battle of Thermopylae, where the Spartans specifically chose a narrow coastal pass to make their stand against the massive Persian army. The vastly outnumbered Greeks held off the Persians for seven days.
When battles occurred, they were usually set piece and intended to be decisive. The battlefield would be flat and open to facilitate phalanx warfare. These battles were usually short and required a high degree of discipline. At least in the early classical period, when cavalry was present, its role was restricted to protection of the flanks of the phalanx, pursuit of a defeated enemy, and covering a retreat if required. Light infantry and missile troops took part in the battles but their role was less important. Before the opposing phalanxes engaged, the light troops would skirmish with the enemy\'s light forces, and then protect the flanks and rear of the phalanx.
The military structure created by the Spartans was a rectangular phalanx formation. The formation was organized from eight to ten rows deep and could cover a front of a quarter of a mile or more if sufficient hoplites were available. The two lines would close to a short distance to allow effective use of their spears, while the `{{transliteration|grc|[[psiloi]]}}`{=mediawiki} threw stones and javelins from behind their lines. The shields would clash and the first lines (protostates) would stab at their opponents, at the same time trying to keep in position. The ranks behind them would support them with their own spears and the mass of their shields gently pushing them, not to force them into the enemy formation but to keep them steady and in place. The soldiers in the back provided motivation to the ranks in the front being that most hoplites were close community members. At certain points, a command would be given to the phalanx or a part thereof to collectively take a certain number of steps forward (ranging from half to multiple steps). This was the famed *othismos*.
At this point, the phalanx would put its collective weight to push back the enemy line and thus create fear and panic among its ranks. There could be multiple such instances of attempts to push, but it seems from the accounts of the ancients that these were perfectly orchestrated and attempted organized *en masse*. Once one of the lines broke, the troops would generally flee from the field, sometimes chased by psiloi, peltasts, or light cavalry.
If a hoplite escaped, he would sometimes be forced to drop his cumbersome `{{transliteration|grc|[[aspis]]}}`{=mediawiki}, thereby disgracing himself to his friends and family (becoming a `{{transliteration|grc|ripsaspis}}`{=mediawiki}, one who threw his shield). To lessen the number of casualties inflicted by the enemy during battles, soldiers were positioned to stand shoulder to shoulder with their aspis. The hoplites\' most prominent citizens and generals led from the front. Thus, the war could be decided by a single battle. Individual hoplites carried their shields on their left arm, protecting themselves and the soldier to the left. This meant that the men at the extreme right of the phalanx were only half-protected. In battle, opposing phalanxes would exploit this weakness by attempting to overlap the enemy\'s right flank. It also meant that, in battle, a phalanx would tend to drift to the right (as hoplites sought to remain behind the shield of their neighbour). The most experienced hoplites were often placed on the right side of the phalanx, to counteract these problems. According to Plutarch\'s *Sayings of Spartans*, \"a man carried a shield for the sake of the whole line\".
The phalanx is an example of a military formation in which single combat and other individualistic forms of battle were suppressed for the good of the whole. In earlier Homeric, Dark Age combat, the words and deeds of supremely powerful heroes turned the tide of battle. Instead of having individual heroes, hoplite warfare relied heavily on the community and unity of soldiers. With friends and family pushing on either side and enemies forming a solid wall of shields in front, the hoplite had little opportunity for feats of technique and weapon skill, but great need for commitment and mental toughness. By forming a human wall to provide a powerful defensive armour, the hoplites became much more effective while suffering fewer casualties. The hoplites had a lot of discipline and were taught to be loyal and trustworthy. They had to trust their neighbours for mutual protection, so a phalanx was only as strong as its weakest elements. Its effectiveness depended on how well the hoplites could maintain this formation in combat, and how well they could stand their ground, especially when engaged against another phalanx. The more disciplined and courageous the army, the more likely it was to win. Often engagements between various city-states of Greece would be resolved by one side fleeing after their phalanx had broken formation.
As important as unity among the ranks was in phalanx warfare, individual fighting skill played a role in battle. Hoplites\' shields were not locked all of the time. Throughout many points of the fight there were periods where the hoplites separated as far as two to three feet apart in order to have room to swing their shields and swords at the enemy. This led to individual prowess being more important than previously realized by some historians. It would have been nearly impossible to swing both shield and sword if the man next to you is practically touching.`{{full citation needed|date=February 2022}}`{=mediawiki} One piece of evidence of this is the picking of individual champions after each battle was fought. This is most evident in Herodotus\' account of the Battle of Thermopylae. \"Although great valor was displayed by the entire corps of Spartans and Thespians, the man who proved himself best was a Spartan Officer named Dienekes\". The brothers Alpheus and Maron were also honored for their battlefield prowess as well. This is just one example of an ancient historian giving credit to a few individual soldiers and the individuality of phalanx warfare.
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# Hoplite
## Equipment
### Body armour {#body_armour}
Each hoplite provided his own equipment. Thus, only those who could afford such weaponry fought as hoplites. As with the Roman Republican army it was the middle classes who formed the bulk of the infantry. Equipment was not standardized, although there were doubtless trends in general designs over time, and between city-states. Hoplites had customized armour, the shield was decorated with family or clan emblems, although in later years these were replaced by symbols or monograms of the city states. The equipment might be passed down in families, as it was expensive to manufacture.
The hoplite army consisted of heavy infantrymen. Their armour, also called panoply, was sometimes made of full bronze for those who could afford it, weighing nearly 32 kg, although linen armor now known as linothorax was more common since it was cost-effective and provided decent protection. The average farmer-peasant hoplite could not afford any armor and typically carried only a shield, a spear, and perhaps a helmet plus a secondary weapon. The richer upper-class hoplites typically had a bronze cuirass of either the bell or muscled variety, a bronze helmet with cheekplates, as well as greaves and other armour. The design of helmets used varied through time. The Corinthian helmet was at first standardized and was a successful design. Later variants included the Chalcidian helmet, a lightened version of the Corinthian helmet, and the simple Pilos helmet worn by the later hoplites. Often the helmet was decorated with one, sometimes more horsehair crests, and/or bronze animal horns and ears. Helmets were often painted as well. The Thracian helmet had a large visor to further increase protection. In later periods, *linothorax* was also used, as it is tougher and cheaper to produce. The linen was 0.5 cm thick. By contrast with hoplites, other contemporary infantry (e.g., Persian) tended to wear relatively light armour, wicker shields, and were armed with shorter spears, javelins, and bows. The most famous are the Peltasts, light-armed troops who wore no armour and were armed with a light shield, javelins and a short sword. The Athenian general Iphicrates developed a new type of armour and arms for his mercenary army, which included light linen armour, smaller shields and longer spears, whilst arming his Peltasts with larger shields, helmets and a longer spear, thus enabling them to defend themselves more easily against hoplites. With this new type of army he defeated a Spartan army in 392 BC. The arms and armour described above were most common for hoplites.
### Shield
Hoplites carried a large concave shield called an `{{transliteration|grc|[[aspis]]}}`{=mediawiki} (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a `{{transliteration|grc|hoplon}}`{=mediawiki}), measuring between 80 and in diameter and weighing between 6.5 and. This large shield was made possible partly by its shape, which allowed it to be supported on the shoulder. The shield was assembled in three layers: the center layer was made of thick wood, the outside layer facing the enemy was made of bronze, and leather comprised the inside of the shield. The revolutionary part of the shield was the grip. Known as an Argive grip, it placed the handle at the edge of the shield, and was supported by a leather fastening (for the forearm) at the centre. These two points of contact eliminated the possibility of the shield swaying to the side after being struck, and as a result soldiers rarely lost their shields. This allowed the hoplite soldier more mobility with the shield, as well as the ability to capitalize on its offensive capabilities and better support the phalanx. The large shields, designed for pushing ahead, were the most essential equipment for the hoplites.
### Spear
The main offensive weapon used was a 2.5 - long and 2.5 cm in diameter spear called a `{{transliteration|grc|[[Dory (spear)|''doru'', or ''dory'']]}}`{=mediawiki}. It was held with the right hand, with the left hand holding the hoplite\'s shield. Soldiers usually held their spears in an underhand position when approaching but once they came into close contact with their opponents, they were held in an overhand position ready to strike. The spearhead was usually a curved leaf shape, while the rear of the spear had a spike called a `{{transliteration|grc|sauroter}}`{=mediawiki} (\"lizard-killer\") which was used to stand the spear in the ground (hence the name). It was also used as a secondary weapon if the main shaft snapped, or for the rear ranks to finish off fallen opponents as the phalanx advanced over them. In addition to being used as a secondary weapon, the `{{transliteration|grc|sauroter}}`{=mediawiki} doubled to balance the spear, but not for throwing purposes. It is a matter of contention, among historians, whether the hoplite used the spear overarm or underarm. Held underarm, the thrusts would have been less powerful but under more control, and vice versa. It seems likely that both motions were used, depending on the situation. If attack was called for, an overarm motion was more likely to break through an opponent\'s defence. The upward thrust is more easily deflected by armour due to its lesser leverage. When defending, an underarm carry absorbed more shock and could be \'couched\' under the shoulder for maximum stability. An overarm motion would allow more effective combination of the *aspis* and *doru* if the shield wall had broken down, while the underarm motion would be more effective when the shield had to be interlocked with those of one\'s neighbours in the battle-line. Hoplites in the rows behind the lead would almost certainly have made overarm thrusts. The rear ranks held their spears underarm, and raised their shields upwards at increasing angles. This was an effective defence against missiles, deflecting their force.
### Sword
Hoplites also carried a sword, mostly a short sword called a *xiphos*, but later also longer and heavier types. The short sword was a secondary weapon, used if or when their spears were broken or lost, or if the phalanx broke rank. The xiphos usually had a blade around 60 cm long; however, those used by the Spartans were often only 30--45 centimetres long. This very short xiphos would be very advantageous in the press that occurred when two lines of hoplites met, capable of being thrust through gaps in the shieldwall into an enemy\'s unprotected groin or throat, while there was no room to swing a longer sword. Such a small weapon would be particularly useful after many hoplites had started to abandon body armour during the Peloponnesian War. Hoplites could also alternatively carry the *kopis*, a heavy knife with a forward-curving blade. The scabbard of the sword was called *koleos* (κολεός).
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# Hoplite
## Theories on the transition to fighting in the phalanx {#theories_on_the_transition_to_fighting_in_the_phalanx}
Dark Age warfare transitioned into hoplite warfare from the 8th century BC onwards. Historians and researchers have debated the reason and speed of the transition for centuries. So far, 3 popular theories exist:
### Gradualist theory {#gradualist_theory}
Developed by Anthony Snodgrass, the Gradualist Theory states that the hoplite style of battle developed in a series of steps as a result of innovations in armour and weaponry. Chronologically dating the archeological findings of hoplite armour and using the findings to approximate the development of the phalanx formation, Snodgrass claims that the transition took approximately 100 years to complete from 750 to 650 BC. The progression of the phalanx took time because as the phalanx matured it required denser formations that made the elite warriors recruit Greek citizens. The large amounts of hoplite armour needed to then be distributed to the populations of Greek citizens only increased the time for the phalanx to be implemented. Snodgrass believes, only once the armour was in place that the phalanx formation became popular.
### Rapid adoption theory {#rapid_adoption_theory}
The rapid adaptation model was developed by historians Paul Cartledge and Victor Hanson. They believed that the phalanx was created independently by military forces, but was so effective that others had to immediately adapt their way of war to combat the formation. Rapid adoptionists propose that the double grip shield that was required for the phalanx formation was so constricting in mobility that once it was introduced, Dark Age, free-flowing warfare was inadequate to fight against the hoplites, only escalating the speed of the transition. Quickly, the phalanx formation and hoplite armour became widely used throughout Ancient Greece. Cartledge and Hanson estimate the transition took place from 725 to 675 BC.
### Extended gradualist theory {#extended_gradualist_theory}
Developed by Hans Van Wees, the Extended Gradualist theory is the most lengthy of the three popular transition theories. Van Wees depicts iconography found on pots of the Dark Ages believing that the foundation of the phalanx formation was birthed during this time. Specifically, he uses an example of the Chigi Vase to point out that hoplite soldiers were carrying normal spears as well as javelins on their backs. Matured hoplites did not carry long-range weapons including javelins. The Chigi vase is important for our knowledge of the hoplite soldier because it is one if not the only representation of the hoplite formation, known as the phalanx, in Greek art. This led Van Wees to believe that there was a transitional period from long-range warfare of the Dark Ages to the close combat of hoplite warfare. Some other evidence of a transitional period lies within the text of Spartan poet Tyrtaios, who wrote, \"...will they draw back for the pounding \[of the missiles, no,\] despite the battery of great hurl-stones, the helmets shall abide the rattle \[of war unbowed\]\". At no point in other texts does Tyrtaios discuss missiles or rocks, making another case for a transitional period in which hoplite warriors had some ranged capabilities. Extended Gradualists argue that hoplite warriors did not fight in a true phalanx until the 5th century BC. Making estimations of the speed of the transition reached as long as 300 years, from 750 to 450 BC.
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# Hoplite
## History
### Ancient Greece {#ancient_greece}
The exact time when hoplite warfare was developed is uncertain, the prevalent theory being that it was established sometime during the 8th or 7th century BC, when the \"heroic age was abandoned and a far more disciplined system introduced\" and the Argive shield became popular. Peter Krentz argues that \"the ideology of hoplitic warfare as a ritualized contest developed not in the 7th century \[BC\], but only after 480, when non-hoplite arms began to be excluded from the phalanx\". Archaeo-anthropological discoveries of the earliest monumental polyandrion (communal burial of male warriors) at Paros Island in Greece unveiled a last quarter of the 8th century BC date for a hoplitic phalangeal military organization. A recent compilation of the now available evidence came to the conclusion that the characteristic hoplite armour developed in the third quarter of the 8th century.
The rise and fall of hoplite warfare was tied to the rise and fall of the city-state. As discussed above, hoplites were a solution to the armed clashes between independent city-states. As Greek civilization found itself confronted by the world at large, particularly the Persians, the emphasis in warfare shifted. Confronted by huge numbers of enemy troops, individual city-states could not realistically fight alone. During the Greco-Persian Wars (499--448 BC), alliances between groups of cities (whose composition varied over time) fought against the Persians. This drastically altered the scale of warfare and the numbers of troops involved. The hoplite phalanx proved itself far superior to the Persian infantry at such conflicts as the Battle of Marathon, Thermopylae, and the Battle of Plataea.
During this period, Athens and Sparta rose to a position of political eminence in Greece, and their rivalry in the aftermath of the Persian wars brought Greece into renewed internal conflict. The Peloponnesian War was on a scale unlike conflicts before. Fought between leagues of cities, dominated by Athens and Sparta respectively, the pooled manpower and financial resources allowed a diversification of warfare. Hoplite warfare was in decline. There were three major battles in the Peloponnesian War, and none proved decisive. Instead there was increased reliance on navies, skirmishers, mercenaries, city walls, siege engines, and non-set piece tactics. These reforms made wars of attrition possible and greatly increased the number of casualties. In the Persian war, hoplites faced large numbers of skirmishers and missile-armed troops, and such troops (e.g., peltasts) became much more commonly used by the Greeks during the Peloponnesian War. As a result, hoplites began wearing less armour, carrying shorter swords, and in general adapting for greater mobility. This led to the development of the ekdromos light hoplite.
Many famous personalities, philosophers, artists, and poets fought as hoplites.
According to Nefiodkin, fighting against Greek heavy infantry during the Greco-Persian Wars inspired the Persians to introduce scythed chariots.
### Sparta
Sparta is one of the most famous city-states, along with Athens, which had a unique position in ancient Greece. Contrary to other city states, the free citizens of Sparta served as hoplites their entire lives, training and exercising in peacetime, which gave Sparta a professional standing army. Often small, numbering around 6000 at its peak to no more than 1000 soldiers at lowest point, divided into six mora or battalion. The Spartan army was feared for its discipline and ferocity, and was considered the best at the *othismos*. Military service was the primary duty of Spartan men, and Spartan society was organized around its army.
Military service for hoplites lasted until the age of 40, and sometimes until 60 years of age, depending on a man\'s physical ability to perform on the battlefield.
### Macedonia
Later in the hoplite era, more sophisticated tactics were developed, in particular by the Theban general Epaminondas. These tactics inspired the future king Philip II of Macedon, who was at the time a hostage in Thebes, to develop a new type of infantry, the Macedonian phalanx. After the Macedonian conquests of the 4th century BC, the hoplite was slowly abandoned in favour of the phalangite, armed in the Macedonian fashion, in the armies of the southern Greek states. Although clearly a development of the hoplite, the Macedonian phalanx was tactically more versatile, especially used in the combined arms tactics favoured by the Macedonians. These forces defeated the last major hoplite army, at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), after which Athens and its allies joined the Macedonian empire.
While Alexander\'s army mainly fielded *Pezhetairoi* (= Foot Companions) as his main force, his army also included some classic hoplites, either provided by the League of Corinth or from hired mercenaries. Beside these units, the Macedonians also used the so-called *Hypaspists*, an elite force of units possibly originally fighting as hoplites and used to guard the exposed right wing of Alexander\'s phalanx.
### Hoplite-style warfare outside Greece {#hoplite_style_warfare_outside_greece}
Hoplite-style warfare was influential, and influenced several other nations in the Mediterranean. Hoplite warfare was the dominant fighting style on much of the Italian Peninsula until the early 3rd century BC, employed by both the Etruscans and the Early Roman army, though scutum infantry had existed for centuries and some groups fielded both. The Romans later standardized their fighting style to a more flexible maniple organization, which was more versatile on rough terrain like that of the Apennines. Roman equipment also changed, trading spears for heavy javelins (*pilum*). In the end only the *triarii* would keep a long spear (*hasta*) as their main weapon. The triarii would still fight in a traditional phalanx formation. Though this combination or similar was popular in much of Italy, some continued to fight as hoplites. Mercenaries serving under Pyrrhus of Epirus or Hannibal (namely Lucanians) were equipped and fought as hoplites.
Early in its history, Ancient Carthage also equipped its troops as Greek hoplites, in units such as the Sacred Band of Carthage. Many Greek hoplite mercenaries fought in foreign armies, such as Carthage and Achaemenid Empire, where it is believed by some that they inspired the formation of the Cardaces. Some hoplites served under the Illyrian king Bardylis in the 4th century. The Illyrians were known to import many weapons and tactics from the Greeks.
The Diadochi imported the Greek phalanx to their kingdoms. Though they mostly fielded Greek citizens or mercenaries, they also armed and drilled local natives as hoplites or rather Macedonian phalanx, like the Machimoi of the Ptolemaic army.
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# Hoplite
## History
### Hellenistic period {#hellenistic_period}
The Greek armies of the Hellenistic period mostly fielded troops in the fashion of the Macedonian phalanx. Many armies of mainland Greece retained hoplite warfare. Besides classical hoplites Hellenistic nations began to field two new types of hoplites, the *Thureophoroi* and the *Thorakitai*. They developed when Greeks adopted the Galatian *Thureos* shield, of an oval shape that was similar to the shields of the Romans, but flatter. The Thureophoroi were armed with a long thrusting spear, a short sword and, if needed, javelins. While the Thorakitai were similar to the Thureophoroi, they were more heavily armoured, as their name implies, usually wearing a mail shirt. These troops were used as a link between the light infantry and the phalanx, a form of medium infantry to bridge the gaps
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# List of days of the year
The following pages, corresponding to the Gregorian calendar, list the historical events, births, deaths, and holidays and observances of the specified day of the year:
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May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
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# Helsingborg Municipality
**Helsingborg Municipality** (*Helsingborgs kommun*) is a municipality in Scania County in Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Helsingborg, which is Sweden\'s eighth-largest city. The municipality had a population of 147,734 on 1 January 2019 and the metropolitan area has about 320,000 inhabitants.
Between 1912 and 1971 the name of the town was officially spelled **Hälsingborg** (rather like the region of Hälsingland but unlike neighbouring Danish Helsingør and the Finnish capital Helsingfors (Helsinki)). The spelling was changed back to the older version when the present municipality was created in 1971 through the amalgamation of the *Town of Hälsingborg* with four surrounding rural municipalities. Since the 1990s the municipality again styles itself *Helsingborgs stad* (*Town of Helsingborg*). This usage is only nominal and has no effect on the status of the municipality.
## Localities
As of 2018, there were 16 urban areas the municipality.
\# Locality Population
---- -------------------- ------------
1 Helsingborg 109,869
2 Rydebäck (part of) 6,429
3 Ödåkra 5,413
4 Hittarp 4,670
5 Påarp 2,959
6 Bårslöv 2,774
7 Mörarp 1,889
8 Gantofta 1,356
9 Vallåkra 828
10 Kattarp 732
11 Allerum 725
12 Domsten 602
13 Hasslarp 600
14 Tånga och Rögle 230
15 Utvälinge 230
16 Fleninge 208
### Districts
The administrative division of Helsingborg is divided into 17 districts. They are Allerum, Bårslöv, Filborna, Fjärestad, Fleninge, Frillestad, Helsingborgs Gustav Adolf, Helsingborgs Maria, Hässlunda, Kattarp, Kropp, Kvistofta, Mörarp, Ottarp, Raus, Välinge and Välluv.
## Demographics
This is a demographic table based on Helsingborg Municipality\'s electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT\'s election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.
In total there were 149,791 residents, including 110,550 Swedish citizens of voting age. 41.5% voted for the left coalition and 56.8% for the right coalition. This made Helsingborg the strongest among large municipalities for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.
