During the 1990 census in Hungary, 2,953 people reported their mother tongue to be Serbian, and 2,905 people reported to be of Serb ethnicity. In 2001, the number of people with Serbian as their mother tongue was 3,388, and the number of people of Serb ethnicity was 3,816. The number of people using the Serbian language with family or friends was 4,186, and 5,279 people were attached to Serb cultural values and traditions.
The 2001 census also generated citizenship data, and according to the results, 73.27% of ethnic Serbs (2,795 people) are Hungarian citizens. The ratio is similar for those whose mother tongue is Serbian (2,281 Hungarian citizens), with 1,106 people not having Hungarian citizenship. The number of Serbs born abroad is 2,208, or close to 40% of those who reported to be Serbs.
It is widely known that answering questions on ethnicity was not compulsory during the census, and unfortunately the census officers often failed to ask these questions; therefore, the above data cannot be considered exact.
44 Serb minority self-governments were elected during the 2002 minority elections, and 26 town self-governments and 14 district self-governments (in Budapest) were set up following the 2006 elections. In accordance with the amended laws, only Pest county can have a county-level Serb self-government, and the number of members in the national Assembly will be 25.
The National Serb Self-Government received the same amount of support from the national budget in 2005, 2006 and 2007: 47.6 million HUF, with the exception that there was a 10% cut in 2005 due to the austerity package, bringing that year's sum down to 42.84 million HUF.
Until 1948, Serbian-language education was provided for the Serb community by the network of Serb religious schools. In 1948, these schools were nationalized, and they were either closed or merged with ‘Southern Slav’ schools. An independent Serb school network was set up again in 1992.
There are successful Serb kindergartens or kindergarten groups in Budapest and 8 other towns. There is a Serbian bilingual primary school in Budapest, a bilingual school in Battonya, and combined primary schools for ages 6-10 in Lórév and Deszk. There are schools that offer Serbian language courses in 3 other towns. The only Serbian-language secondary school in Hungary is in Budapest. 90 per cent of its graduates continue their studies at universities in Hungary and abroad.
Serb teachers are trained at the Slavic Philology departments of ELTE in Budapest and SZTE in Szeged, as well as the Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education of ELTE.
The most important Serb cultural institutions in Hungary are: the Hungarian Serb Theatre, the Library of the National Serb Self-Government, and the folk dance groups are: ‘Banat’ (Deszk), ‘Opanke’ (Pomáz), ‘Taban’ (Budapest), ‘Veseli Santovcani’ (Hercegszántó) and a recently formed folk dance group in Lórév.
The National Serb Self-Government founded the Serb Documentation and Culture Centre of Hungary in 2003. According to the Statutes, the institution has 6 regional centres apart from its seat in Szeged.
The Serb Theatre receives regular support from the national budget. It has had successful shows in both Hungary and Serbia. It is a regular participant at the Hungarian Meeting of Ethnic Minority Theatres, and has had many memorable shows at the Lórév Serb Theatre Festival in both Hungarian and Serbian.
The weekly newspaper of ethnic Serbs in Hungary, ‘Srpske nedeljne novine’, is available online as well as in print. It is published with financial support from the central budget through the Public Foundation for Hungarian National and Ethnic Minorities. Due to the reduced resources available to the Public Foundation, the amount of support was reduced by 30% in 2004, to 26.3 million HUF.
Hungarian Radio has been broadcasting Serbian-language minority programming since 1992. Broadcasts started with 30 minutes a day, then were expanded to 60 minutes nationwide and 60 minutes regionally in the Pécs area. On 1 February 2007, when the frequencies changed, the structure of Serbian programming changed as well. Serbian programming is now available from 2PM to 4PM.
Channel 1 of Hungarian Television broadcasts a 26-minute Serbian-language weekly magazine.
The programme is re-aired on Channel 2, but both broadcasts are on weekdays early in the afternoon, which is a very inconvenient time for viewers.
The Serbian Orthodox Church plays an important role in the preserving the language, culture and identity of ethnic Serbs in Hungary. The Serbian Church has 41 churches in Hungary. They have a bishop and 14 priests, and religious education has restarted in Serb schools. The unmatched religious art collection and library of the Buda Serbian Orthodox Diocese in Szentendre is one of the most important institutions of ethnic Serbs in Hungary, and serves as the science centre of the Serbian Orthodox Church as well.
The National Serb Self-Government and the local Serb self-governments have established regular, active ties with cultural, scientific, educational and humanitarian institutions and local self-governments in Serbia. Serbian artists visit Hungary on a regular basis, there are exhibitions and introductions of artists from Serbia, and Hungarian ethnic Serb folk groups visit Serbia regularly as well.
The long-awaited Hungarian-Serbian intergovernmental agreements serve the purpose of improving the situation and strengthening the cultural autonomy of ethnic Serbs living in Hungary. The Agreement on the protection of Serb minorities in Hungary and Hungarian minorities in Serbia and Montenegro was initialled in Belgrade on 27 December 2002. In the Agreement, the parties undertook ensuring in their own territories the protection and development of the national, linguistic, cultural and religious identity of the Serb and Hungarian minority, respectively. The Agreement contains general rules about the individual and collective rights of the affected minorities and the obligations of the signatory parties regarding the implementation of these rights.
With the setting up of the Hungarian-Serbian Joint Committee on Minorities, which includes representatives of Serbs living in Hungary and Hungarians living in Serbia, the Hungarian-Serbian Intergovernmental Agreement on Education, Science and Culture was signed, and the Hungarian-Serbian Ministerial Cooperation Working Plan was drafted.
On the initiative of the Speakers of Parliament of the two countries, within the framework of the tolerance programme, a Tolerance Camp was organized in Subotica in 2005 and in Szeged in 2006 with the participation of Serbian and Hungarian youths from both countries.