The
forint (
sign:
Ft;
code:
HUF) is the
currency of
Hungary. It is divided into 100
fillér, although fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step of the post-
WWII stabilization of the
Hungarian economy, and the currency remained relatively stable until the 1980s. Transition to
market economy in the early 1990s deteriorated the value of the forint, inflation peaked at 35% in 1991. Since 2001, inflation is single digit and the forint was declared fully
convertible. As a member of the
European Union, the long term aim of the Hungarian government may be to
replace the forint with the
euro but that does not appear to be likely until some time during the 2020s.