Location
------------------------------ ------------------------------ -------------------------------- -------------------------------- ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ----
data-sort-type=\"number\" \| data-sort-type=\"number\" \| data-sort-type=\"number\" \| % data-sort-type=\"number\" \| % data-sort-type=\"number\" \| data-sort-type=\"number\" \| data-sort-type=\"number\" \| data-sort-type=\"number\" \| data-sort-type=\"number\" \|
Adolfsberg 1,532 1,094 51.2 47.4 73 46 54 23,036 34
Allerum 1,442 1,052 24.3 74.8 87 90 10 30,024 43
Berga 1,816 1,403 44.8 53.8 78 54 46 25,788 39
Björka-Väla 1,712 1,157 45.7 50.6 71 39 61 24,031 35
Brohult 1,491 1,150 48.1 49.8 69 40 60 20,461 26
Bårslöv V 1,489 1,081 40.0 58.3 77 62 38 26,204 34
Bårslöv Ö 1,260 912 38.2 58.6 77 65 35 24,614 29
Centrum S 1,592 1,307 41.8 56.5 74 69 31 28,551 51
Centrum V 1,471 1,357 31.6 67.9 82 81 19 29,206 52
Centrum Ö 1,615 1,508 33.6 65.2 79 81 19 29,723 52
Dalhem S 1,811 1,220 52.1 45.0 63 40 60 18,604 22
Dalhem-Källstorp 1,695 1,224 49.6 48.2 60 43 57 19,544 25
Drottninghög V 1,195 895 57.7 37.9 58 28 72 14,926 27
Drottninghög Ö 1,829 1,194 64.6 30.0 54 21 79 15,125 23
Elineberg 1,871 1,352 53.1 43.9 63 47 53 18,344 33
Eneborg M 1,324 970 53.1 43.4 64 39 61 18,343 40
Eneborg V 1,583 973 62.3 33.5 59 30 70 16,612 35
Eneborg Ö 1,412 1,216 46.1 52.0 75 60 40 23,638 49
Eskilsminne 1,782 1,237 42.4 57.1 76 66 34 26,268 49
Fredriksdal M 1,821 1,057 53.5 43.4 60 30 70 17,845 35
Fredriksdal V 1,646 1,177 60.0 36.2 61 37 63 18,372 31
Fredriksdal Ö 1,508 907 66.6 27.1 49 19 81 14,145 31
Furutorp 1,641 743 56.7 39.0 47 23 77 11,744 43
Gantofta 1,834 1,299 34.0 64.9 87 87 13 29,238 45
Gustav Adolf 1,432 996 59.4 37.0 52 33 67 15,748 36
Gustavslund V 1,520 1,129 35.6 63.2 86 78 22 31,491 54
Gustavslund Ö 1,932 1,169 34.4 64.8 88 65 35 33,707 55
Hittarp-Domsten 1,500 1,272 28.1 71.1 77 89 11 38,530 68
Humlegården 1,575 1,155 37.8 61.5 84 80 20 32,279 54
Husensjö 1,905 1,393 41.4 57.5 86 79 21 32,973 59
Högaborg V 1,432 935 54.5 42.7 53 36 64 14,065 39
Högaborg Ö 1,808 1,192 61.4 34.7 57 27 73 15,413 26
Högasten 1,597 1,327 43.7 54.2 69 62 38 21,327 33
Kattarp 1,658 1,130 34.2 64.1 71 68 32 22,308 30
Laröd V 1,853 1,378 29.8 69.2 81 87 13 36,921 65
Laröd Ö 1,901 1,406 32.6 66.2 85 83 17 30,968 50
Lundsbäck 1,619 1,051 41.6 56.3 72 47 53 26,984 46
Lussebäcken 1,535 1,207 47.4 50.7 66 62 38 20,267 31
Margaretaplatsen 1,249 1,132 34.4 64.0 81 83 17 29,343 55
Mariastaden N 2,101 1,384 32.0 67.4 86 78 22 37,623 64
Mariastaden S 1,764 1,170 35.1 63.8 81 74 26 31,726 52
Mariastaden V 1,692 1,192 41.5 56.8 82 80 20 31,297 58
Mariastaden Ö 1,936 1,139 39.1 58.4 70 44 56 23,166 42
Mörarp V 1,346 967 29.6 68.1 84 81 19 27,242 35
Mörarp Ö 1,490 1,044 32.7 66.7 83 80 20 27,401 35
Närlunda 1,807 1,215 63.6 33.0 60 35 65 17,487 33
Oceanhamnen 1,039 869 39.8 59.3 64 57 43 23,536 51
Olympia 1,628 1,395 39.5 59.5 70 71 29 24,627 51
Planteringen N 2,039 1,236 59.2 32.5 51 25 75 13,976 25
Planteringen S 2,086 1,466 49.8 46.1 58 42 58 17,335 30
Påarp V 1,878 1,313 31.7 66.7 81 70 30 27,020 34
Påarp Ö 1,863 1,362 32.9 66.6 84 85 15 26,494 32
Pålsjöbaden 1,054 985 23.5 75.8 74 88 12 31,233 61
Pålsjö Ö 1,391 1,067 44.2 54.8 79 77 23 26,009 50
Ragnvalla 1,921 1,173 48.7 46.2 65 34 66 19,569 29
Ramlösa N 1,556 1,196 41.0 58.7 86 83 17 32,633 55
Ramlösa Ö 1,631 1,212 35.5 63.3 88 84 16 35,189 59
Ramlösabrunn 1,795 1,305 42.8 56.2 85 79 21 30,588 55
Raus S 1,413 1,026 37.0 61.9 86 77 23 29,707 48
Ringstorp C 1,581 1,374 41.3 57.3 81 75 25 23,965 41
Ringstorp N 1,715 1,343 37.5 61.4 80 75 25 27,658 52
Ringstorp Ö 1,718 1,173 40.9 56.5 72 60 40 23,382 42
Rosengården C 1,728 1,165 54.3 43.4 70 46 54 22,829 39
Rosengården V 1,558 1,245 47.3 50.3 72 65 35 23,597 35
Rosengården Ö 1,482 1,139 54.2 44.2 71 40 60 20,575 36
Rydebäck M 1,721 1,310 37.4 61.8 89 91 9 30,601 60
Rydebäck N 1,701 1,206 33.2 65.9 87 88 12 32,942 60
Rydebäck S 1,541 1,134 34.3 65.1 88 94 6 35,159 63
Rydebäck Ö 1,568 1,121 36.4 62.8 88 86 14 30,019 57
Råå N 1,602 1,343 42.8 56.6 82 89 11 27,389 61
Råå S 1,770 1,412 37.2 62.1 84 91 9 32,173 57
Slottshöjden N 1,616 1,286 43.6 54.2 72 61 39 23,376 51
Slottshöjden S 1,528 1,386 39.9 59.1 79 81 19 25,921 50
Sofieberg 1,527 1,149 45.5 53.7 83 73 27 30,015 54
St Jörgens plats 1,436 1,334 32.9 66.9 82 84 16 31,123 52
Stadsparken 1,489 976 57.8 38.6 61 35 65 17,706 33
Stattena 1,597 1,343 43.6 54.5 77 69 31 23,524 44
Söder 1,728 1,063 60.6 37.3 58 24 76 15,812 41
Tågaborg C 1,598 1,313 41.4 57.1 80 78 22 29,211 52
Tågaborg M 1,484 1,327 38.2 60.7 82 80 20 28,998 51
Tågaborg N 1,627 1,357 29.4 69.7 80 84 16 33,732 65
Tågaborg S 1,676 1,385 39.7 59.4 79 79 21 27,704 55
Tågaborg Ö 1,607 1,419 41.7 57.0 79 70 30 27,025 47
Vallåkra-Ottarp 1,784 1,307 31.4 67.6 82 84 16 27,785 39
Viskängen 1,654 1,332 44.6 53.3 75 63 37 24,801 45
Välinge 756 560 34.9 64.2 82 86 14 26,916 35
Västergård N 1,389 1,009 51.6 46.6 68 42 58 21,564 35
Wilson park 1,768 1,373 47.3 51.5 75 67 33 26,822 53
Ättekulla N 1,305 1,067 48.2 50.3 77 60 40 21,959 33
Ättekulla Ö 1,256 983 43.5 55.2 75 65 35 22,278 31
Ödåkra N 1,642 1,194 32.3 66.9 80 75 25 25,268 35
Ödåkra V 1,627 1,114 40.8 57.8 78 59 41 26,991 41
Ödåkra Ö 1,694 1,235 40.0 59
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# Geography of Haiti
The Republic of Haiti comprises the western three-eighths of the island of Hispaniola, west of the Dominican Republic. Haiti is positioned east of the neighboring island of Cuba, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean.
Haiti\'s total area is 27,560 km2, of which 27560 km2 is land and 190 km2 is water. Haiti has 1771 km of coastline and a 360 km-border with the Dominican Republic.
## Climate
The climate is tropical with some variation depending on altitude. Port-au-Prince ranges in January from an average minimum of 23 °C to an average maximum of 31 °C; in July, from 25 --. The rainfall pattern is varied, with rain heavier in some of the lowlands and on the northern and eastern slopes of the mountains.
Port-au-Prince receives an average annual rainfall of 1370 mm. There are two rainy seasons, April--June and October--November. Haiti is subject to periodic droughts and floods, made more severe by deforestation. Atlantic hurricanes are also a menace. For example, Hurricane Matthew caused large amounts of damage when it hit Haiti in 2016.
## Physical geography {#physical_geography}
Haiti\'s terrain varies, with more than three fourths of the territory above 700 ft. Its climate is predominantly tropical, with some smaller areas of semi-arid, subtropical, and oceanic climate. Fertile valleys are interspersed between the mountain ranges forming vast areas of contrast between elevations in many areas throughout the territory. Haiti (and Hispaniola) are separated from Cuba by way of the Windward Passage, a 45 nmi wide strait that passes between the two countries.
Haiti\'s lowest elevation is reported by one source to be sea level (the Caribbean Sea), by another source to be below sea level (Gheskio clinic, Port-au-Prince or in Gonaïves, \<-1m), while its highest point is Pic la Selle at 2680 m.
- Haiti\'s most important valley in terms of crops is the Plaine de l\'Artibonite, which is oriented south of the Montagnes Noires. This region supports the country\'s (also Hispaniola\'s) longest river, the Fleuve Artibonite whose watershed begins in the western region of the Dominican Republic and continues most of its length through central Haiti and onward where it empties into the Gulf of Gonâve. The river is navigable for a distance by barge. The eastern and central region of the island is a large elevated plateau.
- The northern region consists of the *Massif du Nord* (Northern Massif) and the *Plaine du Nord* (Northern Plain). The Massif du Nord is an extension of the Cordillera Central in the Dominican Republic. It begins at Haiti\'s eastern border, north of the Guayamouc River, and extends to the northwest through the northern peninsula. The *Plateau Central* (Central Plateau) extends along both sides of the Guayamouc River, south of the Massif du Nord. It runs from the southeast to the northwest. To the southwest of the Plateau Central are the Montagnes Noires, whose most northwestern part merges with the Massif du Nord.
- The southern region consists of the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac (the southeast) and the mountainous southern peninsula (also known as the Tiburon Peninsula). The Plaine du Cul-de-Sac is a natural depression which harbors the country\'s saline lakes, such as Trou Caïman and Haiti\'s largest lake Lac Azuei (also known as Étang Saumâtre). The Chaîne de la Selle mountain range, an extension of the southern mountain chain of the Dominican Republic (the *Sierra de Baoruco*), extends from the Massif de la Selle in the east to the Massif de la Hotte in the west. This mountain range harbors Pic la Selle, the highest point in Haiti at 2,680 metres (8,793 ft).
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# Geography of Haiti
## Islands
Numerous smaller islands make up a part of Haiti\'s total territory. The most notable islands are:
1. *Île de la Gonâve*, the largest offshore island of mainland Hispaniola, is located to the west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in Haiti\'s Gulf of Gonâve, in the Caribbean Sea (the largest gulf of the Antilles). It has an area of 743 km^2^. Its Taíno name was *Guanabo*. La Gonâve was once a pirate base.
2. *Tortuga* (*Turtle*), is the second largest offshore island of the mainland, located off the northwest coast of Hispaniola. It has an area of 180 km^2^. The island was a major center of Caribbean piracy during the 17th century and has become famous in many works of literature and film. The island\'s name derives from the turtle-like shape of the island.
3. *Île à Vache* (*Cow Island*) is a small and lush Caribbean island located off southwestern of Haiti with a total area of 52 km^2^.
4. *Les Cayemites*, a pair of islands located in the Gulf of Gonâve off the coast of southwest Hispaniola. It has a combined area of 45 km^2^.
5. *La Navasse*, is a rocky outcropping that has been subject to an ongoing territorial dispute with the United States. The island is located 40 nmi west of Jérémie on the south west peninsula of Haiti, and measures 2 sqmi.
Haiti also has several lakes. The largest lake in Haiti, and the second largest lake of the island of Hispaniola and the West Indies, is Lake Azuei. It is located in the Cul-de-Sac Depression with an area of 170 km^2^. It is a saline lake with a higher concentration of salt than the sea water and harbors numerous fauna such as American crocodiles and American flamingos.
Lake Péligre is an artificial lake created by the construction of the Péligre Hydroelectric Dam.
Trou Caïman is a saltwater lake with a total area of 16.2 km^2^. Lake Miragoâne is one of the largest natural freshwater lakes in the Caribbean, with an area of 25 km^2^.
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# Geography of Haiti
## Statistics
Maritime claims:
:\* Territorial sea: 12 nmi
:\* Contiguous zone: 24 nmi
:\* Exclusive economic zone: 126760 km2 and 200 nmi
:\* Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Climate:
: Tropical; semiarid where mountains in east cut off trade winds
Terrain:
: Mostly rough and mountainous
```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
Natural resources:
: Bauxite, copper, calcium carbonate, gold, marble, hydropower, arable land
Land use:
:\* Arable land: 36.28%
:\* Permanent crops: 10.16%
:\* Other: 53.56% (2012 est.)
Irrigated land:
: 970 km^3^
Total renewable water resources:
: 14.03 km^3^ (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
:\* Total: 1.2 km^3^/yr (17%/3%/80%)
:\* Per capita: 134
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# Politics of Haiti
The **politics of Haiti** takes place in the framework of a unitary semi-presidential republic, where the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. The politics of Haiti are considered historically unstable due to various *coups d\'état*, regime changes, military juntas and internal conflicts. After Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed, Haitian politics became relatively stable. `{{Democracy Index rating|Haiti|authoritarian regime|2022}}`{=mediawiki} In 2023, the V-Dem Democracy indices determined Haiti to be the fourth least electorally democratic country in Latin America.
Political corruption is widespread in Haiti and it has consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt nations according to the Corruption Perceptions Index, a measure of perceived political corruption. In 2006, Haiti was ranked as the most corrupt nation out of the 163 that were surveyed for the index. In 2020, Haiti was #170 out of 180. The International Red Cross reported that Haiti was 155th out of 159 countries in a similar survey of corrupt countries. In 2013, Haiti ranked #8 in the Fragile States Index.
## History
Haiti overthrew French colonial rule in a successful slave revolt (Haitian Revolution) that ended in 1804. Under the Haitian Constitution, the President of Haiti is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The President cannot stand for two consecutive terms.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected overwhelmingly as president for a third time at the 2000 election held on 26 November 2000, an election boycotted by most opposition political parties, and sworn in on 4 February 2001. Aristide, a left wing president, was deposed in a *coup d\'état* on 29 February 2004, led by the Group of 184, allegedly with assistance of the French and United States governments, on the basis that U.S. and French soldiers had recently arrived in Haiti, ostensibly to protect the U.S. embassy in Haiti. (See controversy regarding US involvement.)
The first election after the 2004 Haitian coup d\'état for a new president was held on 8 February 2006 with the runoff election on 21 April. René Préval was declared the winner on 14 May 2006. The 2011 election was held on 28 November 2010 with the runoff election on 20 March 2011. Michel Martelly succeeded Préval when his term expired on 14 May 2011, the first time in Haitian history that an incumbent president peacefully transferred power to a member of the opposition. Martelly\'s presidency is rated by some as free and by some as authoritarian.
The 2015 presidential election was held on 25 October 2015, but before the runoff, it was criticised by the Haitian public and media as \"not-free\" and \"controlled\". According to an exit poll conducted by *Haitian Sentinel*, only 6% of voters voted for Jovenel Moïse. The other presidential runoff candidate, Jude Célestin, expressed his disapproval of the lack of transparency of the *Conseil Electoral Provisoire* (Provisional Electoral Council, CEP). Thirty other candidates commented the 2015 election was controlled disregarding public trust. Martelly resigned the presidency on 10 February 2016, amid allegations that the 2015 election was fraudulent, leaving the country without a government in place. The election result was annulled by the CEP.
The Parliament on 13--14 February 2016 elected Jocelerme Privert as provisional president for a period of 120 days, in place of the Council of Ministers. On 14 June 2016, Privert\'s presidential term expired, but he remained as *de facto* president as the National Assembly refused to meet to appoint a successor. On 7 February 2017, Privert was succeeded by Moïse who won the 2016 presidential election that was held in November 2016 with the runoff election on 29 January 2017. Since 2018, with no working parliament, Moïse ruled in Haiti by decree. On 7 July 2021, Moïse was assassinated.
Under the Haitian Constitution, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President and must be confirmed by the National Assembly. Yvon Neptune was appointed prime minister on 4 March 2002, but was replaced following the coup of February 2004 by Gérard Latortue, who became interim prime minister. Neptune was imprisoned in June 2004, accused of complicity in an alleged massacre in Saint-Marc. United Nations officials expressed skepticism of the evidence and called for either due process or his release. Neptune was formally charged on 20 September 2005, but was never sent to trial. Jacques-Édouard Alexis became prime minister on 9 June 2006, and Neptune was released on 28 July 2006. In April 2008, Parliament voted to dismiss Alexis following widespread rioting over food prices. His selected replacement was rejected by Parliament, throwing the country into a prolonged period without a government. Michèle Pierre-Louis received approval to become the next prime minister from both houses in July 2008. Moïse appointed seven different prime ministers during his time in office, the last of whom was Ariel Henry, who was appointed on 5 July 2021, but had not been sworn in by the time of Moïse\'s assassination on 7 July. At the time of Moïse\'s assassination, Claude Joseph was Haiti\'s interim prime minister. On 19 July, Joseph relinquished the office of prime minister and Ariel Henry was sworn in on 20 July. `{{update|date=April 2023}}`{=mediawiki}
## Summary
The lack of voter turnout has been a major issue for Haitian elections, as only approximately 15% of eligible voters will vote in an election. CEP does not release data about turnout in elections, however, according to unofficial population clocks, official census data and electoral data, only 15.94% of Haitians voted in the election. Proper rejection of votes had been a problem lately, as 7.71% of all votes are rejected according to CEP.
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# Politics of Haiti
## Creole in politics and corruption {#creole_in_politics_and_corruption}
French has been the primary language in Haitian politics since the colonial era, with Haitian Creole being held in low regard by the nation\'s ruling class. Haitian Creole is a combination of basic French structures with significant loanwords from African languages, and major differences in grammar and spelling.
This original demotion of the Creole language created socioeconomic barriers for the country\'s majority which primarily spoke only Haitian Creole.
Today, Creole is spoken by everyone in the country. The upper class and educated people speak both French and Creole. Per the 1987 Constitution, both Creole and French are official languages of Haiti. However, French is still the main language taught in schools and used in politics. With only 2-5% speaking the language of the politics, Creole speakers are politically disenfranchised.
This disenfranchisement is further aggravated by the lack of a systematic educational system. Literacy programs failed in the 1980s, and French is still the language being used to instruct students. Haitian linguist, Yves Dejean, recalls warnings posted in the principal\'s office forbidding the use of Creole. In the 1970s, only 1% of the children who entered kindergarten stayed on track to obtain state certificate at the end of the sixth grade. Even after the literacy programs of the 1980s, 90% of the teachers ten years after the decree were still not able to fully integrate the Creole language into the education system. The language handicap makes education and furthermore, political enfranchisement almost impossible
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# Telecommunications in Haiti
**Telecommunications in Haiti** Internet, radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones.
## Internet Access {#internet_access}
There are 4 Internet service providers serving the country -- NATCOM, Access Haiti, Hainet., and Digicel Haiti. The Haitian telecommunications authority, CONATEL, decided in October 2010 to allow the introduction of 3G services by the mobile telephone service providers. This will enable them to deploy faster mobile internet access speeds throughout their networks than what is currently available with GPRS/EDGE.
NATCOM is the leading internet company in Haiti with a wide range of internet connectivity solutions. From 4G LTE, Fiber to the home and to the business, Wireless point to point and point to multi point solutions. NATCOM offers guaranteed SLA\'s thanks to its robust local network and exclusive 4 international links to the global undersea fiber networks.
## Pricing
As of September 2017, Taxes are included.
**Fiber Optic Consumer Pricing**
Pricing per month by download speed and provider
Download Speed (Mbps) NATCOM Hainet Access Haiti
----------------------- -------------- ------------ --------------
2 Mbit/s US\$50.00 US\$60.00 US\$54.55
4 Mbit/s US\$90.00 US\$100.00 US\$99.00
6 Mbit/s US\$150.00 US\$150.00 US\$149.00
8 Mbit/s \$200.00 USD US\$199.00 US\$199.00
12 Mbit/s US\$250.00 US\$250.00 US\$249.00
15 Mbit/s \$300.00 USD US\$299.00 US\$299.00
25 Mbit/s US\$400.00 US\$350.00 US\$349.00
Local Taxes are not Included in the prices Above
## Internet censorship and surveillance {#internet_censorship_and_surveillance}
There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight.
The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government and elected officials generally respect these rights in practice. The independent media are active and express a wide variety of views without restriction. However, there have been incidents of local officials harassing or threatening journalists and others who criticized the government. Journalists complain about defamation lawsuits that the government threatens or files against the press for statements made about public officials or private figures in the public arena.
Defamation carries both criminal and civil penalties. Some journalists practice self-censorship on stories related to drug trafficking or allegations of business and political corruption, likely due to past patterns of retribution against activists and journalists engaged in investigative reporting. The law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, but the government does not always respect these prohibitions in practice.
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# Telecommunications in Haiti
## Radio and television {#radio_and_television}
- Radio stations: Government-owned radio network; more than 250 private and community radio stations with about 50 FM stations in Port-au-Prince alone (2007).
- Television stations: Several TV stations, including one government-owned; cable TV subscription service is available (2007).
- Television sets: 38,120 (1997).`{{update after|2014|1|9}}`{=mediawiki}
- Radio and TV stations in Haiti in 2010:
: {\| class=\"wikitable\"
\|+ Number of radio and television stations ! Department !! AM !! FM !! VHF !! UHF !! Cable !! Satellite \|- \| align=left\| Ouest \|\| 4 \|\| 66 \|\| 7 \|\| 30 \|\| 3 \|\| \* \|- \| align=left\| Sud-EsT \|\| 3 \|\| 18 \|\| 1 \|\| 3 \|\| \*\|\| \* \|- \| align=left\| Nippes \|\| 0 \|\| 5 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|\| 0 \|- \| align=left\| Sud \|\| 3 \|\| 19 \|\| 9 \|\| 2 \|\| 2\|\| \* \|- \| align=left\| Grande-Anse \|\| 5 \|\| 12 \|\| 2 \|\| 0 \|\| - \|\| - \|- \| align=left\| Centre \|\| 2 \|\| 10 \|\| 3 \|\| 0 \|\| - \|\| - \|- \| align=left\| Artibonite \|\| 6 \|\| 42 \|\| 6 \|\| 1 \|\| - \|\| - \|- \| align=left\| Nord-Est \|\| 1 \|\| 9 \|\| 9 \|\| 9 \|\| - \|\| - \|- \| align=left\| Nord \|\| 7 \|\| 30 \|\| 8 \|\| 2 \|\| - \|\| - \|- \| align=left\| Nord-Ouest \|\| 3 \|\| 15 \|\| 2 \|\| 1 \|\| \* \|\| \* \|- \| align=left\| **Total**\|\| **34** \|\| **226** \|\| **36** \|\| **38** \|\| **-** \|\| **-** \|}
Tele Haiti is a television broadcasting network providing paid television services with over 140 local and international channels on its network TeleHaiti.
