Arable land, pastures, meadows, vineyards, and gardens occupy 70 percent of the total land area. Hungary has large tracts of fertile black soil, especially in the Great Plain region although the climate can be harsh, it is favorable for agriculture (see Climate , ch. 2). Concentrated in mountainous areas, the forests occupy about 1.5 million hectares and contain mostly deciduous trees of little value except for holding moisture. The government launched an extensive reforestation effort after World War II, but in the late 1980s domestic timber still supplied only 10 percent of the country's needs.

Data as of September 1989