Baranya County

Baranya is a county in southern Hungary. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region. It has a long history, dating back to the 11th century when it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it is one of the 19 counties of Hungary. This status began in 1950 after changes made following World War II.

The largest city and county seat of Baranya is Pécs. As of 2025, the county is home to about 351,158 people. It is the 10th largest county in Hungary, not counting Budapest, both in size and in the number of people living there.

Etymology

In German, the county is called Komitat Branau, and in Croatian it is known as Baranjska županija (Baranja).

The name likely comes from an early leader named 'Brana' or 'Braina'.

Geography

Baranya County covers an area of 4,429.60 km². It is in Hungary and split into two parts: Upper Baranya and Lower Baranya.

The county shares borders with Somogy County to the northwest, Tolna County to the north, Bács-Kiskun County and the Danube river to the east, and Croatia, including the Drava River, to the south. The northern part of the county has the Mecsek Mountains, which are forested and hilly. Central areas include the Baranya Hills and Villány Mountains, while the eastern and southern parts are flat.

The highest point in the county is Zengő in the Mecsek Mountains, standing at 682 metres. Baranya is known for its mineral and thermal waters and holds 98% of Hungary's coal resources.

Neighbours

Tolna County in the North.
Bács-Kiskun County in the East (across the Danube river)
Croatia in the south (across the Drava river) – Osijek-Baranja County and Virovitica-Podravina County
Somogy County in the Northwest.

Climate

Baranya has a special climate that mixes continental and temperate conditions. This makes it different from the rest of Hungary, which is mostly continental. The county’s southern location and closeness to the Mediterranean Sea give it milder winters. Baranya receives the most rainfall in Hungary and enjoys many sunny hours.

History

The land in Baranya has been home to people for a very long time. Before the Hungarians arrived, Slavs and Avars lived there. The first bishop’s seat was set up here by Stephen I.

In 1526, the area was taken over by the Ottomans but was later freed in 1689. The old borders stayed the same until 1919. After the peace treaty of Trianon, part of the land went to what is now Croatia. In 1950, when Hungary’s counties were reorganized, only small changes happened, like the town of Szigetvár joining Baranya.

Baranya is home to many people from different backgrounds, more than anywhere else in Hungary. It holds a large part of the German community known as the Danube Swabians, as well as many Southern Slavs.

A special group called the Stifolder lived in Baranya. Their ancestors came from a place called Fulda around the years 1717 to 1804. They kept their own German dialect and traditions until after World War II. After the war, most of them moved to places in Germany and Austria. Today, only a few people still speak their old language. There is even a special type of sausage named after them.

Electoral History

**2018 General Elections**
Party	Votes	%	Seats	Change
Fidesz-KDNP (joint)	45,950	35.62%	3	-1
Independent	21,998	17.05%	1	+1
Jobbik	19,772	15.33%	0	-
Democratic Coalition	15,422	11.95%	0	-
MSZP-Párbeszéd (joint)	13,605	10.55%	0	-
Politics Can Be Different	6,566	5.1%	0	-
Momentum	2,433	1.89%	0	-
Total	129,014	100	4	-

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1870	265,069	—
1880	273,615	+3.2%
1890	299,901	+9.6%
1900	313,174	+4.4%
1910	328,902	+5.0%
1920	313,469	−4.7%
1930	337,698	+7.7%
1941	353,426	+4.7%
1949	356,533	+0.9%
1960	395,342	+10.9%
1970	421,765	+6.7%
1980	432,617	+2.6%
1990	417,400	−3.5%
2001	407,448	−2.4%
2011	386,441	−5.2%
2022	354,022	−8.4%
Source: KSH

Regional structure

Districts of Baranya County

No.	English and Hungarian names	Area (km²)	Population (2011)	Density (pop./km²)	Seat	No. of municipalities
1	Bóly District Bólyi járás	220.03	11,956	54	Bóly	16
2	Hegyhát District Hegyháti járás	360.72	12,744	35	Sásd	25
3	Komló District Komlói járás	292.48	35,489	121	Komló	20
4	Mohács District Mohácsi járás	600.98	35,164	59	Mohács	26
5	Pécs District Pécsi járás	623.07	189,036	303	Pécs	40
6	Pécsvárad District Pécsváradi járás	246.44	11,931	48	Pécsvárad	17
7	Sellye District Sellyei járás	493.69	14,192	29	Sellye	38
8	Siklós District Siklósi járás	652.99	35,929	55	Siklós	53
9	Szentlőrinc District Szentlőrinci járás	282.43	14,998	53	Szentlőrinc	21
10	Szigetvár District Szigetvári járás	656.76	25,002	38	Szigetvár	45
Baranya County		4,429.59	386,446	87	Pécs	301

Politics

County Assembly

The Baranya County Council was elected in 2019. It has 18 counselors from many parties.

Baranya County Hall

President of the Assembly

Members of the National Assembly

These members were elected to the National Assembly in the 2022 election.

Party	Seats
Fidesz-KDNP	12
Democratic Coalition (DK)	2
Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik)	2
Momentum	1
Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP)	1

President	Terminus
dr. Őri László (Fidesz-KDNP)	2019–

Constituency	Member
Baranya County 1st constituency	Tamás Mellár	Dialogue
Baranya County 2nd constituency	Péter Hoppál	Fidesz–KDNP
Baranya County 3rd constituency	János Hargitai	Fidesz–KDNP
Baranya County 4th constituency	Csaba Nagy	Fidesz–KDNP

Municipalities

Baranya County has 1 urban county, 13 towns, 3 large villages and 284 villages.

Like Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Baranya has many different kinds of places. The main city is one of the five largest in Hungary, but most places are very small with fewer than 500 people. Half of the county’s people live in the main city or nearby, while 22% live in villages with fewer than 1000 people.

Cities with county rights

(ordered by population, as of 2011 census)