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# Telecommunications in Haiti
## Telephones
- Calling code: +509
- International Call Prefix: 00
Land lines
In 2012, there were 50,000 main lines in use ranking Haiti 163rd in the world.
Natcom, the result of the privatization of Télécommunications d\'Haiti S.A.M. (Teleco) in 2010, has a monopoly on the provision of landline services throughout the country. The Vietnamese company Viettel bought a 60% share, with the Haitian government keeping the remaining 40% of the company.
Teleco was constantly hobbled by political interference which affected its performance. A net generator of revenues for the government in the 1970s and early 1980s, Teleco\'s fortunes then began to decline.
Mobile cellular:
Despite wide-ranging poverty, Haiti increased its mobile phone coverage rate from 6% to 30% in one year (May 2006 to May 2007). Haiti is now the driving force in mobile phone growth in the Caribbean, while radio remains the primary information medium for most Haitians.
- 6.1 million mobile lines (102nd in the world) covering 61.6% of the population (2012).
- There were two major cell phone providers: Comcel/Voila, Haitel until 2006 when Digicel, a Denis O\'Brien company, begun servicing the Haitian network. Later, Natcom purchased 60% of Teleco (the main landline company in Haiti for about 4 decades) in 2011, then it became a direct competitor to Digicel.
- Comcel, a subsidiary of Trilogy International Partners, LLC, was a TDMA company which launched its service in September 1999.
- Digicel Haiti, an affiliate of the pan-Caribbean Digicel Group won Haiti\'s first GSM license in June 2005 and launched service in early 2006.
- Haitel, an independent company founded by Franck Ciné, a Haitian-American and former MCI Inc executive, adopted CDMA technology.
In May 2006, Comcel and Haitel had a total of about 500,000 subscribers - a cell phone coverage rate of 6% for a population of 8.2 million. Digicel entered the market in May 2006. After one year of operations, May 2006-May 2007, Digicel went from zero to 1.4 million subscribers. The other two cell phone providers, Comcel and Haitel, responded by cutting their prices and offering new services such as Voilà, a GSM service by Comcel, and CDMA 2000 by Haitel. As a result, Comcel and Haitel increased their subscribers from 500,000 to 1 million. As of April 2012, Digicel has about 3.5 million cell phone subscribers in Haiti. In May 2007, Digicel started offering two BlackBerry services with Internet, one for enterprises and one for individuals. On March 30, 2012, Digicel completed the acquisition of Comcel / Voila, its main competitor in the Haitian market.
System
- Haiti\'s telecommunications infrastructure is among the least developed in Latin America and the Caribbean (2010).
- Domestic facilities are barely adequate.
- Mobile-cellular telephone services are expanding rapidly due, in part, to the introduction of low-cost GSM phones (2010).
- Mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 40 per 100 persons (2010).
- Coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service.
- International facilities are slightly better.
- Satellite earth stations: 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2010).
## Internet
- Haiti\'s country code top-level domain is .ht and is managed by NIC.ht Consortium FDS/RDDH. As of March 2009, it had 1155 domain names registered.
- Internet users: 1.3 million, 165th in the world; 12.2% of the population, 168th in the world (2015).
- Fixed broadband: unknown (2012).
- Mobile broadband: 15,781 subscriptions, 137th in the world; 0.2% of the population, 144th in the world (2012).
- Internet hosts: 555 hosts, 181st in the world (2012).
- IPv4: 124,160 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world\'s total, 13 per 1000 people
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# Transport in Haiti
All of the major transportation systems in Haiti are located near or run through the capital, Port-au-Prince.
## Roads
Haiti\'s network of roads consists of National Roads, Department Roads, and county roads. The hub of the road network is located at the old airport (at the intersection of Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Autoroute de Delmas). From this intersection, Route Nationale #1 and Route Nationale #2 commence.
- **Route Nationale #1** (RN1) heads north, passing through Saint-Marc and Gonaïves to its terminus at Rue 22 in Cap-Haïtien.
- **Route Nationale #2** (RN2) is commonly known as "Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines" within Port-au-Prince and as "Route du Sud" outside the capital region. After heading south through downtown Port-au-Prince, it travels west through the capital\'s western boroughs and then through Petit-Goâve and Aquin to its terminus at Avenue des Quatre Chemins in Les Cayes. (However, its "extension" continues southwest almost to the sea south of Port Salut.)
- **Route Nationale #3** (RN3) begins where RN1 heads northwest from Bon Repos, not far north of the road network\'s hub. RN3 travels northeast, traversing the Plateau Centrale via Mirebalais and Hinche before finally re-joining RN1 in Cap-Haïtien.
- **Route Nationale #4** (RN4) branches off from RN2 at Carrefour du Fort Léogâne, not far south of Léogâne. Commonly known as "Route de l'Amitié", RN4 climbs and descends the Chaîne de la Selle mountain range on its meandering southward course to its terminus in the centre of Jacmel.
- **Route Nationale #5** (RN5) breaks off from RN1 on the northeast edge of Gonaïves, heading north and then northwest through Gros Morne before terminating near the airport outside Port-de-Paix.
- **Route Nationale #6** (RN6) branches off from RN3 just as it is about to enter Cap-Haïtien from the south. RN6 heads southeast toward the Dominican border through Terrier Rouge en route to Ouanaminthe. Its terminus is the bridge over the Massacre River.
- **Route Nationale #7** (RN7) commences from the aforementioned Avenue des Quatre Chemins in Les Cayes, going northwest across Haiti\'s southern arm to the outskirts of Jérémie.
- **Route Nationale #8** (RN8) is by far the shortest of the National Roads. It breaks off RN1 at Carrefour Shada in Croix-des-Missions. Heading east, it passes through Croix-des-Bouquets, skirts the southern shore of Étang Saumâtre, and terminates at the Malpasse border crossing with the Dominican Republic.
Maintenance for RN1 and RN2 lapsed after the 1991 coup, prompting the World Bank to loan US\$50 million that was designated for road repairs. The project was cancelled in January 1999. The World Bank, who reasoned that the cancellation of those projects would ruin Haiti\'s road infrastructure progress created the FER (Fond d'Entretien Routier) in 2003. This was a way to cut down corruption, get local companies involved, and in restraining any stopping of these projects because of political instability or protests. President Rene Preval, on his campaign for his second term, vowed on his Maillages Routiers to rebuild the majority of these roads that had disintegrated rapidly and build new ones that would enable the country to move forward. When he wasn\'t able to get the funds from the World Bank, he pleaded to the international donors for assistance, which was heavily criticized by many politicians in the media, but was greatly embraced by a population desperate to see road infrastructure development come to their towns. Therefore, the European Union pledged to help build RN6, then RN3. In the meantime, the World Bank loaned Haiti US\$200 Million to rebuild RN2, from River Froide, which is the starting point of RN2, all the way to Aquin and repair RN1 from Titanyen to Cap-Haïtien. The hurricane season of 2008 was a major setback in development, since many bridges in multiple areas had either collapse or suffered extensive damage and was in immediate need of repair. Most of those work on RN1 and RN2, that were already halted, suffered a major setback during the earthquake of January 12, 2010. For the construction of RN7, Canada pledged US\$75 million and the IDB US\$31 million for the construction of RN7, which started in 2009. It, too, suffered major setbacks because of the January 12 earthquake.
### Statistics
- Total highways: 6,045 km
- Paved highways: 2,971 km
- Unpaved highways: 3,071 km (2011 est
### Public transportation {#public_transportation}
The public transportation is mostly privately owned in Haiti, previously it was an individual business, with the new generation of entrepreneurs, it is mainly association. The most common form of public transportation in Haiti is the use of brightly painted pickup trucks as taxis called \"tap-taps\". They are named this because when a passenger needs to be let off they use their coin money to tap the side of the vehicle and the driver usually stops. Most tap-taps are fairly priced at around 10-15 gourdes per ride within a city. The catch to the price is that the driver will often fill a truck to maximum capacity, which is nearly 20-30 people. The Government in an effort to structure the public transportation has attempted several time to bring BUS, in around 1979, It was the BUS called CONATRA a contract between the government and association of driver which quickly failed because of sabotage from different factor and poor maintenance. In 1998, another attempt was made with the Service Plus and Dignite for student and teacher. Sabotage, poor maintenance and the overthrow of Aristide in 2004 had severely undermined the effort, in 2006 at the return of Preval in power another effort was made to recover the majority of the bus left, and a Gift of 300 new bus from Taiwan an effort to bring back Service Plus in association of the drivers. Mini-vans are frequently used to cover towns close to Port-au-Prince, such as Pétion-Ville, Jacmel, Leogane and others. Today throughout the island, motorcycles are widely used as a form of taxi. also from planes.
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# Transport in Haiti
## Water transport {#water_transport}
The port at Port-au-Prince, Port international de Port-au-Prince, has more registered shipping than any of the over one dozen other ports in the country. Its facilities include cranes, large berths, and warehouses, but these facilities are in universally poor shape. The port is under-used, possibly due to the substantially higher port fees compared to ports in the Dominican Republic.
The port of Saint-Marc is currently the preferred port of entry for consumer goods entering Haiti. Reasons for this may include its location away from volatile and congested Port-au-Prince, as well as its central location relative to a large number of Haitian cities, including Cap-Haïtien, Carrefour, Delmas, Desarmes, Fonds-Parisien, Fort-Liberté, Gonaïves, Hinche, Artibonite, Limbe, Pétion-Ville, Port-de-Paix, and Verrettes. These cities, together with their surrounding areas, contain about six million of Haiti\'s eight million people.
The islands of Île-à-Vâche, Île de la Tortue, Petite and Grand Cayemite, Grosse Caye, and Île de la Gonâve are reachable only by ferry or small sailing boat (except for Île de la Gonâve, which has an airstrip that is rarely used). The majority of towns near the coast of Haiti are also accessible primarily by small sailing boats. Such boats are usually cheaper and more available than is public ground transportation, which is commonly limited to trucks loaded with merchandise and passengers on market days.
Haiti has 150 km of navigable waterways.
### Ports and harbors {#ports_and_harbors}
Cap-Haïtien, Gonaïves, Jacmel, Jérémie, Les Cayes, Miragoâne, Port-au-Prince, Port-de-Paix, Saint-Marc, Fort-Liberté
### History
Haiti has one of the oldest maritime histories in the Americas. The Panama Canal Railway Company ran a shipping line with three ocean liners that traveled between New York City (US) --- Port-au-Prince (Haiti) --- Cristobal (Panama). The company had facilities in Port-au-Prince and their ocean liners stopped there. The three ocean liners were SS *Panama* (maiden voyage 26 April 1939), SS *Ancon* (maiden voyage 22 June 1939) and SS *Cristobal* (maiden voyage 17 August 1939).
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# Transport in Haiti
## Aviation
International flights fly from Toussaint Louverture International Airport (formerly known as Port-au-Prince International Airport), which opened in 1965 (as François Duvalier International Airport), and is located 10 km north/north east of Port-au-Prince. It is Haiti\'s only jetway, and as such, handles the vast majority of the country\'s international flights. Air Haïti, Tropical Airways and a handful of major airlines from Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas serve the airport.
Domestic flights are available through Sunrise Airways which is Haiti\'s largest airline for the general public offering scheduled, as well as, charter flights. Another domestic company is, Mission Aviation Fellowship catering to non-Catholic registered Christians.
### Statistics {#statistics_1}
Airports
- 14 (2007 est.)
Airports - with paved runways
- total: 5
- 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
- 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2009 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
- total: 10
- 914 to 1,523 m: 1
- under 914 m: 8 (2007 est.)
## Railroads
Railroads ran in Haiti Between 1876 and 1991. Haiti was the first country in the Caribbean with a railway system`{{dubious|date=February 2017}}`{=mediawiki}, in the urban area of Port-au-Prince and later a project that was supposed to be run by The McDonald company from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haïtien, and from Port-au-Prince to Les Cayes, however it was not completed. Most of the disoperation of the railroad in Haiti is due to bankruptcy and closure of the company who supported the construction of the railroad
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# Geography of Honduras
thumb\|upright=1.2\|A map of Honduras.
**Honduras** is a country in Central America. Honduras borders the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. Guatemala lies to the west, Nicaragua south east and El Salvador to the south west. Honduras is the second largest Central American republic, with a total area of 112,777 km2.
Honduras has a 700 km Caribbean coastline extending from the mouth of the Río Motagua in the west to the mouth of the Río Coco in the east, at Cape Gracias a Dios. The 922 km southeastern side of the triangle is a land border with Nicaragua. It follows the Río Coco near the Caribbean Sea and then extends southwestward through mountainous terrain to the Gulf of Fonseca on the Pacific Ocean. The southern apex of the triangle is a 153 km coastline on the Gulf Fonseca, which opens onto the Pacific Ocean. In the west there are two land borders: with El Salvador as 342 km and with Guatemala as 256 km.
## Topography
thumb\|upright=1.2\|Honduras\' topography. Honduras has three distinct topographical regions: an extensive interior highland area and two narrow coastal lowlands. The interior, which constitutes approximately 80 percent of the country\'s terrain, is mountainous. The larger Caribbean lowlands in the north and the Pacific lowlands bordering the Gulf of Fonseca are characterized by alluvial plains.
### Interior highlands {#interior_highlands}
The interior highlands are the most prominent feature of Honduran topography. This mountain area makes up about 80% of the country\'s area, and is home to the majority of the population. Because the rugged terrain has made the land difficult to traverse and equally difficult to cultivate, this area has not been highly developed. The soil here is poor: Honduras lacks the rich volcanic ash found in other Central American countries. Until the early 20th century, the highland economy consisted primarily of mining and livestock.
In the west, Honduras\' mountains blend into the mountain ranges of Guatemala. The western mountains have the highest peaks, with the Pico Congolón at an elevation of 2,500 m and the Cerro Las Minas at 2,850 m. The Honduran border with El Salvador crosses the peak of Cerro El Pital, the highest point in El Salvador at over 2730 m. These mountains are woodland covered with mainly pine forests.
In the east, the mountains merge with those in Nicaragua. Although generally not as high as the mountains near the Guatemalan border, the eastern ranges possess some high peaks, such as the Montaña de la Flor at 2,300 m, El Boquerón (Monte El Boquerón) at 2,485 m, and Pepe Bonito at 2,435 m.
One of the most prominent features of the interior highlands is a depression that runs from the Caribbean Sea to the Gulf of Fonseca. This depression splits the country\'s cordilleras into eastern and western parts and provides a relatively easy transportation route across the isthmus. Widest at its northern end near San Pedro Sula, the depression narrows as it follows the upper course of the Río Humuya. Passing first through Comayagua and then through narrow passes south of the city, the depression widens again as it runs along the border of El Salvador into the Gulf of Fonseca.
thumb\|upright=1.3\|A economic activity map of Honduras, 1983. thumb\|upright=1.3\|A land use map of Honduras, 1983. Scattered throughout the interior highlands are numerous flat-floored valleys, at 300 to in elevation, which vary in size. The floors of the large valleys provide sufficient grass, shrubs, and dry woodland to support livestock and, in some cases, commercial agriculture. Subsistence agriculture has been relegated to the slopes of the valleys, with the limitations of small-sized holdings, primitive technology, and low productivity that traditionally accompany hillside cultivation. Villages and towns, including the capital, Tegucigalpa, are tucked in the larger valleys.
Vegetation in the interior highlands is varied. Much of the western, southern, and central mountains are open woodland; supporting pine forest interspersed with some oak, scrub, and grassy clearings. The ranges toward the east are primarily continuous areas of dense, broad-leaf evergreen forest. Around the highest peaks, remnants of dense rainforest that formerly covered much of the area are still found.
### Caribbean lowlands {#caribbean_lowlands}
This area of river valleys and coastal plains, which most Honduras call \"the north coast,\" or simply \"the coast,\" has traditionally been Honduras\'s most exploited region. The central part of the Caribbean lowlands, east of La Ceiba, is a narrow coastal plain only a few kilometers wide.
To the east and west of this section the Caribbean lowlands widen and in places extend inland a considerable distance along broad river valleys. The broadest river valley, along the Río Ulúa near the Guatemalan border, is Honduras\'s most developed area. Both Puerto Cortés, the country\'s largest port, and San Pedro Sula, Honduras\'s industrial capital, are located here, as is La Ceiba, the third largest city in the country.
To the east, near the Nicaraguan border, the Caribbean lowlands broaden to an extensive area known as La Mosquitia. Unlike the western part of the Caribbean lowlands, the Mosquitia is Honduras\'s least-developed area. Underpopulated and culturally distinct from the rest of the country, the area consists of inland savannah with swamps and mangrove near the coast. During times of heavy rainfall, much of the savannah area is covered by shallow water, making transportation by means other than a shallow-draft boat almost impossible.
More than 46 *campesinos* from the Aguán Valley, in the far north-east of Honduras, have either been killed or have disappeared since the 2009 coup. In the 1970s, government policy encouraged agricultural cooperatives and collectives to establish themselves in the lightly populated area, but after 1992 government policy favored privatization. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the new policy and one of the richest men in Honduras, Miguel Facussé, owned some 22,000 acres in the lower Aguán, which he planted in African palms for his palm oil venture.
### Pacific lowlands {#pacific_lowlands}
The smallest geographic region of Honduras, the Pacific lowlands, is a strip of land averaging 25 km on the north shore of the Gulf of Fonseca. The land is flat, becoming swampy near the shores of the gulf, and is composed mostly of alluvial soils washed down from the mountains. The gulf is shallow and the water rich in fish and mollusks. Mangroves along the shore make shrimp and shellfish particularly abundant by providing safe and abundant breeding areas amid their extensive networks of underwater roots.
Several islands in the gulf fall under Honduras\'s jurisdiction. The two largest, Zacate Grande and El Tigre, are eroded volcanoes, part of the chain of volcanoes that extends along the Pacific coast of Central America. Both islands have volcanic cones more than 700 meters in elevation that serve as landmarks for vessels entering Honduras\'s Pacific.
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# Geography of Honduras
## Topography
### Islands
`{{See also|List of islands of Honduras}}`{=mediawiki}
Honduras controls a number of islands as part of its offshore territories. In the Caribbean Sea, the islands of Roatán (Isla de Roatán), Utila, and Guanaja together form the *Islas de la Bahía* (Bay Islands), one of the eighteen departments into which Honduras is divided. Roatán, the largest of the three islands, is 50 by. The Islas de la Bahía archipelago also has a number of smaller islands, among them the islets of Barbareta (Isla Barbareta), Santa Elena (Isla Santa Elena), and Morat (Isla Morat). Farther out in the Caribbean are the Islas Santanillas, formerly known as Swan Islands. A number of small islands and keys can be found nearby, among them Cayos Zapotillos and Cayos Cochinos. In the Gulf of Fonseca, the main islands under Honduran control are El Tigre, Zacate Grande (Isla Zacate Grande), and Exposición (Isla Exposición).
<File:Playas_de_el_porvenir.JPG%7CBeach> at the village of Juan López <File:Sierra_del_Merendon_en_Honduras_2.jpg%7CThe> Merendón range seen from the vantage point located above the \"Olimpo merendónico\" in San Pedro Sula <File:HN049Du-sAB_DistTownVu.jpg%7CA> river in Honduras <File:Guayape_Boqueron.JPG%7CThe> Rio Guayape near Esquilinchuche, facing El Boqueron in the Sierra de Agalta
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# Geography of Honduras
## Climate
upright=1.3\|thumb\|Köppen climate types of HondurasHonduras has a tropical climate and temperate climate in the highlands.
The climatic types of each of the three physiographic regions differ. The Caribbean lowlands have a tropical wet climate with consistently high temperatures and humidity, and rainfall fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The Pacific lowlands have a tropical wet and dry climate with high temperatures but a distinct dry season from November through April. The interior highlands also have a distinct dry season, but, as is characteristic of a tropical highland climate, temperatures in this region decrease as elevation increases.
Unlike in more northerly latitudes, temperatures in the tropics vary primarily with elevation instead of with the season. Land below 1,000 m is commonly known as *tierra caliente* (hot land), between 1000 and as *tierra templada* (temperate land), and above 2,000 m as *tierra fría* (cold land). Both the Caribbean and Pacific lowlands are *tierra caliente*, with daytime highs averaging between 28 and throughout the year.
In the Pacific lowlands, April, the last month of the dry season, brings the warmest temperatures; the rainy season is slightly cooler, although higher humidity during the rainy season makes these months feel more uncomfortable. In the Caribbean lowlands, the only relief from the year-round heat and humidity comes during December or January when an occasional strong cold front from the north (a *norte*) brings several days of strong northwest winds and slightly cooler temperatures.
The interior highlands range from tierra templada to tierra fría. Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered valley and at an elevation of 1,000 m, has a pleasant climate, with an average high temperature ranging from 30 °C in April, the warmest month, to 25 °C in January, the coolest. Above 2,000 m, temperatures can fall to near freezing at night, and frost sometimes occurs.
Rain falls year round in the Caribbean lowlands but is seasonal throughout the rest of the country. Amounts are copious along the north coast, especially in the Mosquitia, where the average rainfall is 2,400 mm. Nearer San Pedro Sula, amounts are slightly less from November to April, but each month still has considerable precipitation. The interior highlands and Pacific lowlands have a dry season, known locally as \"summer,\" from November to April. Almost all the rain in these regions falls during the \"winter,\" from May to September. Total yearly amounts depend on surrounding topography; Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered valley, averages only 1,000 mm of precipitation.
### Hurricanes
Honduras lies within the hurricane belt, and the Caribbean coast is particularly vulnerable to hurricanes or tropical storms that travel inland from the Caribbean. Hurricane Francelia in 1969 and Tropical Storm Aletta in 1982 affected thousands of people and caused extensive damage to crops. Hurricane Fifi in 1974 killed more than 8,000 and destroyed nearly the entire banana crop.
In 1998 Hurricane Mitch became the most deadly hurricane to strike the Western Hemisphere in the last two centuries. This massive hurricane not only battered the Honduran coastline, but engulfed nearly the entire country with its powerful winds and torrential downpours. Approximately 100,000 Hondurans were evacuated from the Caribbean coast. Most of the Bay Islands had damage to their water facilities.
The high rainfall caused many rivers in the country to overflow \"to an unprecedented extent this century\", as described by the United Nations. Two earthflows caused significant damage near Tegucigalpa. Hurricane Mitch wrought significant damage to Honduras, affecting nearly the entire population and causing damage in all 18 departments. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean estimated that Mitch caused the worst floods of the 20th century in the country. Throughout Central America, Mitch claimed in excess of 11,000 lives, with thousands of others missing.
Hurricanes occasionally form over the Pacific and move north to affect southern Honduras, but Pacific storms are generally less severe and their landfall rarer.
On September 4, 2007, Hurricane Felix made landfall at Honduras and Nicaragua, as a Category 5 hurricane. In November 2008, Hurricane Paloma, along with the October 2008 Central America floods, left at least 60 people dead and more than 300,000 in need of assistance.
### Drought
Drought in Honduras has become a driver of emigration, causing poor crop yields for poor subsistence farmers, and has been a factor in the formation of migrant caravans to the United States.
