THE SITUATION OF THE TOWNS OF THE REGION OF NORTHERN HUNGARY IN THE COMPETITION AMONG HUNGARIAN TOWNS

Abstract

The past one and a half decades have transformed the special structure of the region of Northern Hungary, changed the socio-economic weight of the settlements, their location potentials and competitiveness. The paper investigates the situation of towns in the region of Northern Hungary with a population of more than 10,000 with factor analysis. With the exception of the towns of Rétság, Eger and Tiszaújváros, the rankings of the towns of the region are not very promising, and the seats of the two counties are also included here: Miskolc and Salgótarján. Analysing the regional rankings it can be seen that the two most developed towns of the region are Eger and Tiszaújváros. It can be established that in the backward regions the main problem is constituted in many cases by the unfavourable economic structure and not by the low level of innovation or by the underdeveloped infrastructure.