According to the FAO, migrants leaving central and western Honduras between 2014 and 2016 most frequently cited \"no food\" as their reason for leaving.
### Examples
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# Geography of Honduras
## Climate
### Climate change {#climate_change}
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# Geography of Honduras
## Hydrography
thumb\|upright=1.3\|The Ulúa River as seen from the air. The Ulua is perhaps the most economically important river in Honduras.
Honduras is a water-rich country. The most important river in Honduras is the Ulúa, which flows 400 km to the Caribbean through the economically important Valle de Sula. Numerous other rivers drain the interior highlands and empty north into the Caribbean. These other rivers are important, not as transportation routes, but because of the broad fertile valleys they have produced. The Choluteca River runs south from Tegucigalpa through Choluteca and out at the Gulf of Fonseca.
Rivers also define about half of Honduras\'s international borders. The Río Goascorán, flowing to the Gulf of Fonseca, and the Río Lempa define part of the border between El Salvador and Honduras. The Coco River marks about half of the border between Nicaragua and Honduras.
Despite an abundance of rivers, large bodies of water are rare. Lago de Yojoa, located in the west-central part of the country, is the sole natural lake in Honduras. This lake is twenty-two kilometers long and at its widest point measures fourteen kilometers. Several large, brackish lagoons open onto the Caribbean in northeast Honduras. These shallow bodies of water allow limited transportation to points along the coast.
## Statistics
- *total area:* 112,090 km2
- *land:* 111,890 km2
- *water:* 200 km2
- total land boundaries: 1,575 km
: *border countries:*
- Guatemala 244 km,
- El Salvador 391 km,
- Nicaragua 940 km
- coastline: 832 km
- Maritime claims:
- territorial sea: 12 nmi
- contiguous zone: 24 nmi
- exclusive economic zone: 249,542 km2 and 200 nmi
- continental shelf: natural extension of territory or to 200 nmi
- Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
- Highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 m
: land use:
- arable land: 9.12%
- permanent crops: 4.07%
- other: 86.82% (2012 est.)
- Irrigated land: 878.5 km (2007)
- Total renewable water resources: 95.93 km3 (2011)
- Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
- total: 2.12 km3 per year (16%/23%/61%)
- per capita: 295.6 m3 per year (2006)
### Extreme Points {#extreme_points}
- Northernmost point: Great Swan Island, Swan Islands, Bay Islands Department
- Northernmost point (mainland): Puerto Castilla, Colón Department
- Southernmost point: Pacific coast border with Nicaragua, Choluteca Department
- Westernmost point: border with El Salvador and Guatemala, Ocotepeque Department
- Easternmost point: border with Nicaragua on Atlantic coast, Gracias a Dios Department
## Natural hazards {#natural_hazards}
Frequent mild to moderate earthquakes despite located beyond North American plate--circum-Caribbean plate at the northeastern edge, damaging hurricanes, and floods along the Caribbean coast are examples of Honduran natural hazards.
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# Geography of Honduras
## Environmental issues {#environmental_issues}
Deforestation poses a particular problem for Honduras; the goals of conserving endangered natural resources and promoting economic development has often been quite difficult to combine, which has resulted in conflicting policies that fail to protect forests. Honduras has suffered the greatest percentage loss of forest cover of any country in Latin America. The forests in Honduras are an important source of economic resources to finance government programs. The tropical forests in Honduras are diminishing rapidly due to poverty in the country. The majority of the population of Honduras see the forests as an obstacle to the expansion of ranching and agricultural activities, ignoring the significance that forests have for the society through protection of fauna, soils, recreation, purification of air, and the regulation of water sources. The urban population is also increasing rapidly over the years, which means that it has led to the clearing of land for farming and the farming of marginal soils in rural areas, as well as to uncontrolled development in the fringes of urban areas.
Illegal logging is also a major problem in Honduras. The majority of the production of timber in the country is illegal. According to the Center for International Policy and the Environmental Investigation Agency, the timber trade corruption involves politicians, timber companies, bureaucrats, mayors, and even the police. All of these factors contribute to deforestation and consequently to soil erosion. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Honduras lost 59,000 hectares of forest per year between 1990 and 2000.
Deforestation in regions dominated by tropical dry forests has advanced faster than regions dominated by other types of forests. Tropical dry forests have lower species richness compared to moist forests. However, tropical dry forests possess higher levels of endemic species, greater utility for humans, and also have a higher human population density. The effects of deforestation are more noticeable during tropical storms and hurricanes. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed thousands and also caused damage to the country. According to aerial surveys following the storm, mudslides were worse in deforested areas than forested areas. Many endangered species live in the forests of Honduras, and they may soon be extinct if deforestation continues. The climate has also changed because of the lack of trees in Honduras. This has caused the growing season for farmers to be shortened.
The ground in deforested areas is absorbing all the water as well. The largest source of freshwater in Honduras, Lake Yojoa, is on the verge of turning into a swamp. This is due to the high rate of pollution and logging as well. Lake Yojoa is also being polluted by heavy metals from local mining activities. Lake Yojoa is home to more than 400 species of birds, but the area surrounding the lake is suffering from deforestation and water pollution. However, not only Lake Yojoa is being polluted with heavy metals, nearby rivers and streams are also being polluted
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# Transport in Honduras
**Transport in Honduras** refers to transport in Honduras, a country in Central America.
## Railways
Total: `{{val|699|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
- Narrow gauge: `{{val|349|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
- gauge: `{{val|246|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
- gauge
### Railway links with adjacent countries {#railway_links_with_adjacent_countries}
North to south:
- El Salvador --- none
- Guatemala --- none in use --- break-of-gauge `{{RailGauge|914mm}}`{=mediawiki}/`{{RailGauge|1067mm}}`{=mediawiki} (?) [1](https://web.archive.org/web/20050706090220/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/central_america/honduras/get.htm)
- Nicaragua --- none
## Highways
Totals
- Paved: `{{val|3,367|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
- Unpaved: `{{val|11,357|u=km}}`{=mediawiki} (2012 est.)
Double carriageway highways are slowly being developed in the main population areas in Honduras, however they are not traffic-selective and accept any kind of traffic, thus slowing the speed along them. The current ones are:
- San Pedro Sula - Puerto Cortés. Length: `{{val|56|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
- San Pedro Sula - El Progreso. Length: `{{val|27|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
- San Pedro Sula - Villanueva. Length: `{{val|24|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
- Tegucigalpa ring-road. Length: `{{val|27|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
- Tegucigalpa - Támara. Length: `{{val|23|u=km}}`{=mediawiki}
## Waterways
navigable by small craft, mainly along the Northern coast.
## Ports and harbors {#ports_and_harbors}
### Atlantic Ocean {#atlantic_ocean}
- Puerto Cortés, pop. 44,696 hab., off San Pedro Sula
- Tela, pop. 28,335 hab.
- La Ceiba, pop. 114,584 hab.
- Puerto Castilla, off Trujillo
- Roatan, pop. 6,502 hab.
### Pacific Ocean {#pacific_ocean}
- San Lorenzo, pop. 21,043 hab.
### Other
- Puerto Lempira, pop. 4,102 hab.
## Merchant marine {#merchant_marine}
Total: 306 ships (1,000 GT or over) totaling 848,150 GT/`{{DWT|980,995|metric|disp=long}}`{=mediawiki}
Ships by type (1999 est.):
+--------------------------+---+----------------------------------+
| - Bulk carriers: 26 | | - Passenger/cargo ships: 4 |
| - Cargo ships: 187 | | - Petroleum tanker: 43 |
| - Chemical tankers: 5 | | - Refrigerated cargo ships: 15 |
| - Container ships: 7 | | - Roll-on/roll-off: 9 |
| - Livestock carrier: 1 | | - Short-sea passenger ships: 5 |
| - Passenger ships: 2 | | - Vehicle carriers: 2 |
+--------------------------+---+----------------------------------+
Flags of convenience (1998 est.):
- North Korea owns 1 ship
- Russia, 6
- Singapore: 3
- Vietnam: 1
## Airports
Total: 119 (1999 est.)
- Main international airports: San Pedro Sula and Comayagua.
- Other international airports: Roatan and La Ceiba
### Airports with paved runways {#airports_with_paved_runways}
Total: 12
- : 3
- : 2
- : 4
- Under `{{val|914|u=m}}`{=mediawiki}: 3 (1999 est.)
### Airports with unpaved runways {#airports_with_unpaved_runways}
Total: 107
- : 2
- : 21
- Under `{{val|84|u=m}}`{=mediawiki}: 84 (1999 est
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# Armed Forces of Honduras
The **Armed Forces of Honduras** (*Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras*), consists of the Honduran Army, Honduran Navy and Honduran Air Force.
## History
### Early republican era {#early_republican_era}
The Armed Forces of Honduras were created through article 44, subsection 4 of the First Constitution of the Legislative Chamber in 1825, with the First Supreme Head of State being the Attorney Dionisio de Herrera, for which, they ordered the effective birth of the Honduran army in dated December 11, 1825 and for its greater mobility, it was divided into battalions with the name of each of the seven departments Comayagua the capital, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca, Olancho, Yoro, Gracias and Santa Bárbara that were in charge of strategically and tactically covering order and defense of the state, under French military doctrine. In 1831 the Military School was created with a seat at the San Francisco Barracks, and Colonel Narciso Benítez of Colombian origin was appointed director; From this school graduated: Francisco Morazán, José Antonio Márquez, Diego Vigil, Liberato Moncada, Joaquín Rivera and José Santos Guardiola who were presidents of Honduras, among others.
The first weaponry used was flintlock and gunpowder, the product of mixing sulfur, saltpeter, and coal in relative quantities: the Remington single-load rifle was one of the first bullet rifles that were introduced into the country during the government of General José María Medina.
### Mid 19th centrury {#mid_19th_centrury}
The second stage of the Armed Forces is between the years 1842 and 1876 when the collective uniform emerged in the mid-1840s when the troops of General José Santos Guardiola faced those of General Nicolás Ángulo, in 1845 in the \" Combate del Obrajuelo \", in San Miguel, El Salvador.
In 1865 the first attempt was made to organize a Naval Force with its respective regulations; however, the cost of this service made it unsustainable; However, there were several attempts to reactivate the idea and one of them was carried out by Doctor Policarpo Bonilla, who ordered the construction of the Tatumbla steamship in the Kiel shipyard, Germany on November 22, 1895, and then in 1896 respectively, General Manuel Bonilla had the \'Hornet built. While he administered Honduras, the Doctor and General Don Tiburcio Carias Andino also ordered the construction of the steamers Búfalo and El Tigre. On January 1, 1881, the first Military Code of the Honduran army was issued, a legal instrument to govern its own organization.
### 20th century {#th_century}
During the twentieth century, Honduran military leaders frequently became presidents, either through elections or by coups d\'état. General Tiburcio Carías Andino was elected in 1932, he later on called a constituent assembly that allowed him to be reelected, and his rule became more authoritarian until an election in 1948.
During the following decades, the military of Honduras carried out several coups d\'état, starting in October 1955. General Oswaldo López Arellano carried out the next coup in October 1963 and a second in December 1972, followed by coups in 1975 by Juan Alberto Melgar Castro and in 1978 by Policarpo Paz García.
### 1980s
Events during the 1980s in El Salvador and Nicaragua led Honduras -- with US assistance -- to expand its armed forces considerably, laying particular emphasis on its air force, which came to include a squadron of US-provided F-5s.
The military unit Battalion 316 carried out political assassinations and the torture of suspected political opponents of the government during this same period. Battalion members received training and support from the United States Central Intelligence Agency, in Honduras, at U.S. military bases and in Chile during the presidency of the dictator Augusto Pinochet. Amnesty International estimated that at least 184 people \"disappeared\" from 1980 to 1992 in Honduras, most likely due to actions of the Honduran military.
### 1990s {#s_1}
The resolution of the civil wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and across-the-board budget cuts made in all ministries, has brought reduced funding for the Honduran Armed Forces. The abolition of the draft has created staffing gaps in the now all-volunteer armed forces. The military is now far below its authorized strength, and further reductions are expected. In January 1999, the Constitution was amended to abolish the position of military Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, thus codifying civilian authority over the Military.
### 2000s {#s_2}
Since 2002, soldiers have been involved in crime prevention and law enforcement, patrolling the streets of the major cities alongside the national police.
#### 2009
On 28 June 2009, in the context of a constitutional crisis, the Military, acting on orders of the Supreme Court of Justice, arrested the President Manuel Zelaya, after which they forcibly removed elected President Zelaya from Honduras. See the article 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis regarding claims regarding legitimacy and illegitimacy of the event, and events preceding and following the removal of Zelaya from Honduras.
The military\'s chief lawyer, Colonel Herberth Bayardo Inestroza Membreño, made public statements regarding the removal of Zelaya. On June 30, he showed a detention order, apparently signed June 26 by a Supreme Court judge, which ordered the armed forces to detain the president. Colonel Inestroza later stated that deporting Zelaya did not comply with the court order: \"In the moment that we took him out of the country, in the way that he was taken out, there is a crime. Because of the circumstances of the moment this crime occurred, there is going to be a justification and cause for acquittal that will protect us.\" He said the decision was taken by the military leadership \"in order to avoid bloodshed\".
Following the 2009 ouster of the president, the Honduran military together with other government security forces were allegedly responsible for thousands of allegedly arbitrary detentions and for several forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions of opponents to the *de facto* government, including members of the Democratic Unification Party. However, evidence about these actions has yet to be provided and there has been some questioning in local media about the actual perpetrators, suggesting that they could actually be related to disputes within the leftists organizations themselves.
## Army
The **Honduran Army** (*lit=Army of Honduras*) is the land service branch of the Armed Forces of Honduras.
- 101st Brigade in Choluteca
- 105th Brigade in San Pedro Sula
- 110th Brigade in Danli
- 115th Brigade in Juticalpa
- 120th Brigade in Santa Rosa de Copan
| 1,053 |
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| 0 |
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# Armed Forces of Honduras
## Air Force {#air_force}
The FAH operates from four air bases located at:
- Hernan Acosta Mejia Air Base at Tegucigalpa
- Soto Cano Air Base at Comayagua,\<ref name=
\"academia\"\>
- Armando Escalon Espinal Air Base at La Lima, Cortés
- Hector Caraccioli Moncada at La Ceiba.
With the exception of Soto Cano Air Base, all other air bases operate as dual civil and military aviation facilities.
Additionally, three air stations are located at:
- Catacamas
- Alto Aguán (bomb range)
- Puerto Lempira airstrips serve as forward operations locations-FOL.
Also a radar station operates at:
- La Mole peak.
## Navy
The Navy is a small force dealing with coastal and riverine security.
The Navy has 71 patrol boats, interceptors and landing craft units.
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Class | Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Fleet |
+==========================================================+=======================+===================================+================+============+===================================================================+
| ISRAEL SHIPYARDS Sa\'ar 62-class offshore patrol vessel\ | | Ocean patrol vessel | OPV-62M | 1 | FNH-2021 *General Trinidad Cabañas*\ |
| 62.0 meters / 204 feet | | | | | Delivered by Israel Shipyard and arrived in country December 2019 |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Damen Stan Patrol Boat\ | | Coastal patrol vessel | 4207 | 2 | FNH-1401 *Lempira*\ |
| 42.8 meters / 140 feet | | | | | FNH-1402 *General Francisco Morazán* |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| LANTANA BOATYARD Guardian Patrol Boats\ | | Coastal patrol craft | | 3 | FNH-1071 *Tegucigalpa*\ |
| 32.3 meters / 107 feet | | | | | FNH-1072 *Copán*\ |
| | | | | | FNH-1073 unknown name |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SWIFTSHIPS Patrol Boats\ | | Coastal patrol craft | | 3 | FNH-1051 *Guaymuras*\ |
| 32.0 meters / 105 feet | | | | | FNH-1052 *Honduras*\ |
| | | | | | FNH-1053 *Hibueras* |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| IAI Dabur Type Patrol Boat\ | \ | Coastal patrol craft | | 1 | FNH-8501 *Chamelecón* |
| 26.0 meters / 85 feet | `{{USA}}`{=mediawiki} | | | | |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SWIFTSHIPS Patrol Boats\ | | Coastal patrol craft | | 5 | FNH 6501 *Nacaome*\ |
| 20.0 meters / 65 feet | | | | | FNH 6502 *Goascorán*\ |
| | | | | | FNH 6503 *Patuca*\ |
| | | | | | FNH 6504 *Ulúa*\ |
| | | | | | FNH 6505 *Choluteca* |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| BOSTON WHALER Interceptors BW370\ | | Interceptor boat | Guardian class | 10 | N/A |
| 11.4 meters / 38 feet | | | | | |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DAMEN Interceptors 1102 UHS\ | | Interceptor boat | 1102 UHS | 6 | FNH-3601 to FNH-3606 |
| 11.0 meters / 36 feet | | | | | |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SAFE BOATS 35MMI Multi Misión Interceptor\ | \ | Interceptor boat | 35 MMI | 2 | FNH-3501\ |
| 10.7 meters / 35 feet | `{{USA}}`{=mediawiki} | | | | FNH-3502 |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| EDUARDOÑO Patrullero 320\ | | Interceptor boat | | 25 | FNH-3201 to FNH-3225 |
| 10.0 meters / 32 feet | | | | | |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NAPCO Piraña Patrol Boats\ | | Riverine ops boat | Piraña class | 8 | |
| 4.0 meters / 13 feet | | | | | |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| LANTANA BOATYARD Landing Craft Unit\ | | Coastal transport | | 1 | FNH-1491 *Punta Caxinas* |
| 45.5 meters / 149 feet | | | | | |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| COTECMAR BAL-C Short Range Logistic Support Ship\ | | Short Range Logistic Support Ship | BAL-C | 1 | FNH-1611 *Gracias a Dios* |
| 49.0 meters / 161 feet | | | | | |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SWIFTSHIPS LCM-8 Landing Craft Unit\ | | Landing craft | | 3 | FNH-7301 *Warunta*\ |
| 22.9 meters / 75 feet | | | | | FNH-7302 *Rio Coco*\ |
| | | | | | FNH-7303 unknown name |
+----------------------------------------------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------------------+----------------+------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
The Honduran navy has 4 naval bases:
- Base Naval Puerto Cortés -- main repair and logistics base on the Caribbean Sea
- Base Naval Puerto Castilla -- main operating base of patrol boats on the Caribbean Sea
- Base Naval Amapala -- main operating base of coastal patrol craft on the north end of the island and only base on the Pacific Ocean side of Honduras
- Base Naval Caratasca -- new base to deal with drug trafficking
Additionally, the Honduran navy has the following unit and schools:
- 1st. Marine Infantry Battalion -- only marine unit located at La Ceiba
- Honduras Naval Academy -- Trains officers for the Honduras Navy at La Ceiba
- Naval Training Center -- NCO and Sailor training facility
## Military-civilian relations and leadership {#military_civilian_relations_and_leadership}
According to a statement in July 2009 by a legal counsel of the Honduras military, Colonel Herberth Bayardo Inestroza, part of the elite Honduran Military generals were opposed to President Manuel Zelaya, whom the Military had removed from Honduras via a military Coup d\'état, because of his left-wing politics. Inestroza stated, \"It would be difficult for us \[the military\], with our training, to have a relationship with a leftist government. That\'s impossible.\"
The current Head of the Armed Forces is Carlos Antonio Cuéllar, graduate of the General Francisco Morazan Military Academy and the School of the Americas. In January 2011, the General Rene Arnoldo Osorio Canales, former Head of the Presidential Honor Guard, was appointed Commander.
As of 2012 the Honduran Military has the highest military expenditures of all Central America. They have 52,225 troops in their Army, they have 16,500 troops in their Air Force, and 5,300 troops in their Navy.
| 958 |
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# Armed Forces of Honduras
## Equipment
### Small arms {#small_arms}
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Name | Image | Caliber | Type | Origin | Notes |
+====================================+=======+================+=============================+========+===================+
| Pistols | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| M1911 | | .45 ACP | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Browning Hi-Power | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Beretta 92 | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Beretta 93R | | 9×19mm | Machine pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| SIG Sauer P226 | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| CZ-75 | | 9×19mm | Semi-automatic pistol | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Submachine guns | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Uzi | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | Uzi and Mini-Uzi |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| MAC-10 | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Heckler & Koch MP5 | | 9×19mm | Submachine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Rifles | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| AR-M1 | | 7.62×39mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| IMI Galil | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| IWI Galil ACE | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| IWI Tavor | | 5.56×45mm | Bullpup | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| IWI Tavor X95 | | 5.56×45mm | Bullpup | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Beretta AR70/90 | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| M16A1 | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| M4 | | 5.56×45mm | Carbine | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| T65 | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| FN SCAR | | 5.56×45mm | Assault rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| FN FAL | | 7.62×51mm | Battle rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| M14 | | 7.62×51mm | Battle rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Machine guns | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Browning M2 | | .50 BMG | Heavy machine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| M60 | | 7.62×51mm | General-purpose machine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| FN MAG | | 7.62×51mm | General-purpose machine gun | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Sniper and anti-materiel rifles | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Remington M700 | | .223 Remington | Sniper rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| M21 | | 7.62×51mm | Sniper rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Barrett M82 | | .50 BMG | Anti-materiel rifle | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Rocket propelled grenade launchers | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| RPG-7 | | 40mm | Rocket-propelled grenade | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| Grenade launchers | | | | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| M203 | | 40×46mm SR | Grenade launcher | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
| M79 | | 40×46mm | Grenade launcher | | |
+------------------------------------+-------+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+-------------------+
### Anti-tank weapons {#anti_tank_weapons}
+-------------+--------------+------------------+--------+---------+-----------------+
| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Caliber | Notes |
+=============+==============+==================+========+=========+=================+
| M40A1 | | Recoilless rifle | | 105mm | 50 in service
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# Communications in Hong Kong
**Communications in Hong Kong** includes a wide-ranging and sophisticated network of radio, television, telephone, Internet, and related online services, reflecting Hong Kong\'s thriving commerce and international importance.
There are some 60 online newspapers (in various languages, but mostly in Traditional Chinese) and the numbers of online periodicals run into the hundreds. The territory is in addition the East and Southeast Asian headquarters for most of the major international communications and media services.
Broadcast media and news is provided by several television and radio companies, one of which is government-run. Television provides the major source of news and entertainment for the average family. Chinese television programs are produced for both local and overseas markets.
Hong Kong also ranks as an important centre of publishing and printing: numerous books are published yearly for local consumption, several leading foreign publishers have their regional offices in Hong Kong, and many international magazines are printed in the territory.
## Radio
- 5 radio networks, one of which is government-funded, operate 30 radio stations (2014)
- Radios: 4.45 million (1997)`{{Update after|2012|7|3}}`{=mediawiki}
## Television
### Terrestrial television {#terrestrial_television}
There are a total of nine terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, owned by three television networks, one of which is a public broadcaster.
Hong Kong\'s terrestrial commercial TV networks can also be seen in Macau, via cable.
#### TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited operates TVB Jade, TVB Pearl, TVB Plus (formerly two separate channels, TVB J2 and J5), and TVB News, of which Jade and Pearl are available on analogue frequencies. TVB is the city\'s first commercial terrestrial television network (Asia Television (ATV) began as a subscription television network), and is the city\'s predominant TV network.
#### HKTVE
HK Television Entertainment operates ViuTV, which is a Cantonese general entertainment channel. The network is mandated by its service license to launch a 17-hour English television channel on or before 31 March 2017. The English channel named \"ViuTVsix\" officially launched on March 31, 2017 (local time).
ViuTV does not broadcast on analogue frequencies.
#### RTHK
Public broadcaster RTHK operates three digital channels, two of which have been simulcast on analogue frequencies formerly used by ATV since April 2, 2016.
### Paid television {#paid_television}
Paid cable and satellite television have also been widespread, with Cable TV Hong Kong, Now TV, TVB Network Vision and HKBN bbTV being the more prominent providers.
The production of Hong Kong\'s soap drama, comedy series and variety shows have reached mass audiences throughout the Chinese-speaking world. Many international and pan-Asian broadcasters are based in Hong Kong, including News Corporation\'s STAR TV.
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# Communications in Hong Kong
## Telecommunication industry {#telecommunication_industry}
- Telecommunications system: modern facilities that provide excellent domestic and international services.
- Domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fibre-optic network
- Satellite earth stations -- 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean)
- International coaxial cable: to Guangzhou, China; access to 5 international submarine cables providing connections to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe `{{Update after|2012|7|3}}`{=mediawiki}
The Hong Kong telecommunication industry was deregulated in 1995. There are no foreign ownership restrictions. The Office of Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) is the legislative body responsible for regulating the telecommunications industry. Competition in this sector is fierce. Since 2008, one can get 10 Mbit/s up and down unlimited VDSL, telephone line rental, unlimited local calls, and 100 minutes of international calls for US\$25/month. Telephone line rental and unlimited local calls is only US\$3/month.
### Telecommunication company {#telecommunication_company}
, the penetration rate in Hong Kong was estimated at 240.8% over a population estimate of over 7.325 million. Hong Kong\'s telecom regulator is the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA).
Rank Operator Technology Subscribers (in millions) Ownership
------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------
1 HKT (including csl, 1O1O and Club SIM) GSM-900/1800 (GPRS, EDGE) 900/2100 MHz UMTS, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2600(B7) MHz LTE-A 4.324 (Dec 2018) PCCW Limited (Pacific Century Group 28.97%, China Unicom 19.9%)
2 3 Hong Kong GSM-900/1800 (GPRS, EDGE) 900 MHz UMTS, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2100/2600(B7)/2300(B40) MHz LTE-A 3.276 (Dec 2018) Hutchison Telecom
3 (?) CMHK (China Mobile Hong Kong) GSM-1800 (GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2100/2600(B7)/2300(B40) MHz LTE-A 5 (Jun 2021) China Mobile
4 SmarTone GSM-900/1800 (GPRS) 850/2100 MHz UMTS, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2100/2600(B7) MHz LTE-A 2.47 (Dec 2018) Sun Hung Kai Properties
5 CUniq HK (China Unicom Hong Kong) Using 3 Hong Kong 0.87(Oct 2018) China Unicom
6 Hong Kong Broadband Network Using CMHK and SmarTone 0.277(Oct 2019) HKBN Ltd.
7 SUN Mobile Using CSL Mobile N/A HKT (60%), Telecom Digital (40%)
8 Birdie Mobile Using SmarTone N/A SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited
9 [CTExcel](https://www.ctexcel.com.hk/) `{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208133233/https://www.ctexcel.com.hk/ |date=8 December 2021 }}`{=mediawiki} N/A China Telecom
### Telephone
- International dialling code: +852
- Telephones -- main lines in use: 4.345 million, 37th in the world (2009)
- Telephones -- mobile cellular: 13.416 million, 54th in the world (2009)
- Major fixed-line operators: PCCW`{{Update after|2012|7|3}}`{=mediawiki}
- Major cellular operators: 3 Hong Kong, SmarTone, CSL, China Mobile Hong Kong
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# Communications in Hong Kong
## Telecommunication industry {#telecommunication_industry}
### Internet
- Number of Internet users: 4,920,255 or 69.4% of the population (2010)
- Number of Internet hosts: 861,516 hosts, 48th in the world (2010)
- IPv4 addresses allocated: 11,777,024 or 1,646 per 1000 population (April 2012)
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 179 (May 2007)
- Dial-up access accounts: 0.99 million (Mar 2007)
- Country code (Top-level domain): .hk
#### Broadband Internet access {#broadband_internet_access}
- Fixed broadband subscriptions: 2,111,109 or 29.93 per 100 inhabitants (2010)
As of April 2006, HKBN offers its customers Internet access with speeds starting from 10 Mbit/s up to 1000 Mbit/s (1 Gbit/s) via Fiber to the building and Fiber to the Home. However the speed to non-Hong Kong destinations is capped to 20 Mbit/s. As of November 2009, the company was offering 100 Mbit/s service for HK\$99 (about \$13 US) per month.`{{Update after|2012|7|3}}`{=mediawiki}
Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) include:`{{Update after|2012|7|3}}`{=mediawiki}
- PCCW Netvigator, with a 95% coverage area and providing internet access to 1.9 million users. ADSL connections, speeds up to 8M/800K are priced differently. Newly constructed apartments have ADSL2 and VDSL connections, which have speeds up to 100M/100M. FTTH for last mile broadband of speeds up to 10G/10G. Business plans have speeds up to 10G/10G.
- HGC ADSL & VDSL & FTTH broadband of speeds up to 1G/1G.
- [1](http://www.newworldtel.com/NWT)`{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}`{=mediawiki} ADSL & VDSL broadband of speeds up to 10M/10M.
- HKBN Metro Ethernet (CAT-5E/FTTH for last mile) broadband of speeds up to 1G/1G.
- [I-cable Broadband](http://www.i-cable.com/) Cable HFC Broadband of speeds up to 200M/10M shared by one tower (tens of apartments) and FTTH Broadband of speeds up to 1G/1G.
#### Internet censorship in Hong Kong {#internet_censorship_in_hong_kong}
Hong Kong law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. Although freedom of expression is protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, the Hong Kong national security law gives the government the power to \"take down any electronic messages published\" that the government considers endangering national security. No government licenses are required to operate a website. Democratic activists claim central government authorities closely monitor their e-mails and Internet use
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# Transport in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a highly developed transport network, encompassing both public and private transport. Based on Hong Kong Government\'s Travel Characteristics Survey, over 90% of daily journeys are on public transport, the highest rate in the world. However, in 2014 the Transport Advisory Committee, which advises the Government on transportation issues, issued a report on the much-worsened congestion problem in Hong Kong and pointed at the excessive growth of private cars during the past 10--15 years.
The Octopus card, a smart electronic money payment system, was introduced in September 1997 to provide an alternative to the traditional banknotes and coins. Available for purchase in every stop of the Mass Transit Railway system, the Octopus card is a non-touch payment system which allows payment not only for public transport (such as trains, buses, trams, ferries and minibuses), but also at parking meters, convenience stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants and most vending machines.
## Public transport statistics {#public_transport_statistics}
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Hong Kong, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 73 min. 21% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 14 min, while 19% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average during their commutes every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 11.2 km, while 31% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.
## Rail transport {#rail_transport}
Hong Kong has an extensive railway network, and the Hong Kong Government has long established that the public transit system has the \"railway as its backbone\". Public transport trains are operated by the MTR Corporation. The MTR operates the metro network within inner urban Hong Kong, Kowloon Peninsula and the northern part of Hong Kong Island with newly developed areas, Tsuen Wan, Tseung Kwan O, Tung Chung, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Hong Kong International Airport, the northeastern and northwestern parts of the New Territories. The Hong Kong Tramways operates a tram service exclusively on northern Hong Kong Island. The Peak Tram connects Central, Hong Kong\'s central business district, with Victoria Peak.
### Mass Transit Railway {#mass_transit_railway}
Opened in 1979, the system now includes 240.6 km (149.5 mi) of rail with 167 stations, including 98 railway stations and 68 light rail stops. The railway lines include the East Rail, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan, Island, Tung Chung, Tseung Kwan O, Tuen Ma, South Island, the Airport Express and the Disneyland Resort lines. Eight of the lines provide general metro services, whereas the Airport Express provides a direct link from the Hong Kong International Airport into the city centre, and the Disneyland Resort Line exclusively takes passengers to and from Hong Kong Disneyland.
The Light Rail possesses many characteristics of a tramway, including running on streets with other traffic (at grade) on most of its tracks and providing services for the public in the northwestern New Territories, including Tuen Mun and Yuen Long.
All trains and underground MTR stations are air-conditioned.
### Tramways
*Main article: Hong Kong Tramways* The Hong Kong Tramways is the tram system run exclusively with double deckers. The electric tram system was proposed in 1881; however nobody was willing to invest in a system at the time. In August 1901, the Second Tramway Bill was introduced and passed into law as the 1902 Tramway Ordinance. Hong Kong Tramway Electric Company Limited, a British company, was authorised to take the responsibilities in construction and daily operation. In 1904, the tram system first got into service. It was soon taken over by another company, Electric Tranction Company of Hong Kong Limited and then the name was changed to Hong Kong Tramways Company Limited in 1910.
The rail system is 13 km long, with a total track length of 30 km, and it runs together with other vehicles on the street. Its operation relies on the 550V direct current (d.c.) from the overhead cables, on 3\'6\" gauge (1067 mm) tracks. The trams provide service to only parts of Hong Kong Island: they run on a double track along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan, with a single clockwise-running track of about 3 km around Happy Valley Racecourse.
### Funicular railways {#funicular_railways}
There are two funicular railway services in Hong Kong:
- The Peak Tram carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. It provides the most direct route to Victoria Peak and offers scenic views over Victoria Harbour and the skyscrapers of Hong Kong. It was inaugurated in 1888.
- The Ocean Express operates within the paid area of the Ocean Park theme park. It links two parts of the park, operating entirely in a tunnel. The ride is themed, and uses multimedia effects to simulate the feeling of travelling into the depths of the sea. It was opened in 2009.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Rail transport {#rail_transport}
### Airport people-mover system {#airport_people_mover_system}
*Main article: Hong Kong International Airport Automated People Mover*
The Hong Kong International Airport Automated People Mover is a driverless people-mover system located within the Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok. It operates in two \"segments\". For departures, the train runs from Terminal 2 to the East Hall to the West Hall. For arrivals, the train runs only from the West Hall to the East Hall, where all passengers must disembark for immigration, customs, and baggage claim. Operation of the first segment commenced in 1998, and the operation of the second segment commenced in early-2007. The HKIA APM is being extended to the future Terminal 2 Concourse, which is being constructed and will be finished by 2024.
There is another system between the terminals. There is also a travellator which can be used.
### Cross-border trains {#cross_border_trains}
Inter-city train services crossing the Hong Kong-China boundary are known as Intercity Through Trains. They are jointly operated by Hong Kong\'s MTR Corporation and China Railway High-speed. Hung Hom station (formerly called *Kowloon station*) and West Kowloon Terminus are the stations in Hong Kong where passengers can catch these trains. Passengers have to go through immigration and customs before boarding. There are currently four through train routes:
- Between Hong Kong and Beijing (Beijing--Kowloon through train)
- Between Hong Kong and Shanghai (Shanghai--Kowloon through train)
- Between Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Guangzhou--Kowloon through train)
- Between Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Guangzhou--Shenzhen--Hong Kong Express Rail Link) (XRL)
- In Hong Kong West Kowloon Station , there is the Mainland Port Area
In 2024, Hung Hom cross-border trains are halted.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Road transport {#road_transport}
### Buses
*Main article: Bus services in Hong Kong* Bus services have a long history in Hong Kong. As of 2023, four companies operate franchised public bus services, each granted ten-year exclusive operating rights to the set of routes that they operate. Franchise buses altogether carry about one-third of the total daily public transport market of around 12,000,000 passengers, with KMB having 67% of the franchised bus market share and CityBus with 29%.`{{full citation needed|date=December 2020}}`{=mediawiki} There are also a variety of non-franchised public buses services, including feeder bus services to railway stations operated by the railway companies, and residents\' services for residential estates (particularly those in the New Territories).
The four franchised bus companies are:
- Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited;
- Citybus Limited;
- Long Win Bus Company Limited; and
- New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited.
Founded in 1933, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world. KMB\'s fleet consist of about 3,900 buses on 400 routes and a staff of over 12,000 people. In 1979, Citybus began its operations in Hong Kong with one double-decker, providing shuttle service for the Hong Kong dockyard. It later expanded into operating a residential bus route between City One, Sha Tin and Kowloon Tong MTR station. New World First Bus Services Limited was established in 1998, taking over China Motor Bus\'s franchise to provide bus services on Hong Kong Island together with Citybus. NWFB\'s owner company later bought Citybus, and NWFB and Citybus shared the same website, but the two companies had essentially been operating independently until their merger on 1 July 2023.
### Public light buses {#public_light_buses}
*Main article: Public light bus* Public light buses (小巴) (widely referred to as minibuses, or sometimes *maxicabs*, a *de facto* share taxi) run the length and breadth of Hong Kong, through areas which the standard bus lines can not or do not reach as frequently, quickly or directly. Minibuses carry a maximum of 16 (19 for some routes since 2017) passengers; standing is not permitted.
The Hong Kong Transport Department (HKTD) allows and licenses the operation of two types of public light buses:
1. green minibuses that have route numbers, stop at designated stops (many routes have hail and ride sections along which passengers can board and exit anywhere unless it is a no-stopping zone) and which have their fares, service and frequency regulated by the HKTD; and
2. red minibuses that may or may not have regular routes, may or may not be numbered, may or may not have fixed stops and whose fares and service levels are not regulated by HKTD.
Red minibuses often provide more convenient transport for passengers not served by green minibuses or other public buses, and are thus quite popular. Where green minibus drivers are paid fixed wages to drive their routes, red minibus drivers often rely on their fares for a living and thus are often seen to be more aggressive drivers. The prevalence of aggressive driving has resulted in the Transport Department making it mandatory for Hong Kong minibuses to be equipped with large read-out speedometers which allow passengers to track the speed at which minibus drivers operate. Currently, if minibuses exceed 80 km/h, the speedometer will sound an audible warning signal to the driver and passengers. If the minibus exceeds 100 km/h, the beeping will turn into a sustained tone.
The Transport Department has also regulated, after a series of minibus accidents, that all new minibuses brought into service after August 2005 must have seat belts installed, and passengers must use seat belts when they are provided.
### Taxis
*Main article: Taxicabs of Hong Kong*
, there were 18,138 taxis in Hong Kong, operating in three distinct (but slightly overlapping) geographical areas, and distinguished by their colour. Of these, 15,250 are red urban taxis, 2,838 green New Territories taxis, and 50 blue Lantau taxis. Every day, they serve 1,100,000, 207,900, and 1,400 passengers respectively. Taxis carry an average of 1,000,000 passengers each day, occupying about 12% of the daily patronage carried by all modes of public transport in Hong Kong.
Colour District
----------------------- ------------ ---------------------------------------------------
Urban taxis Red Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, Sha Tin, Kwai Chung
New Territories taxis Dark Green Tai Po, Fanling, Sheung Shui, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun
Lantau taxis Light Blue Tung Chung, Mui Wo, Tai O, Ngong Ping, Disneyland
: List of Hong Kong Taxis
Most of the taxis in Hong Kong run on LPG (liquified petroleum gas) to reduce emissions. In August 2000, a one-off grant was paid in cash to taxi owners who replaced their diesel taxi with an LPG one. Since August 2001, all newly purchased taxis run on LPG. By the end of 2003, over 99.8% of the taxi fleet in Hong Kong ran on LPG.
Taxi fares are charged according to the taximeter; however, additional charges on the fare table may apply, such as road tolls and luggage fees. Urban taxis are the most expensive, while Lantau taxis are the cheapest. The standard of service among different kinds of taxis is mostly the same. The reason for having three types of taxis is to ensure service availability in less populated regions, as running in the urban centre is considered to be more profitable.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Road transport {#road_transport}
### Private cars {#private_cars}
As of May 2015, the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong reports that there are 504,798 licensed vehicles in Hong Kong. In terms of private car ownership, the number of cars per capita is half that of Singapore and one-third that of Taiwan. However, the Transport Advisory Committee, which advises the government on transport policies, issued a report stating that the growth of private cars is too fast and must be contained so as to alleviate congestion problems of Hong Kong. Private cars are most popular in newly developed areas such as New Territories and Lantau and areas near the border with mainland China, as there are fewer public transportation options, and more parking spaces compared to other areas of Hong Kong.
Most cars are right-hand drive models, from Japanese or European manufacturers. Almost all private vehicles in Hong Kong have dual airbags and are tested by JNCAP. Vehicles must also be maintained to a high standard, contrary to mainland China regulations. Hong Kong does not allow left-hand drive vehicles to be primarily registered in Hong Kong. However, Hong Kong registered vehicles may apply for secondary mainland Chinese registration plates, and these can be driven across the border to mainland China; likewise, left-hand drive cars seen in Hong Kong are usually primarily registered in mainland China and carry supplementary Hong Kong registration plates.
Cars are subjected to a first-time registration tax, which varies from 35% to over 100%, based on the size and value of the car. The level of vehicle taxation was increased by a law passed on 2 June 1982 to discourage private car ownership, and also as an incentive to buy smaller, more efficient cars, as these have less tax levied on them. First-time registration tax was doubled, annual licensing fees were increased by 300%, and \$0.70 duty fee was imposed on each litre of light oils.
In addition to the heavy traffic at times, parking may be problematic. Due to high urban density, there are not many filling stations; petrol in Hong Kong averages around US\$2.04 per litre, of which over half the cost is taxes. It was suggested in the news that the government had deliberately impeded the use of new environmentally friendly diesel engines by allowing only light goods vehicles to be fuelled by diesel. While it cannot be determined why exactly the government does not allow private cars to be fuelled by diesel, it has been pointed out that the government does receive a tax that is 150% of the actual fuel cost. This is mostly to discourage car ownership for environmental reasons.
There is a waiting list for local driving tests, while a full (private car) driving licence valid for ten years costs around US\$115. Residents of Hong Kong holding licences issued by other Chinese authorities and some foreign countries can get a Hong Kong driving licence exempt from tests if they can adequately show that they obtained their licence while residing in the place concerned (common proofs are school transcripts or employer\'s documentation). Some private car owners, known as white card drivers, provide a taxi service for a nominal fee.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Road transport {#road_transport}
### Bicycles
*Main article: Cycling in Hong Kong* Cycling is a popular means of transport in many parts of the New Territories, where new towns such as Sha Tin, Tai Po and Sheung Shui have significant cycle track networks. In the auto congested urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon, cycling is less common, despite the relatively flat topography of populated areas, in part because it is government policy not to support cycling as part of the transportation system. In 2011, the MTR Corporation announced that bicycles were permitted to be taken on all MTR rail lines.
### Motorcycles
Motorcycles by the private users in Hong Kong urban districts are not as popular as in South East Asian countries like Vietnam. They are mostly used for commercial and business purposes.
### Cross-border buses {#cross_border_buses}
A large number of buses leave various parts of Hong Kong (usually from side streets and hotel entrances) to various cities in the Pearl River Delta, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
**Miniature Golf Carts**
On some of the outlying islands, such as Lamma Island, residents rely on miniature golf carts for transportation. These compact electric vehicles serve as an efficient mode of transport for short distances and are a unique sight on the island\'s narrow pathways.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Maritime transport {#maritime_transport}
### Ferries
#### Internal routes {#internal_routes}
Most ferry services are provided by licensed ferry operators. `{{As of|2003|alt=As of September 2003}}`{=mediawiki}, there were 27 regular licensed passenger ferry services operated by 11 licensees, serving outlying islands, new towns and inner-Victoria Harbour. Two of the routes operated by the Star Ferry are franchised. Additionally, 78 \"kai-to\" ferries are licensed to serve remote coastal settlements.
The following companies operate ferry services in Hong Kong:
**Star Ferry**:
- Central to Tsim Sha Tsui
- Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui
- Harbour Tour (Circular between Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Wan Chai, and Hung Hom)
**Sun Ferry**:
- Central to Cheung Chau
- Central to Mui Wo
- Peng Chau, Mui Wo, Chi Ma Wan, and Cheung Chau
- North Point to Hung Hom
- North Point to Kowloon City
**Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry**:
- Lamma Island to Central
- Central to Peng Chau
- Peng Chau to Hei Ling Chau
**Chuen Kee Ferry**:
- Lamma Island (Sok Kwu Wan and Mo Tat) to Aberdeen
**HKR International Limited**:
- Discovery Bay Transportation Services -- Discovery Bay to Central
**Park Island Transport Company Ltd.**:
- Ma Wan to Central
- Ma Wan to Tsuen Wan
Discovery Bay Transport Services Ltd.
Discovery Bay to Central
**Fortune Ferry** (富裕小輪)
- North Point to Kwun Tong
- Tuen Mun to Tai O (via Tung Chung, Sha Lo Wan)
- Central to Hung Hom
**Coral Sea Ferry** (珊瑚海船務)
- Sai Wan Ho to Kwun Tong
- Sai Wan Ho to Lei Yue Mun (Sam Ka Tsuen)
**Tsui Wah Ferry**:
- Aberdeen via Pak Kok Tsuen to Lamma Island (Yung Shue Wan)
- Aberdeen via Stanley (Blake Pier) to Po Toi Island
- Ma Liu Shui via Sham Chung and Lai Chi Chong to Tap Mun
- Ma Liu Shui to Tung Ping Chau
- Wong Shek Pier via Ko Lau Wan to Tap Mun
- Wong Shek Pier via Wan Tsai (Nam Fung Wan) to Chek Keng
#### External routes {#external_routes}
In Hong Kong, there are three piers that provides ferry services to Macau and cities in southern China:
- The Hong Kong--Macau Ferry Terminal
- The Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal
- The Skypier (For Transitting Only)
Ferry services are provided by several different ferry companies at these piers.
Fastferry hydrofoil and catamaran service is available at all times of the week between Hong Kong and Macau.
TurboJet provides 24-hour services connecting Central and Macau at a frequency of up to every 15 to 30 minutes. It also provides these regular services:
- Hong Kong International Airport to Shenzhen Airport / Macau / Guangzhou (Nansha Ferry Port)
- Tsim Sha Tsui to Guangzhou
- Macau to Shenzhen Airport / Guangzhou
- Tsim Sha Tsui to Macau
Cotai Water Jet provides about 18-hour services connecting Central and Taipa or Outer Harbour, Macau at a frequency of up to every 30 to 60 minutes. It also provides these regular services:
- Hong Kong International Airport to Macau
- Tsim Sha Tsui to Macau
Chu Kong Passenger Transport (CKS) connects Hong Kong to cities in Guangdong province, including Zhuhai (Jiuzhou), Shenzhen (Shekou), Zhongshan (Zhongshan Kong), Lianhua Shan (Panyu), Jiangmen, Gongyi, Sanbu, Gaoming, Heshan, Humen, Nanhai, Shunde, Doumen.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Air transport {#air_transport}
### Aeroplanes
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is the primary airport for the territory and has been at Chep Lap Kok since 1998. Over 100 airlines operate flights to international and mainland China destinations from the airport; it is the main hub of flag carrier Cathay Pacific as well as Air Hong Kong, Hong Kong Express, and Hong Kong Airlines. HKG is an important regional transhipment centre, passenger hub, and gateway for destinations in mainland China and the rest of Asia. It also handles the most air cargo traffic in the world. With over 70 million passengers annually, it is the eighth busiest airport worldwide by passenger traffic. HKG is constructed on an artificial island north of Lantau Island and was built to replace the overcrowded Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon Bay. A third runway was constructed as part of the Three-Runway-System. The massive upgrades to the Terminal 2, and the construction of a new Terminal 2 Concourse, High-Speed Baggage Systems, the upgrades to the Centre Runway, and the extension of the APM, will be completed in 2024.
Ferry services link Hong Kong and Macau International Airport; there is an express service at the Hong Kong--Macau Ferry Terminal in which passengers can check in to flights at Macau Airport. Macau Airport has an \"Express Link\" service operating from the Hong Kong-Macau terminal, China Ferry Terminal, and Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal in which transiting passengers to Macau Airport are not processed through Macau customs. In addition there is a bus service between Hong Kong and Shenzhen Bao\'an International Airport in Shenzhen, and people going to Shenzhen Airport may also board a ferry that goes to Fuyong Ferry Terminal at Shenzhen Airport.
The majority of area private recreational aviation traffic, under the supervision of the Hong Kong Aviation Club (HKAC), goes in and out of Shek Kong Airfield in the New Territories. The HKAC sent most of its aircraft to Shek Kong in 1994 after the hours for general aviation at Kai Tak Airport were sharply reduced, to two hours per morning, as of 1 July that year. Usage of private aircraft at Shek Kong is restricted to weekends.
### Helicopters
Externally, frequent passenger helicopter flights to Macau are scheduled daily. There are also chartered services for the VIP and business community within Hong Kong.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Aerial lift transport {#aerial_lift_transport}
### Cable cars {#cable_cars}
There are two cable car systems in Hong Kong:
- The Ngong Ping Cable Car is a 5.7 km public cableway on Lantau Island. It links Tung Chung MTR station and Ngong Ping Terminal near Po Lin Monastery. It was opened on 18 September 2006.
- The Ocean Park theme park also possesses a 1.5 km cable car system between Nam Long Shan Headland and Wong Chuk Hang. This was opened in 1977 and is inside the paid area of the Park.
## Infrastructure
### Ports and harbours {#ports_and_harbours}
*Main article: Port of Hong Kong, Victoria Harbour*
The port of Hong Kong has always been a key factor in the development and prosperity of the territory, which is strategically located on the Far East trade routes and is in the geographical centre of the fast-developing Asia-Pacific Basin. The sheltered harbour provides good access and a safe haven for vessels calling at the port from around the world.
The Victoria Harbour is one of the busiest ports in the world. An average of 220,000 ships visit the harbour each year, including both oceanliners and river vessels, carrying both goods and passengers. The container port in Hong Kong is one of the busiest in the world. The Kwai Chung Terminal operates 24 hours a day. Together with other facilities in Victoria Harbour, they handled more than `{{TEU|20 million|first=yes}}`{=mediawiki} in 2005. Some 400 container liners serve Hong Kong weekly, connecting to over 500 destinations around the world.
### Airports
Hong Kong has a fully active international airport. The famous former Kai Tak International Airport retired in favour of the recently constructed Hong Kong International Airport, also known as Chek Lap Kok International Airport. The airport now serves as a transport hub for East Asia, and as the hub for Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Express, Hong Kong Airlines, and Air Hong Kong. Ferry services link the airport with several piers in Pearl River Delta, where immigrations and customs are exempted. Kai Tak airport was closed because of privacy reasons and also because of safety reasons; the aircraft came very close to the skyscrapers.
HKIA\'s network to China expanded with the opening of SkyPier in late-September 2003, offering millions in the PRD direct access to the airport. Passengers coming to SkyPier by high-speed ferries can board buses for onward flights while arriving air passengers can board ferries at the pier for their journeys back to the PRD. Passengers travelling in both directions can bypass custom and immigration formalities, which reduces transit time. Four ports -- Shekou, Shenzhen, Macau and Humen (Dongguan) -- were initially served. As of August 2007, SkyPier serves Shenzhen\'s Shekou and Fuyong, Dongguan\'s Humen, Macau, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. Moreover, passengers travelling from Shekou and Macau piers can even complete airline check-in procedures with participating airlines before boarding the ferries and go straight to the boarding gate for the connecting flight at HKIA. The provision of cross boundary coach and ferry services has transformed HKIA into an inter-modal transportation hub combining air, sea and land transport.
, the airport is the third busiest airport for passenger traffic, and second-busiest airport for cargo traffic in the world. It is popular with travellers -- from 2001 to 2005 and 2007--2008 Hong Kong International Airport has been voted the World\'s Best Airport in an annual survey of several million passengers worldwide by Skytrax.
According to the Guinness World Records, the passenger terminal of the HKIA was the world\'s largest airport terminal upon opening, and is at present the world\'s third-largest airport terminal building, with a covered area of 550,000 m^2^ and recently increased to 570,000 m^2^. The Airport Core Programme was one of the most expensive airport projects in the world.
Shek Kong Airfield, located near Yuen Long, is a military airfield for the People\'s Liberation Army, which is of limited operating capabilities due to surrounding terrain. The only aircraft operating on the airfield are PLA\'s Z-9 helicopters, which is the license-built version of the Eurocopter Dauphin.
### Heliports
Hong Kong has three heliports. Shun Tak Heliport (ICAO: VHST) is located in the Hong Kong--Macau Ferry Terminal, by the Shun Tak Centre, in Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island. Another is located in southwest Kowloon, near Kowloon station. The other is located inside Hong Kong International Airport.
Heli Express operates regular helicopter service between Macao Heliport (ICAO:VMMH) on the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal in Macau and the Shun Tak Heliport. There are around 16 flights daily. Flights take approximately 20 minutes in the eight-seater aircraft.
There are also a number of helipads across the territory, including the roof of the Peninsula Hotel (which is the only rooftop helipad in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, excluding the rooftop heliport of Shun Tak Centre and those in hospitals) and Cheung Chau Island, between Tung Wan Beach and Kwun Yam Beach.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Infrastructure
### Highways
There are a total of `{{nowrap|cvt|1,831|km|mi}}`{=mediawiki} of paved highways in Hong Kong. These roads are built to British standards with a maximum of four lanes with hard shoulders.
There are nine roads classified as trunk roads in Hong Kong and were renumbered from 1 to 9 in 2004. Routes 1 to 3 are in a north--south direction (with each crossing one of the cross-harbour tunnels) while the others are in an east--west direction:
- Route 1:
:
: Southern District ⇄ Wan Chai ⇄ Hung Hom ⇄ Kowloon Tong ⇄ Sha Tin
- Route 2:
:
: Eastern District ⇄ Kwun Tong ⇄ Wong Tai Sin ⇄ Sha Tin
- Route 3:
:
: Central & Western District ⇄ West Kowloon ⇄ Sham Shui Po ⇄ Kwai Tsing ⇄ Tsuen Wan ⇄ Yuen Long
- Route 4:
:
: Eastern District ⇄ Wan Chai ⇄ Central ⇄ Sai Ying Pun
- Route 5:
:
: Kowloon City ⇄ Yau Ma Tei ⇄ Sham Shui Po ⇄ Kwai Tsing ⇄ Tsuen Wan
- Route 7:
:
: Tseung Kwan O ⇄ Kwun Tong ⇄ Wong Tai Sin ⇄ Sham Shui Po ⇄ Kwai Chung
- Route 8:
:
: Sha Tin \<\> Kwai Tsing ⇄ Lantau Island North ⇄ Tung Chung ⇄ Airport
- Route 9:
:
: Circular Route linking the whole New Territories (Sha Tin, Tai Po, Northern District, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan)
- Route 10:
:
: Tuen Mun ⇄ Nam Tei (Divided from Route 9) ⇄ Ha Tsuen ⇄ Deep Bay ⇄ Shenzhen Bay Bridge ⇄ Shenzhen Bay Border Crossing ⇄ Mainland China
Route 6 is a proposed highway, and is now under construction. There are 120 CCTV cameras monitoring traffic on these highways and connecting roads which are available on-demand (Now TV) and on the Transport Department\'s website.
Highways in Hong Kong use two types of barrier system for divided highways. Older roads use metal guard rails and newer roads use the British Concrete step barrier.
All signage on highways and roads in Hong Kong are bilingual (traditional Chinese below and English above). Street signs use black text on a white background. Highway and directional signage are white lettering on blue or green background.
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# Transport in Hong Kong
## Infrastructure
### Bridges and tunnels {#bridges_and_tunnels}
There are 13 major vehicular tunnels in Hong Kong. They include three cross-harbour tunnels and ten road tunnels.
Other road tunnels and bridges which are proposed or under construction are:
- Central Kowloon Route
- Trunk Road T2
### Bus lanes {#bus_lanes}
There are approximately 22 km of bus priority lanes in Hong Kong.
### Bus terminals {#bus_terminals}
There are 298 bus terminals in Hong Kong. Notable examples include:
- Admiralty (East) Public Transport Interchange
- Central (Macau Ferry) Bus Terminus
- Pokfield Road Bus Terminus
- Kwun Tong Ferry Bus Terminus
- Central (Exchange Square) Bus Terminus
### Bicycles {#bicycles_1}
Bike path exists across Hong Kong, mostly in newly developed residential areas in New Territories. Most of the traditional urban core does not have bike paths, with them only present in some newly redeveloped or reclaimed coastal areas.
A network of bike rental shops is present near bike paths, in addition to dockless bike renting apps, enabling infrequent users to lease and drop off their bikes along bike paths.
Most public transit require bikes to be folded up and wheels be removed before bikes can be allowed to board.
### Pedestrian
#### Escalators and moving pavements {#escalators_and_moving_pavements}
*Main article: Central--Mid-Levels escalator*
Hong Kong Island is dominated by steep, hilly terrain, which required the development of unusual methods of transport up and down the slopes. In Central and Western District, there is an extensive system of zero-fare escalators and moving pavements. The Mid-Levels Escalator is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world, operating downhill until 10am for commuters going to work, and then operating uphill until midnight.
The Mid-levels Escalator consists of twenty escalators and three moving pavements. It is 800 metres long, and climbs 135 vertical metres. Total travel time is approximately 25 minutes, but most people walk while the escalator moves to shorten the travel time. Due to its vertical climb, the same distance is equivalent to several miles of zigzagging roads if travelled by car. Daily traffic exceeds 35,000 people. It has been operating since 1993 and cost HK\$240,000,000 (US\$30,000,000) to build.
A smaller Mid-Levels escalator system was built on Centre Street in Sai Ying Pun. Also in Sai Ying Pun are small escalators between First and Second Streets, in an uphill plaza that forms a giant hole through the Island Crest building. There is also a small escalator on Sands Street in Kennedy Town. There have been several more proposed outdoor escalators, including plans for Pound Lane, the entrance to the campus of the University of Hong Kong (which already has some escalators within and connecting it with the MTR) and projects in parts of Hong Kong away from Hong Kong Island.
#### Pedestrian bridges, tunnels, and skyways {#pedestrian_bridges_tunnels_and_skyways}
Example includes:
- Central Elevated Walkway
- Wanchai North Skyway Platform
- Tseung Kwan O Cross Bay Bridge
- Lek Yuen Bridge
#### Pavement railings {#pavement_railings}
During the 2019--2020 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, 60 km of pavement railings were damaged by the demonstrators. Hong Kong\'s Transport and Highways Departments spent an estimated HK\$15 million (\$1.9 million) of taxpayer money rebuilding and reinforcing the fencing. The city government has more than doubled its installation of pedestrian rails, from 730 km in 2010 to 1500 km by 2018. Many of the railings prevent pedestrians from walking in a straight line along major roads by prohibiting direct crossing of perpendicular side streets. Paul Zimmerman, a district councillor and a member of a government advisory commission to improve urban design,`{{which|date=June 2022}}`{=mediawiki} and other pavement-fence critics argue the barriers are emblematic of the way Hong Kong streets are built to prioritise vehicles over pedestrians. The city likes the guardrails because they do not want to slow turning cars but prioritising vehicles limits the *throughput capacity* of the city. Pedestrians who want to walk faster than the shuffling crowds must go into the streets, exposing them to vehicle traffic. The Transport and Highways departments say the railings are critical "to regulate and guide pedestrians for road safety and traffic management purposes." Hong Kong\'s high *population density* makes *pedestrian mobility* complicated and the railings offer a clear distinction between the automobiles and walkers. But in a city where less than 10% of the population owns a car, anti-fence advocates question why automobiles get primacy. Nonprofit groups like Walk DVRC, in conjunction with Zimmerman, have worked to remove some of the guardrails but the city believes they are necessary. The railings, which are too flimsy to fend off cars, provide little to no protection from automobiles. Walk DVRC has submitted a detailed proposal including pictures and recommendations for 456 railings. There are 105 of those that they claim "have been removed to the benefit of pedestrians" and should not be reinstalled. Nevertheless, the city is determined to replace the removed railings and is moving forward despite public pushback.
## Ports of entry {#ports_of_entry}
This is a list of ports of entry (i.e. immigration control points) in Hong Kong
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# Geography of Hungary
--------------------------
**Geography of Hungary**
**Continent**
**Region**
**Coordinates**
**Area**
**Coastline**
**Borders**
**Highest point**
**Lowest point**
**Longest river**
**Largest lake**
--------------------------
**Hungary** (Hungarian: Magyarország) is a landlocked country in southeastern Central Europe, on the Eurasian Steppe. Situated in the Carpathian Basin, it has a land area of 93,030 square km, measuring about 250 km from north to south and 524 km from east to west. It has 2,106 km of boundaries, shared with Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the south and southwest, Slovenia to the west and southwest, and Austria to the west.
Hungary\'s modern borders were first established after World War I when, by the terms of the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, it lost more than 71% of what had formerly been the Kingdom of Hungary, 58.5% of its population, and 32% of the Hungarians. The country secured some boundary revisions from 1938 to 1941: In 1938 the First Vienna Award gave back territory from Czechoslovakia, in 1939 Hungary occupied Carpatho-Ukraine. In 1940 the Second Vienna Award gave back Northern Transylvania and finally Hungary occupied the Bácska and Muraköz regions during the Invasion of Yugoslavia. However, Hungary lost these territories again with its defeat in World War II. After World War II, the Trianon boundaries were restored with a small revision that benefited Czechoslovakia.
Most of the country has an elevation of less than 200 m. Although Hungary has several moderately high ranges of mountains, those reaching heights of 300 m or more cover less than 2% of the country. The highest point in the country is Kékes (1,014 m) in the Mátra Mountains northeast of Budapest. The lowest spot is 77.6 m above sea level, located in the south of Hungary, near Szeged.
The major rivers in the country are the Danube and Tisza. The Danube is navigable within Hungary for 418 kilometers. The Tisza River is navigable for 444 km in the country. Less important rivers include the Drava along the Croatian border, the Rába, the Szamos, the Sió, and the Ipoly along the Slovakian border. Hungary has three major lakes. Lake Balaton, the largest, is 78 km long and from 3 to 14 km wide, with an area of 600 square km. Hungarians often refer to it as the *Hungarian Sea*. It is Central Europe\'s largest freshwater lake and an important recreation area. Its shallow waters offer good summer swimming, and in winter its frozen surface provides excellent opportunities for winter sports. Smaller bodies of water are Lake Velence (26 square km) in Fejér County and Lake Fertő (Neusiedler See---about 82 square km within Hungary), and the artificial Lake Tisza.
Hungary has three major geographic regions (which are subdivided to seven smaller ones): the Great Alföld, lying east of the Danube River; the Transdanubia, a hilly region lying west of the Danube and extending to the Austrian foothills of the Alps; and the North Hungarian Mountains, which is a mountainous and hilly country beyond the northern boundary of the Great Hungarian Plain.
The country\'s best natural resource is fertile land, although soil quality varies greatly. About 70% of the country\'s total territory is suitable for agriculture; of this portion, 72% is arable land. Hungary lacks extensive domestic sources of energy and raw materials needed for industrial development.
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# Geography of Hungary
## Plains and hills {#plains_and_hills}
The Little Alföld or Little Hungarian Plain is a plain (tectonic basin) of approximately 8,000 km^2^ in northwestern Hungary, southwestern Slovakia and eastern Austria, along the lower course of the Rába River, with high quality fertile soils.
The Transdanubia region lies in the western part of the country, bounded by the Danube River, the Drava River, and the remainder of the country\'s border with Slovenia and Croatia. It lies south and west of the course of the Danube. It contains Lake Fertő and Lake Balaton. The region consists mostly of rolling hills. Transdanubia is primarily an agricultural area, with flourishing crops, livestock, and viticulture. Mineral deposits and oil are found in Zala county close to the border of Croatia.
The Great Alföld contains the basin of the Tisza River and its branches. It encompasses more than half of the country\'s territory. Bordered by mountains on all sides, it has a variety of terrains, including regions of fertile soil, sandy areas, wastelands, and swampy areas. Hungarians have inhabited the Great Plain for at least a millennium. Here is found the puszta, a long, and uncultivated expanse (the most famous such area still in existence is the Hortobágy National Park), with which much Hungarian folklore is associated. In earlier centuries, the Great Plain was unsuitable for farming because of frequent flooding. Instead, it was the home of massive herds of cattle and horses. In the last half of the 19th century, the government sponsored programs to control the riverways and expedite inland drainage in the Great Plain. With the danger of recurrent flooding largely eliminated, much of the land was placed under cultivation, and herding ceased to be a major contributor to the area\'s economy.
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# Geography of Hungary
## Mountains
Although the majority of the country has an elevation lesser than 300 m, Hungary has several moderately high ranges of mountains. They can be classified to four geographic regions, from west to east: Alpokalja, Transdanubian Mountains, Mecsek and North Hungarian Mountains. Alpokalja (literally *the foothills of the Alps*) is located along the Austrian border; its highest point is Írott-kő with an elevation of 882 metres. The Transdanubian Mountains stretch from the west part of Lake Balaton to the Danube Bend near Budapest, where it meets the North Hungarian Mountains. Its tallest peak is the 757 m high Pilis. Mecsek is the southernmost Hungarian mountain range, located north from Pécs - Its highest point is the Zengő with 682 metres.
The North Hungarian Mountains lie north of Budapest and run in a northeasterly direction south of the border with Slovakia. The higher ridges, which are mostly forested, have rich coal and iron deposits. Minerals are a major resource of the area and have long been the basis of the industrial economies of cities in the region. Viticulture is also important, producing the famous Tokaji wine. The highest peak of it is the Kékes, located in the Mátra mountain range.
### Highest independent peaks {#highest_independent_peaks}
`{{main list|List of mountains in Hungary}}`{=mediawiki}
Name Height Range Geographic region
-- ------------- --------- ------------------- ---------------------------
Kékestető 1,014 m Mátra North Hungarian Mountains
Galya-tető 964 m Mátra North Hungarian Mountains
Szilvási-kő 961 m Bükk North Hungarian Mountains
Istállós-kő 959 m Bükk North Hungarian Mountains
Bálvány 956 m Bükk North Hungarian Mountains
Tar-kő 950 m Bükk North Hungarian Mountains
Csóványos 938 m Börzsöny North Hungarian Mountains
Magos-fa 916 m Börzsöny North Hungarian Mountains
Nagy-Milic 895 m Zemplén Mountains North Hungarian Mountains
Írott-kő 882 m Kőszeg Mountains Alpokalja
## Climate
Hungary has a mainly continental climate with the rest of the Pannonian Plain, with cold winters and warm to hot summers. The average annual temperature is about 10 °C, in summer 27 to, and in winter 0 to, with extremes ranging from about 42 °C in summer to -35 °C in winter. Average yearly rainfall is about 600 mm. Distribution and frequency of rainfall are unpredictable. The western part of the country usually receives more rain than the eastern part, where severe droughts may occur in summertime. Weather conditions in the Great Plain can be especially harsh, with hot summers, cold winters, and scant rainfall.
By the 1980s, the countryside was beginning to show the effects of pollution, both from herbicides used in agriculture and from industrial pollutants. Most noticeable was the gradual contamination of the country\'s bodies of water, endangering fish and wildlife. Although concern was mounting over these disturbing threats to the environment, no major steps had yet been taken to arrest them.
## Rivers and lakes {#rivers_and_lakes}
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Rivers** |
| |
| The springs of the major Hungarian rivers are outside the country. The two most important rivers, the Danube and the Tisza are navigable on their whole Hungarian length. They have several tributaries. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Name** |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Danube |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Tisza |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Leitha |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Rábca |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Rába |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Zala |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Dráva |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Ipoly |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Zagyva |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sajó |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Hernád |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Bodrog |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Szamos |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Körös |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Maros |
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| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Lakes** |
| |
| Hungary has several bodies of water, including the greatest lake of Central Europe, Lake Balaton, which is a famous tourist destination. Lake Hévíz, the largest thermal lake in the world (47,500 square metres in area) is located in Hungary as well. The Lake Cave (*Hungarian: Barlangtó*) of Tapolca is also notable as being a sub-surface lake. Major lakes include: |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **Name** |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Balaton |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Tisza (*artificial*) |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Fertő |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Velence |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
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# Geography of Hungary
## Agriculture
Hungary, with its plains and hilly regions, is highly suitable for agriculture.
### Arable land {#arable_land}
Doubtless, one of Hungary\'s most important natural resources is arable land. It covers about 48.57% of the country, which is outstanding in the world (see the related map). The mass majority of the fertile soil has a good quality.
The most important agricultural zones are the Little Hungarian Plain (it has the highest quality fertile soil in average), Transdanubia, and the Great Hungarian Plain. The last covers more than half of the country (52,000 km^2^ in number), whereas soil quality varies extremely; the territory even contains a small, grassy semi-desert, the so-called puszta (steppe in English). Puszta is exploited by sheep and cattle raising.
The most important Hungarian agricultural products include corn, wheat, barley, oat, sunflower, poppy, potato, millet, sugar-beet, flax, and many other plants. There are also some newly naturalized plants too, for example amaranth. Poppy seed is part of the traditional Hungarian cuisine.
The country is well known for producing high quality peppers, which are often made into paprika. There are numerous fruits reared, including many subspecies of apple, pear, peach, grape, apricot, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.
Hungary does not grow any GMO products, thus these products are mainly imported from the United States. They cannot, however, be distributed without a mark on the wrapping.
### Viticulture
Wine production has a long history in Hungary. There are two languages in Europe in which the word for \"wine\" does not derive from the Latin, being Greek -- and Hungarian. The Hungarian word is *bor*.
Viticulture has been recorded in the territory of today\'s Hungary since the Roman times, who were responsible for the introduction of the cultivation of wines. The arriving Hungarians took over the practice and have maintained it ever since.
Today, there are numerous wine regions in Hungary, producing quality and inexpensive wines as well, comparable to Western European ones. The majority of the country\'s wine regions are located in the mountains or in the hills, such as Transdanubian Mountains, North Hungarian Mountains, Villány Mountains, and so on. Important ones include the regions of Eger, Hajós, Somló, Sopron, Villány, Szekszárd, and Tokaj-Hegyalja.
### Forestry
19% of the country is covered by forests. These are mainly mountainous areas, such as the North Hungarian and the Transdanubian Mountains, and the Alpokalja. The composition of forests is various, with trees like fir, beech, oak, willow, acacia, plane, etc. `{{See also|Honey production in Hungary}}`{=mediawiki}
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# Geography of Hungary
## Political geography {#political_geography}
Hungary\'s current counties are largely based on the country\'s historic regions. The counties are subdivided into *districts* (*járás*), and these are further divided into *municipalities* (*település*). Hungary has 19 counties, 174 districts + 23 districts in Budapest and 2,722 *municipality*.
County Seat Area (km^2^) Population
------------------------ ---------------- -------------- ------------
Baranya Pécs 4,430 386,441
Bács-Kiskun Kecskemét 8,445 520,331
Békés Békéscsaba 5,630 359,948
Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén Miskolc 7,250 686,266
Csongrád-Csanád Szeged 4,263 417,456
Fejér Székesfehérvár 4,358 425,847
Győr-Moson-Sopron Győr 4,208 447,985
Hajdú-Bihar Debrecen 6,211 546,721
Heves Eger 3,637 308,882
Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Szolnok 5,582 386,594
Komárom-Esztergom Tatabánya 2,265 304,568
Nógrád Salgótarján 2,545 202,427
Pest *Budapest* 6,393 1,217,476
Somogy Kaposvár 6,065 317,307
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Nyíregyháza 5,936 559,272
Tolna Szekszárd 3,703 230,361
Vas Szombathely 3,336 256,629
Veszprém Veszprém 4,464 351,898
Zala Zalaegerszeg 3,784 282,179
## Area and boundaries {#area_and_boundaries}
### Area
- Total: 93,030 km^2^
: *country comparison to the world:* 108th
- Land: 92,340 km^2^
- Water: 690 km^2^ (0.74% of total land area)
### Boundaries
- **Land boundaries:** *total:* 2,009 km.
- **Border countries and length:** `{{AUT}}`{=mediawiki}: 366 km, `{{SVK}}`{=mediawiki}: 679 km, `{{UKR}}`{=mediawiki}: 103 km, `{{ROU}}`{=mediawiki}: 443 km, `{{SRB}}`{=mediawiki}: 151 km, `{{CRO}}`{=mediawiki}: 329 km and `{{SLO}}`{=mediawiki}: 102 km
### Area comparison {#area_comparison}
- Brazil comparative: slightly smaller than Santa Catarina
- China comparative: about half of Hubei
- India comparative: slightly larger than West Bengal
- Russia comparative: slightly smaller than Altai Republic
- South Africa comparative: slightly smaller than KwaZulu-Natal
- United Kingdom comparative: larger than Scotland
- United States comparative: slightly smaller than Indiana
- Sweden comparative slightly smaller than Norrbotten
## Environmental concerns {#environmental_concerns}
**Natural hazards:** occasional flooding
**National parks**
**Environment - current issues:** The approximation of Hungary\'s standards in waste management, energy efficiency, and air, soil, and water pollution with environmental requirements for EU accession will require large investments.
**Environment - international agreements:**
*party to:* Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
*signed, but not ratified:* Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol
**Geography - note:** landlocked; strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin
## Extreme points {#extreme_points}
### Elevation
- **Highest point**: Kékes, at 1,014 m, 47 52 20.86 N 20 0 34.18 E region:HU_type:landmark name=Kékestető (highest), Gyöngyös (Heves County)
- **Lowest point**: Gyálarét (Municipality of Szeged), at 78 m, 46 12 19.3 N 20 6 33.1 E region:HU_type:landmark name=Gyálarét (lowest), Szeged (Csongrád-Csanád County)
### Latitude and longitude {#latitude_and_longitude}
- **Westernmost settlement**: Felsőszölnök (Vas County), 46 52 14.12 N 16 9 35.03 E region:HU_type:landmark name=Felsőszölnök (westernmost settlement)
- **Easternmost settlement**: Garbolc (Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County), 47 56 42.61 N 22 51 35.75 E region:HU_type:landmark name=Garbolc (easternmost settlement)
- **Northernmost settlement**: Hidvégardó (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County), 48 33 38.3 N 20 50 17.7 E region:HU_type:landmark name=Hidvégardó (northernmost settlement)
- **Southernmost settlement**: Kásád (Baranya County), 45 46 41 N 18 24 3 E region:HU_type:landmark name=Kásád (southernmost settlement)
### Centre
- **Geographical centre**: 47 10 48.31 N 19 30 13.45 E region:HU_type:landmark name=Geographical centre of Hungary, Pusztavacs (Pest County)
## Pictures
<File:DonauknieVisegrad.jpg%7CA> famous tourist destination: the Danube Bend <File:Tajkep> mderecskerol matra.jpg\|The mountainous part of the county: in the North Hungarian Mountains, more precisely in Mátra <File:Hortobagy-ziehbrunnen.jpg%7COld> wells in the Great Alföld <File:hu-countryside1.jpg%7CTypical> countryside in Transdanubia <File:Balaton2.jpg>\|Balaton, the greatest lake of Hungary is sometimes referred as the \"Hungarian sea\". <File:Mecsek> magyaro 1.jpg\|Mecsek, Southern Hungary <File:Vizeses-Lillafured-Miskolc-Hungary-Europe.jpg%7CThe> waterfall of Lillafüred <File:Villany>, wine
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# Transport in Hungary
**Transport in Hungary** relies on several main modes, including transport by road, rail, air and water.
## Roads
`{{see also|Roads in Hungary}}`{=mediawiki}
Hungary has a total of 159568 km of public roads, of which 70050 km are paved (including 1481 km of motorways, as of 2016); and 89518 km are unpaved (2005 etc.):
Hungarian road categories are as follows:
- **Gyorsforgalmi út** (controlled-access highway):
- **Autópálya** (motorway): 2+2 travel lanes and 1+1 emergency lane, central reservation, no at-grade intersections, speed limit 130 km/h
- **Gyorsút** (high-speed highway): 2+2 travel lanes, central reservation, few at-grade intersections, speed limit 110 km/h
- **Autóút** (expressway): 2+2, 2+1 or 1+1 travel lanes, central reservation, some at-grade intersections, speed limit 110 km/h
- **Elsőrendű főút** (primary arterial road or primary main road) (with one-digit number, e.g. 6-os főút)
- **Másodrendű főút** (secondary main road) (with two or three digits, e.g. 57-es főút)
- **Helyi út** (local road) (with three or more digits, e.g. 4519-es közút)
### Motorways and expressways {#motorways_and_expressways}
Hungarian motorways and expressways are part of the national road network. As of October 2016, there are 1481 km of controlled-access highways.
Motorways (*autópályák*, singular - *autópálya*) in Hungary:\
M1 \| M3 \| M4 \| M5 \| M6 \| M7 \| M8 \| *M15* \| M19 \| M30 \| M31 \| M35 \| M43 \| M60
Expressways (*autóutak*, singular - *autóút*) in Hungary:\
M0 \| M2 \| M9 \| M51 \| M70 \| M85 \| M86
New motorway sections are being added to the existing network, which already connects many major economically important cities to the capital.
### Bus transport {#bus_transport}
Bus transport between municipalities was provided by Volán Companies, twenty-four bus companies founded in 1970 and named after the regions they served. They also provided local transport in cities and towns that did not have their own public transport company (all cities except for Budapest, Miskolc, Pécs, Kaposvár and also Debrecen after 2009), and operated bus lines in cities where the local company operated only tram and trolley bus lines (Szeged and Debrecen, the latter until 2009, when DKV took over the bus lines). In early 2015 the 24 companies were organized into seven regional companies.
## Railways
*Main article: Rail transport in Hungary*
*Note:* Hungary and Austria jointly manage the cross-border standard-gauge railway between Győr--Sopron--Ebenfurt (GySEV/ROeEE), a distance of about 101 km in Hungary and 65 km in Austria.
In Budapest, the three main railway stations are the Eastern (Keleti), Western (Nyugati) and Southern (Déli), with other outlying stations like Kelenföld. Of the three, the Southern is the most modern but the Eastern and the Western are more decorative and architecturally interesting.
Other important railway stations countrywide include Szolnok (the most important railway intersection outside Budapest), Tiszai Railway Station in Miskolc and the stations of Pécs, Győr, Debrecen, Szeged and Székesfehérvár.
The only city with an underground railway system is Budapest with its Metro.
In Budapest there is also a suburban rail service in and around the city, operated under the name HÉV.
### Rail system {#rail_system}
- Total: 7,606 km
- Standard gauge: 7,394 km `{{RailGauge|1435mm}}`{=mediawiki} gauge (2,911 km electrified; 1,236 km double track)
- Broad gauge: 36 km `{{RailGauge|1520mm|lk=on}}`{=mediawiki} gauge
- Narrow gauge: 176 km `{{RailGauge|760mm|lk=on}}`{=mediawiki} gauge (1998)
#### Rail links with adjacent countries {#rail_links_with_adjacent_countries}
- Same gauge:
- Austria (6 line)
- Croatia (3 line)
- Romania (5 line)
- Serbia (2 line)
- Slovakia (10 line)
- Slovenia (1 line)
- Break-of-gauge -- `{{RailGauge|sg}}`{=mediawiki} / `{{RailGauge|1520mm}}`{=mediawiki}
- Ukraine (2 line)
## Airports
*Main article: List of airports in Hungary* There are 43-45 airports in Hungary, including smaller, unpaved airports, too. The five international airports are Budapest-Liszt Ferenc, Debrecen Airport, Hévíz--Balaton International Airport (previously *Sármellék,* also called FlyBalaton for its proximity to Lake Balaton, Hungary\'s number one tourist attraction), Győr-Pér and Pécs-Pogány (as of 2015. there are no regular passenger flights from Győr-Pér and Pécs-Pogány). Malév Hungarian Airlines ceased operations in 2012.
Airports with paved runways:
Total: 20 (1999 est.)
- Over 3,047 m: 2
- 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
- 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
- 914 to 1,523 m: 1
- Under 914 m: 1
Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 27 (1999 est.)
- 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
- 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
- 914 to 1,523 m: 12
- Under 914 m: 7
### International airports {#international_airports}
List of airports in Hungary; The following are the largest airports in Hungary (In descending order for 2015):
- Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD)
- Debrecen International Airport (DEB)
- Hévíz--Balaton Airport (SOB)
- Győr-Pér International Airport (QGY)
- Pécs-Pogány International Airport (PEV)
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# Transport in Hungary
## Airports
### Heliports
Hungary has five heliports.
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# Transport in Hungary
## Waterways
1,373 km permanently navigable (1997)
### Ports and harbors {#ports_and_harbors}
The most important port is Budapest, the capital. Other important ones include Dunaújváros and Baja.
Ports on the Danube:
- **Győr-Gönyű** (Port of Győr)
- Komárom
- **Budapest** (Port of Csepel)
- **Dunaújváros** (Port of Dunaújváros)
- Dunavecse
- Madocsa
- Paks
- Fadd-Dombori
- Bogyiszló
- **Baja** (Port of Baja)
- **Mohács** (Port of Mohács)
Ports on the Tisza:
- **Szeged** (Port of Szeged)
### Merchant marine {#merchant_marine}
- Total: 2 ships (with a volume of `{{GT|1,000|disp=long}}`{=mediawiki} or over) totaling `{{GT|12,949}}`{=mediawiki}/`{{DWT|14,550|metric|disp=long}}`{=mediawiki}
- Ships by type: cargo ship 2 (1999 est.)
## Transport in cities {#transport_in_cities}
### Transport companies of cities {#transport_companies_of_cities}
- BKK (Budapest) (buses, trams, trolley buses and metro)
- DKV Zrt. (Debrecen) (buses, trams & trolley buses)
- MVK Zrt. (Miskolc) (buses and trams)
- SzKT Kft. (Szeged) (trams and trolley buses only; buses belong to Volánbusz)
- Tüke Busz Zrt. (Pécs) (buses)
- KT Zrt. (Kaposvár) (buses)
- T-busz Kft. (Tatabánya) (buses)
- V-busz Kft. (Veszprém) (buses)
- KeKo (Kecskemét) (buses)
In the rest of the cities and towns local transport is provided by Volánbusz companies that also provide intercity bus lines.
### Metro
The **Budapest Metro** (*Budapesti metró*) is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. Its line 1 (opened in 1896) is the oldest electrified underground railway on the European continent. The second (red) line was opened in 1970, third (blue) line was opened in 1976, the newest line is the fourth (green), it was opened in 2014.
<File:Bajza> utca platform.jpg\|Bajza utca station, M1 <File:Budapest>, metró 2, Batthyány tér, 11.jpg\|Batthyány tér, M2 <File:Budapest> Metro Határ út.JPG\|Határ út, M3 <File:Budapest>, metró 4, Móricz Zsigmond körtér, 17.jpg\|Móricz Zsigmond körtér, M4
### Trams
The busiest traditional city tram line in the world is still route 4/6 in Budapest, where 50-meter long trams run at 120 to 180 second intervals at peak time and are usually packed with people. A part of this route is the same as where electric trams made their world first run in 1887. Since the 2000s, the Budapest tram network has been improved, by ordering new trams (Combino Supra and CAF Urbos 3) as well as extending some lines (such as line 1 to Kelenföld railway station). `{{col-begin}}`{=mediawiki} `{{col-2}}`{=mediawiki}
#### Cities with tram lines {#cities_with_tram_lines}
- Budapest (since November 28, 1887)
- Miskolc (since July 10, 1897)
- Szeged (since October 1, 1908)
- Debrecen (since March 16, 1911)
- Hódmezővásárhely (since November 29, 2021)
#### Cities with former tram lines {#cities_with_former_tram_lines}
- Szombathely (1897--1974)
- Sopron (1900--1923)
- Nyíregyháza (1905--1969)
- Pécs (1913 -- August 31, 1960)
Image:MiskolcV1V2.jpg\|Trams in Miskolc Image:Szeged, Tatra KT4DM č. 205.jpg\|Trams in Szeged Image:Debrecen tram stop.jpg\|Trams in Debrecen Image:Stadler CityLink in Hódmezővásárhely railway station terminus.jpg\|Szeged-Hódmezővásárhely Tram-train
There were some towns, where narrow-gauge railways were used as tram lines or interurban lines (for example: Sárospatak, Sátoraljaújhely, Békéscsaba, Békés, Cegléd). These lines were closed in the 1970s.
### Trolleybus
Trolleybuses can be found in three cities: Budapest, Debrecen and Szeged
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# Hungarian Defence Forces
The **Hungarian Defence Forces** (*lit=Hungarian Homeland-Guard*, `{{IPA|hu|ˈmɒɟɒr ˈhonveːt͡ʃːeːg}}`{=mediawiki}) is the national defence force of Hungary. Since 2007, the Hungarian Armed Forces has been under a unified command structure. The Ministry of Defence maintains political and civil control over the army. A subordinate Joint Forces Command coordinates and commands the HDF corps. In 2020, the armed forces had 22,700 personnel on active duty. In 2019, military spending was \$1.904 billion, about 1.22% of the country\'s GDP, well below the NATO target of 2%. In 2016, the government adopted a resolution in which it pledged to increase defence spending to 2.0% of GDP and the number of active personnel to 37,650 by 2026.
Military service is voluntary, though conscription may occur in wartime. In a significant move for modernization, Hungary decided in 2001 to buy 14 JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft for about €800 million. It also bought two used Airbus A319 and two Falcon 7X transport aircraft. Three C-17 III Globemaster transport aircraft are operating from Pápa Air Base under Hungarian nationality mark but are maintained by the NATO Heavy Airlift Wing (HAW). An intensive modernization program started in 2016 under the name \"Zrínyi 2026\". New helicopters, tanks, IFVs and artillery equipment were purchased beside others. Hungarian National Cyber Security Center was re-organized in 2016.
As of 2016, the Hungarian military has about 700 troops stationed in foreign countries as part of international peacekeeping forces, including 100 HDF troops in the NATO-led ISAF force in Afghanistan, 210 Hungarian soldiers in Kosovo under command of KFOR, and 160 troops in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hungary sent a 300-strong logistics unit to Iraq in order to help the US occupation with armed transport convoys, though public opinion opposed the country\'s participation in the war. One soldier was killed in action by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the HDF drove Habsburg forces from the country in the Spring Campaign of 1849, but was defeated by an Austro-Russian offensive in the summer. The Royal Hungarian Honvéd was established in 1868. During World War I, out of the eight million men mobilized by Austria-Hungary, over one million died. Conscription was introduced on a national basis in 1939. The peacetime strength of the Royal Hungarian Army grew to 80,000 men organized into seven corps commands. During World War II the Hungarian Second Army was destroyed on the banks of the Don River in December 1942 in the Battle of Stalingrad. During the Socialist and the Warsaw Pact era (1947--1989), the entire 200,000 strong Southern Group of Forces was garrisoned in Hungary, complete with artillery, tank regiments, air force and missile troops with nuclear weapons.
## Structure
## Flag and emblem {#flag_and_emblem}
The central element of the emblem of the Hungarian Defence Forces is the Turul bird with extended wings holding the sword of King Saint Stephen in its claws. The element is surrounded by a turkey oak branch on the right and an olive branch on the left. At the meeting point of the branches is the \"Hungarian Defense Shield\" in the national color. The inscription *\"A HAZÁÉRT\"* can be read at the top as \"for the homeland\", and *\"MAGYAR HONVÉDSÉG\"* can be read in a semicircle at the bottom as \"Hungarian Defence Forces\". The flag of the Hungarian Defence Forces is white, and the emblem is placed in the middle of the flag.
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# Hungarian Defence Forces
## History
### Ancient, medieval, and early modern military {#ancient_medieval_and_early_modern_military}
The Hungarian tribes of *Árpád vezér* who came to settle in the Carpathian Basin were noted for their fearsome light cavalry, which conducted frequent raids throughout much of Western Europe (as far as present-day Spain), maintaining their military supremacy with long-range and rapid-firing reflex bows. Not until the introduction of well-regulated, plate-armored knight heavy cavalry could German emperors stop the Hungarian armies.
During the Árpáds the light-cavalry-based army was transformed slowly into a western-style one. The light cavalry lost its privileged position, replaced by a feudal army formed mainly from heavy cavalry.
The Hungarian field armies were drawn up into an articulated formation (as it happened in Battle of Przemyśl (1099), Battle at Leitha (1146), Battle of Morvamező (1278), (1349), in three main battle (formation) (1146, 1278, 1349). According to the contemporary sources and later speculations, the first line was formed by light cavalry archers (Battle of Oslava (1116, 1146, 1260, 1278). Usually, they started the battle followed by a planned retreat (1116, 1146), Battle of Kressenbrunn (1260). The major decisive battles of the Hungarian army were placed in the second or third lines consisted mainly of the most valuable parts of the army -- in general heavy cavalry (1146, 1278, 1349).
The commanders of the Hungarian Kingdom\'s army used different tactics, based on a recognition of their own and the enemies\' (Holy Roman Empire, Pechenegs, Uzes, Cumans, Mongols, Byzantine Empire) abilities and deficiencies.
The Hungarian knight army had its golden age under King Louis the Great, who himself was a famed warrior and conducted successful campaigns in Italy due to family matters (his younger brother married Joanna I, Queen of Naples who murdered him later.) King Matthias Corvinus maintained very modern mercenary-based royal troops, called the *Black Army*. King Matthias favoured ancient artillery (catapults) as opposed to cannons, which were the favourite of his father, Johannes Hunyadi, former Regent of Hungary.
During the Ottoman invasion of Central Europe (between late 14th century and circa 1700) Hungarian soldiers protected fortresses and launched light cavalry attacks against the Turks (see Hungarian Hussars). The northern fortress of Eger was famously defended in the autumn of 1552 during the 39-day Siege of Eger against the combined forces of two Ottoman armies numbering circa 120,000 men and 16 ultra-heavy siege guns. The victory was very important, because two much stronger forts of Szolnok and Temesvár had fallen quickly during the summer. Public opinion attributed Eger\'s success to the all-Hungarian garrison, as the above two forts had fallen due to treason by the foreign mercenaries manning them. In 1596, Eger fell to the Ottomans for the same reason.
In the 1566 Battle of Szigetvár, Miklós Zrínyi defended Szigetvár for 30 days against the largest Ottoman army ever seen up to that day, and died leading his remaining few soldiers on a final suicide charge to become one of the best-known national heroes. His great-grandson, Miklós Zrínyi, poet and general, became one of the better-known strategists of the 1660s. In 1686, the capital city Buda was freed from the Ottomans by an allied Christian army composed of Austrian, Hungarian, and Western European troops, each roughly one-third of the army. The Habsburg empire then annexed Hungary.
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# Hungarian Defence Forces
## History
### Habsburg Hungarian military {#habsburg_hungarian_military}
Under Habsburg rule, Hungarian Hussars rose to international fame and served as a model for light cavalry in many European countries. During the 18th and 19th centuries hundreds of thousands of forcibly enrolled Hungarian males served 12 years or more each as line infantry in the Austrian Imperial Army.
Two wars of independence interrupted this era, that of Prince Francis II Rákóczi between 1703 and 1711 and that of Lajos Kossuth in 1848--1849. A July 11, 1848 act of parliament in Budapest called for the formation of an army, the *Honvédség*, of 200,000 which would use the Magyar language of command. It was to be formed around already extant imperial units, twenty battalions of infantry, ten hussar regiments, and two regiments of Székely from the Transylvanian Military Frontier. They were further joined by eight companies of two Italian regiments stationed in Hungary and parts of the Fifth Bohemian Artillery Regiment.
In 1848--1849 the Honvédség (mostly made up of enthusiastic patriots with no prior military training) achieved incredible successes against better-trained and -equipped Austrian forces, despite the obvious advantage in numbers on the Austrian side. The Winter Campaign of Józef Bem and the Spring Campaign of Artúr Görgey are to this day taught at prestigious military schools around the globe, including at West Point Academy in the United States. Having suffered initial setbacks, including the loss of Pest-Buda, the Honvéd took advantage of the Austrians\' lack of initiative and re-formed around the Debrecen-based Kossuth government. The Hungarians advanced again and by the end of spring 1849, Hungary was basically cleared of foreign forces, and would have achieved independence, were it not for the Russian intervention. At the request of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph, the Russians invaded with a force of 190,000 soldiers -- against the Honvédség\'s 135,000 -- and decisively defeated Bem\'s Second Army in Transylvania, opening the path into the heart of Hungary. This way the Austrian-Russian coalition outnumbered Hungarian forces 3:1, which led to Hungary\'s surrender at Világos on 13 August 1849. Sándor Petőfi, the great Hungarian poet, went missing in action in the Battle of Segesvár, against invading Russian forces.
In April 1867, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was established. Franz Josef, the head of the ancient Habsburg dynasty, was recognized as both Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Nevertheless, the issue of what form the Hungarian military would take remained a matter of serious contention between Hungarian patriots and Austrian leaders. As the impasse threatened the political union, Emperor Franz Josef ordered a council of generals in November of the same year. Ultimately, the leaders resolved on the following solution: in addition to the joint (k.u.k.) army, Hungary would have its own defence force, whose members would swear their oath to the King of Hungary (who was also Emperor of Austria) and the national constitution, use the Hungarian language of command, and display their own flags and insignia. (Austria would also form its own parallel national defence force, the *Landwehr*.) As a result of these negotiations, on 5 December 1868, the Royal Hungarian Landwehr (*Magyar Kiralyi Honvédség*, or Defence Force) was established.
The Honvédség was usually treated generously by the Diet in Budapest. By 1873 it already had over 2,800 officers and 158,000 men organized into eighty-six battalions and fifty-eight squadrons. In 1872, the Ludovika Academy officially began training cadets (and later staff officers). Honvédség units engaged in manoeuvres and were organized into seven divisions in seven military districts. While artillery was not allowed, the force did form batteries of Gatling guns in the 1870s.
In the midst of trouble between the imperial government and the parliament in 1906, the Honvédség was further expanded and finally received its own artillery units. In this form, the force approached the coming world war in most respects as a truly \"national\" Hungarian army.
#### World War I {#world_war_i}
Hungarian soldiers \"fought with distinction\" on every front contested by Austria-Hungary in the First World War. Honvédség units (along with the Austrian Landwehr) were considered fit for front line combat service and equal to those of the joint forces K.U.K. army. They saw combat especially on the Eastern Front and at the Battles of the Isonzo on the Italian Front. Out of the eight million men mobilized by Austria-Hungary, over one million died. Hungarians as a national group were second only to German Austrians in their share of this burden, experiencing twenty-eight war deaths for every thousand persons.
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire in late 1918, the Red Army of the Hungarian communist state (Hungarian Soviet Republic) conducted successful campaigns to protect the country\'s borders. However, in the Hungarian--Romanian War of 1919 Hungary came under occupation by the Romanian, Serbian, American, and French troops, as after four years of extensive fighting, the country lacked both the necessary manpower and equipment to fend off foreign invaders.
In accordance with the Treaty of Bucharest, upon leaving, the Romanian army took substantial compensation for reparations. This included agricultural goods and industrial machinery as well as raw materials. The Trianon Treaty limited the Hungarian National Army to 35,000 men and forbade conscription. The army was forbidden to possess tanks, heavy armor, or an air force.
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# Hungarian Defence Forces
## History
### Mid-twentieth century {#mid_twentieth_century}
On 9 August 1919, Admiral Miklós Horthy united various anti-communist military units into an 80,000-strong National Army (*Nemzeti Hadsereg*). On 1 January 1922, the National Army was once again redesignated the Royal Hungarian Army.
During the 1930s and early 1940s, Hungary was preoccupied with the regaining the vast territories and huge amount of population lost in the Trianon peace treaty at Versailles in 1920. This required strong armed forces to defeat the neighbouring states and this was something Hungary could not afford. Instead, the Hungarian Regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy, made an alliance with Nazi Germany. In exchange for this alliance and via the First and Second Vienna Awards, Hungary received back parts of its lost territories from Yugoslavia, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. Hungary was to pay dearly during and after World War II for these temporary gains.`{{Clarify|date=July 2009}}`{=mediawiki}
On 5 March 1938, Prime Minister Kálmán Darányi announced a rearmament program (the so-called *Győr Programme*, named after the city where it was announced to the public). Starting 1 October, the armed forces established a five-year expansion plan with Huba I-III revised orders of battle. Conscription was introduced on a national basis in 1939. The peacetime strength of the Royal Hungarian Army grew to 80,000 men organized into seven corps commands.
In March 1939, Hungary launched an invasion of the newly formed Slovak Republic. Both the Royal Hungarian Army and the Royal Hungarian Air Force fought in the brief Slovak-Hungarian War. This invasion was launched to reclaim a part of the Slovakian territory lost after World War I.
On 1 March 1940, Hungary organized its ground forces into three field armies. The Royal Hungarian Army fielded the Hungarian First Army, the Hungarian Second Army, and the Hungarian Third Army. With the exception of the independent \"Fast Moving Army Corps\" (*Gyorshadtest*), all three Hungarian field armies were initially relegated to defensive and occupation duties within the regained Hungarian territories.
#### World War II {#world_war_ii}
In November 1940, Hungary signed the Tripartite Pact and became a member of the Axis with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
In April 1941, in order to regain territory and because of the German pressure, Hungary allowed the Wehrmacht to cross her territory in order to launch the invasion of Yugoslavia. The Hungarian foreign minister, Pál Teleki who wanted to maintain a pro-allied neutral stance for Hungary, could no longer keep the country out of the war, as the British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden had threatened to break diplomatic relations with Hungary if it did not actively resist the passage of German troops across its territory, and General Henrik Werth, chief of the Hungarian General Staff made a private arrangement - unsanctioned by the Hungarian government - with the German High Command for the transport of the German troops across Hungary. Pál Teleki, no longer being able to stop the unfolding events, committed suicide on April 3, 1941, and Hungary joined the war on April 11 after the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia.
After the controversial *Kassa attack*, elements of the Royal Hungarian Army joined the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, one week later than the start of the operation. In spite of the arguments made that Hungary (unlike Romania) had no territorial claims in the Soviet Union, the fateful decision was made to join the war in the East. In the late summer of 1941, the Hungarian \"Rapid Corps\" (*Gyorshadtest*), alongside German and Romanian army groups, scored a huge success against the Soviets at the Battle of Uman. A little more than a year later and contrasting sharply with the success at Uman, was the near-total devastation of the Hungarian Second Army on banks of the Don River in December 1942 during the Battle for Stalingrad.
During 1943, the Hungarian Second Army was rebuilt. In late 1944, as part of *Panzerarmee Fretter-Pico*, it participated in the destruction of a Soviet mechanized group at the Battle of Debrecen. But this proved to be a Pyrrhic victory. Unable to rebuild again, the Hungarian Second Army was disbanded towards the end of 1944.
To keep Hungary as an ally, the Germans launched Operation Margarethe and occupied Hungary in March 1944. However, during the Warsaw Uprising, Hungarian troops refused to participate.
On 15 October 1944, the Germans launched Operation Panzerfaust and forced Horthy to abdicate. Pro-Nazi Ferenc Szálasi was made prime minister by the Germans.
On 28 December 1944, a provisional government under the control of the Soviet Union was formed in liberated Debrecen with Béla Miklós as its prime minister. Miklós was the commander of the Hungarian First Army, but most of the First Army sided with the Germans and most of what remained of it was destroyed about 200 kilometres north of Budapest between 1 January and 16 February. The pro-Communist government formed by Miklós competed with the pro-Nazi government of Ferenc Szálasi. The Germans, Szálasi, and pro-German Hungarian forces loyal to Szálasi fought on. On 20 January 1945, representatives of the provisional government of Béla Miklós signed an armistice in Moscow. But forces loyal to Szálasi still continued to fight on.
The Red Army, with assistance from Romanian army units, completed the encirclement of Budapest on 29 December 1944 and the Siege of Budapest began. On 2 February 1945, the strength of the Royal Hungarian Army was 214,465 men, but about 50,000 of these had been formed into unarmed labor battalions. The siege of Budapest ended with the surrender of the city on 13 February. But, while the German forces in Hungary were generally in a state of defeat, the Germans had one more surprise for the Soviets.
In early March 1945, the Germans launched the Lake Balaton Offensive with support from the Hungarians. This offensive was almost over before it began. By 19 March 1945, Soviet troops had recaptured all the territory lost during a 13-day German offensive.
After the failed offensive, the Germans in Hungary were defeated. Most of what remained of the Hungarian Third Army was destroyed about 50 kilometres west of Budapest between 16 March and 25 March 1945. Officially, Soviet operations in Hungary ended on 4 April 1945 when the last German troops were expelled.
Some pro-fascist Hungarians like Szálasi retreated with the Germans into Austria and Czechoslovakia. During the very last phase of the war, Fascist Hungarian forces fought in Vienna, Breslau, Küstrin, and along the Oder River. On 7 May 1945, General Alfred Jodl, the German Chief of Staff, signed the document of unconditional surrender for all German forces. Jodl signed this document during a ceremony in France. On 8 May, in accordance with the wishes of the Soviet Union, the ceremony was repeated in Germany by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel. On 11 June, the Allies agreed to make 9 May 1945 the official \"Victory in Europe\" day. Szálasi and many other pro-fascist Hungarians were captured and ultimately returned to Hungary\'s provisional government for trial.
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# Hungarian Defence Forces
## History
### Warsaw Pact {#warsaw_pact}
During the Socialist and the Warsaw Pact era (1947--1989), the Soviet Southern Group of Forces, 200,000 strong, was garrisoned in Hungary, complete with artillery, tank regiments, air force and missile troops (with nuclear weapons). It was, by all means, a very capable force but which had little contact with the local population. Between 1949 and 1955 there was also a huge effort to build a big Hungarian army. All procedures, disciplines, and equipment were exact copies of the Soviet Armed Forces in methods and material, but the huge costs collapsed the economy by 1956.
During the autumn 1956 revolution, the army was divided. When the opening demonstrations on 23 October 1956 were fired upon by ÁVH secret policemen, Hungarian troops sent to crush the demonstrators instead provided their arms to the latter or joined them outright. While most major military units in the capital were neutral during the fighting, thousands of rank-and-file soldiers went over to the Revolution or at least provided the revolutionaries with arms. Many significant military units went over to the uprising in full, such as the armored unit commanded by Colonel Pál Maléter which joined forces with the insurgents at the Battle of the Corvin Passage. However, there were 71 recorded clashes between the people and the army between 24 and 29 October in fifty localities; these were typically either defending certain military targets from rebel attack or fighting the insurgents outright, depending on the commander. When the Soviets crushed the Revolution on 4 November, the Army put up sporadic and disorganized resistance; lacking orders, many of their divisions were simply overpowered by the invading Soviets.
After the Revolution was crushed in Budapest, the Soviets took away most of the Hungarian People\'s Army\'s equipment, including dismantling the entire Hungarian Air Force, because a sizable percentage of the Army fought alongside the Hungarian revolutionaries. Three years later in 1959, the Soviets began helping rebuild the Hungarian People\'s Army and resupplying them with new arms and equipment as well as rebuilding the Hungarian Air Force. Satisfied that Hungary was stable and firmly committed once again to the Warsaw Pact, the Soviets offered the Hungarians a choice of withdrawal for all Soviet troops in the country. The new Hungarian leader, János Kádár, asked for all the 200,000 Soviet troops to stay, because it allowed the socialist Hungarian People\'s Republic to neglect its own draft-based armed forces, quickly leading to deterioration of the military. Large sums of money were saved that way and spent on feel-good socialist measures for the population, thus Hungary could become \"the happiest barrack\" in the Soviet Bloc. Limited modernization though, would happen from the mid-1970s onward to replace older stocks of military equipment with newer ones. Thus enabling the HPA, in a small way, to honor its Warsaw Pact commitments coupled with a mid-1980s organization which abolished divisions and replaced them with ground force brigades and a singular air force command.
The HPA was divided into the Ground and Air Forces. Until 1985, the Ground Forces were organized into:
- 5th Hungarian Army at Székesfehérvár
- 7th Motor Rifle Division at Kiskunfélegyháza
- 8th Motor Rifle Division at Zalaegerszeg
- 9th Motor Rifle Division at Kaposvár
- 11th Tank Division at Tata
- 3rd Army Corps at Cegléd
- 4th Motor Rifle Division at Gyöngyös
- 15th Motor Rifle Division at Nyíregyháza
Air Forces Headquarters at Veszprém
- 11th Air-defense Artillery Brigade at Budapest, after 1977 Érd
- 1st Air Defense Division at Veszprém
- 47th Fighter Regiment at Pápa
- 31st Fighter Regiment at Taszár
- 104th Air-defense Artillery Regiment Nagytarcsa after Szabadszállás
- 2nd Air Defense Division at Miskolc
- 59th Fighter Regiment at Szolnok
- 105th Air-defense Artillery Regiment at Miskolc
Training for conscripts was poor and most of those drafted were actually used as a free labour force (esp. railway track construction and agricultural work) after just a few weeks of basic rifle training. Popular opinion grew very negative towards the Hungarian People\'s Army and most young men tried to avoid the draft with bogus medical excuses.
### The 1990s and Twenty-first century {#the_1990s_and_twenty_first_century}
In 1997, Hungary spent about 123 billion HUF (US\$560 million) on defence. Hungary became a member of NATO on 12 March 1999. Hungary provided airbases and support for NATO\'s air campaign against Serbia and has provided military units to serve in Kosovo as part of the NATO-led KFOR operation. Hungary has sent a 300 strong logistics unit to Iraq in order to help the US occupation with armed transport convoys, though public opinion opposed the country\'s participation in the war. One soldier was killed in action due to a roadside bomb in Iraq. The parliament refused to extend the one year mandate of the logistics unit and all troops have returned from Iraq as of mid-January 2005. Hungarian troops were still in Afghanistan as of early 2005 as part of the International Security Assistance Force. There were reports that Hungary would most probably replace its old UAZ 4x4 vehicles with the modern Iveco LMV types, but it never happened. Hungarian forces deploy the Gepárd anti-materiel rifle, which is a heavy 12.7 mm portable gun. This equipment is also in use by the Turkish and Croatian armed forces, among other armies.
In a significant move for modernization, Hungary decided in 2001 to lease 14 JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft (the contract includes 2 dual-seater airplanes and 12 single-seaters as well as ground maintenance facilities, a simulator, and training for pilots and ground crews) for 210 billion HUF (about 800 million EUR). Five Gripens (3 single-seaters and 2 two-seaters) arrived in Kecskemét on 21 March 2006, expected to be transferred to the Hungarian Air Force on March 30. 10 or 14 more aircraft of this type might follow up in the coming years.
In early 2015, Hungary and Sweden extended the lease-program for another 10 years with a total of 32,000 flight-hours (95% increase) for only a 45% increase in cost.
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# Hungarian Defence Forces
## History
### Zrínyi 2026 Modernization Program {#zrínyi_2026_modernization_program}
In 2016, PM Orbán confirmed that Hungary will meet its NATO obligations by increasing its defense spending to about 2 percent of GDP. The official government \"Zrínyi 2026\" program of upgrading military equipment is scheduled to last until 2026, but the timeline has been expanded until 2030--2032. New purchased and ordered equipment so far includes new CZ BREN 2 assault rifles (to be manufactured locally), helicopters, transport and trainer aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles, radars and surface-to-air missiles.
Hungary ordered 20 H145M and 16 H225M in 2018. All H145M aircraft had been delivered by the end of 2021. H225M are expected to arrive between 2023 and 2024.
In early 2019 the first batch of Carl Gustaf M4s has arrived, starting to replace the old RPG-7s.
In late 2019, Hungary signed a contract for 44 Leopard 2 A7+ tanks and 24 PzH 2000 howitzers for €300 million to be delivered in 2021 to 2025. In 2020 Hungary and Rheinmetall Group have signed a contract to start manufacturing the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle family in Hungary. Estimated to start arriving around 2024--2025, the first batch of 200+ Lynx vehicles are expected to reach operational capability in the Hungarian Defence Forces by 2026-2027
In 2020 the Hungarian airforce ordered two KC-390 cargo and tanker aircraft to be delivered in 2023 and 2024. This year Kongsberg and Raytheon were awarded a 410 million EUR contract by Hungary for NASAMS surface-to air missile systems. 11 ELM-2084 radars were also ordered in late 2020. The Mistral SAM system has been upgraded: new M3 missiles were purchased and both the launchers and the MCPs were modernized.
In 2021 Spike LR2 anti-tank missiles has been ordered, mainly for the Lynx IFVs. In August 2021 contract has been signed with SAAB to upgrade the Hungarian Gripen fleet to the MS20 Block 2 standard. This upgrade greatly increases both Gripen\'s combat and communication capabilities, as well as access to a wide range of weapons that can be integrated on Hungarian Air Force Gripen fighters. The cutting edge IRIS-T missile has been also ordered in 2021. Meteor and GBU-49 is planned to be purchased for the Gripen\'s arsenal. There is a plan to also set up a second fighter squadron, but it has not been confirmed.
<File:CZ> BREN 2.jpg\|CZ BREN 2 - standard-issue rifle of the Hungarian Armed Forces <File:Saab> JAS-39D Gripen, Hungary - Air Force JP6627802.jpg\|Gripen fighters of Hungary <File:Hungarian> Lynx APC.jpg\|Hungarian Lynx IFV <File:Hungarian> Leopard 2.jpg\|Hungarian Leopard 2A4 <File:Hungary> Leopard 2A7HU tank.jpg\|Hungarian LEOPARD 2A7+ <File:Hungarian> H145 Helicopters.jpg\|Hungarian H145M on exercise <File:Hungarian> H225 Helicopter.jpg\|Hungarian H225M <File:Gidran> MRAP vehicle of the Hungarian Armed Forces.jpg\|Hungarian \"Gidrán\" MRAP <File:Hungary> NASAMS
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# Hydrology
thumb\|upright=1.3\|Rain falling over a drainage basin in Scotland. Understanding the cycling of water into, through, and out of catchments is a key element of hydrology.
**Hydrology** (`{{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|ὕδωρ}}'' ({{grc-transl|ὕδωρ}})|water||''{{wikt-lang|grc|-λογία}}'' ({{grc-transl|[[-logy|-λογία]]}})|study of}}`{=mediawiki}) is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a **hydrologist**. Hydrologists are scientists studying earth or environmental science, civil or environmental engineering, and physical geography. Using various analytical methods and scientific techniques, they collect and analyze data to help solve water related problems such as environmental preservation, natural disasters, and water management.
Hydrology subdivides into surface water hydrology, groundwater hydrology (hydrogeology), and marine hydrology. Domains of hydrology include hydrometeorology, surface hydrology, hydrogeology, drainage-basin management, and water quality.
Oceanography and meteorology are not included because water is only one of many important aspects within those fields.
Hydrological research can inform environmental engineering, policy, and planning.
## Branches
- Chemical hydrology is the study of the chemical characteristics of water.
- Ecohydrology is the study of interactions between organisms and the hydrologic cycle.
- Hydrogeology is the study of the presence and movement of groundwater.
- Hydrogeochemistry is the study of how terrestrial water dissolves minerals weathering and this effect on water chemistry.
- Hydroinformatics is the adaptation of information technology to hydrology and water resources applications.
- Hydrometeorology is the study of the transfer of water and energy between land and water body surfaces and the lower atmosphere.
- Isotope hydrology is the study of the isotopic signatures of water.
- Surface hydrology is the study of hydrologic processes that operate at or near Earth\'s surface.
- Drainage basin management covers water storage, in the form of reservoirs, and floods protection.
- Water quality includes the chemistry of water in rivers and lakes, both of pollutants and natural solutes.
## Applications
- Calculation of rainfall.
- Calculation of Evapotranspiration
- Calculating surface runoff and precipitation.
- Determining the water balance of a region.
- Determining the agricultural water balance.
- Designing riparian-zone restoration projects.
- Mitigating and predicting flood, landslide and Drought risk.
- Real-time flood forecasting, flood warning, Flood Frequency Analysis
- Designing irrigation schemes and managing agricultural productivity.
- Part of the hazard module in catastrophe modeling.
- Providing drinking water.
- Designing dams for water supply or hydroelectric power generation.
- Designing bridges.
- Designing sewers and urban drainage systems.
- Analyzing the impacts of antecedent moisture on sanitary sewer systems.
- Predicting geomorphologic changes, such as erosion or sedimentation.
- Assessing the impacts of natural and anthropogenic environmental change on water resources.
- Assessing contaminant transport risk and establishing environmental policy guidelines.
- Estimating the water resource potential of river basins.
- Water resources management.
- Water resources engineering - application of hydrological and hydraulic principles to the planning, development, and management of water resources for beneficial human use. It involves assessing water availability, quality, and demand; designing and operating water infrastructure; and implementing strategies for sustainable water management.
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# Hydrology
## History
thumb\|upright=1.3\|The Roman aqueduct at Caesarea Maritima, bringing water from the wetter Carmel mountains to the settlement Hydrology has been subject to investigation and engineering for millennia. Ancient Egyptians were one of the first to employ hydrology in their engineering and agriculture, inventing a form of water management known as basin irrigation. Mesopotamian towns were protected from flooding with high earthen walls. Aqueducts were built by the Greeks and Romans, while history shows that the Chinese built irrigation and flood control works. The ancient Sinhalese used hydrology to build complex irrigation works in Sri Lanka, also known for the invention of the Valve Pit which allowed construction of large reservoirs, anicuts and canals which still function.
Marcus Vitruvius, in the first century BC, described a philosophical theory of the hydrologic cycle, in which precipitation falling in the mountains infiltrated the Earth\'s surface and led to streams and springs in the lowlands. With the adoption of a more scientific approach, Leonardo da Vinci and Bernard Palissy independently reached an accurate representation of the hydrologic cycle. It was not until the 17th century that hydrologic variables began to be quantified.
Pioneers of the modern science of hydrology include Pierre Perrault, Edme Mariotte and Edmund Halley. By measuring rainfall, runoff, and drainage area, Perrault showed that rainfall was sufficient to account for the flow of the Seine. Mariotte combined velocity and river cross-section measurements to obtain a discharge value, again in the Seine. Halley showed that the evaporation from the Mediterranean Sea was sufficient to account for the outflow of rivers flowing into the sea.
Advances in the 18th century included the Bernoulli piezometer and Bernoulli\'s equation, by Daniel Bernoulli, and the Pitot tube, by Henri Pitot. The 19th century saw development in groundwater hydrology, including Darcy\'s law, the Dupuit-Thiem well formula, and Hagen-Poiseuille\'s capillary flow equation.
Rational analyses began to replace empiricism in the 20th century, while governmental agencies began their own hydrological research programs. Of particular importance were Leroy Sherman\'s unit hydrograph, the infiltration theory of Robert E. Horton, and C.V. Theis\' aquifer test/equation describing well hydraulics.
Since the 1950s, hydrology has been approached with a more theoretical basis than in the past, facilitated by advances in the physical understanding of hydrological processes and by the advent of computers and especially geographic information systems (GIS). (See also GIS and hydrology)
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