Technology enthusiasts show off history of computing in Katowice museum
Polish computer engineer Romuald Jakobiec's life is tightly linked with the history of computers.
He was involved in building the first Polish transistor computer 'Odra', which began production in Wroclaw in 1972, and one of the last examples of which is housed in a room in Katowice's Museum of Computer History.
'Odra' weighs several hundred kilogrammes and is formed of several bulky parts which process data recorded on punched paper or magnetic tape and its memory is made of kilometres of cables organised by hand.
Jakobiec, who now volunteers at the museum, says with the rapid evolution of technology individual components on modern devices now have the same processing power of 'Odra'.
Poland's Communist-era computer engineers were under a great amount of pressure to develop computers out of scarce materials, says museum director Krzysztof Chwalowski.
Prototype Polish computers often featured components smuggled across borders. There are anecdotes of engineers hiding processors in sandwiches to escape detection and arrest, according to Chwalowski.
The appeal of the museum goes further than those who built or grew up with computers now perceived as antiques.
Fellow volunteer Mateusz Wlodarczyk has just finished a course in information technology, but says he is fascinated by the construction of old computers and software.
COMPUTER ENGINEER AND MUSEUM VOLUNTEER, ROMUALD JAKOBIEC, SAYING:
The computing power of the processors has increased, because at the moment that 'Odra', which you can see over there, which is (the size of) one of these cabinets, it (the processing power of Odra) now fits into one circuit system on a small board with many times greater computing power. And then you put software and high-level programming languages on it, which at the moment allows (usage of) very efficient software and allows building and thinking about artificial intelligence which we could not have dreamed of then (in the 1970s when Odra was built).
What we have today is the result of such evolutionary development. I think that the younger generation that will work with completely different possibilities will go a step further or two steps or three steps. Anyway, it is visible at the moment, because the accessibility to the world is so fantastic both in the physical sense where we can move thanks to fantastic air travel, and in the intellectual sense where we can draw on the resources of knowledge scattered around the world.
DIRECTOR OF KATOWICE MUSEUM OF COMPUTER HISTORY, KRZYSZTOF CHWALOWSKI, SAYING:
Polish engineers continued to be not only under a lot of social pressure, but under the influence of their supervisors and employers they had to create something out of nothing and here come unusual anecdotes, (they) even smuggled processors in sandwiches across the western border for the prototypes of Polish computers. There are anecdotes about detentions on the border not only of the equipment, but also of people who were arrested.
MUSEUM VOLUNTEER, MATEUSZ WLODARCZYK, SAYING:
I am trying to find out how they worked, it is fascinating that our phone is three times better than a computer that flew into space. You can now hold (the equivalent of) big computers the size of a whole house in your hand, these old computers are simply fascinating.
Best Attractions & Things to do in Wroclaw, Poland
In this video our travel specialists have listed some of the best things to do in Wroclaw . We have tried to do some extensive research before giving the listing of Things To Do in Wroclaw.
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List of Best Things to do in Wroclaw
GOjump Park Trampolin - Najwiekszy w Polsce
Museum of Games and Computers of the Past Era (Games Museum)
Rynek
Wroclaw's Dwarfs
Old Town- Historic Center
Ostrow Tumski - (Cathedral Island)
Kolejkowo
Wroclaw Town Hall
Anonymous Pedestrians
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
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TMQE Travels 2019 || Warsaw (5 Facts and COUNTLESS tips!)
TMQE Travels are travelling again! This time it’s Warsaw in Poland, where we explored the Old Town, climbed the Palace Of Culture And Science and learned about its troubled history in the Uprising and POLIN museums.
Jérémy and Ben here again! We love to travel and to satisfy our wanderlust, we are on a European roadtrip exploring the best places for a city break on the continent. We love to escape Britain to experience the best culture, cuisine and attractions that Europe has to offer. If you’re a tourist like us and just need a good itinerary for what to do and how to do it when you’re in Warsaw, we will show you the best things to put on your itinerary.
We go to the Old Town, Palace Of Culture And Science, Lazienki Palace, Wilanow Palace, Warsaw Uprising Museum, POLIN and the Multimedia Fountain Park.
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The capital of Poland, Warsaw is also known as Phoenix City, having risen from the ashes of World War 2 to become one of the biggest and prettiest cities in Eastern Europe.
One of the most striking buildings in Warsaw is the Soviet-era skyscraper known as The Palace of Culture And Science. Built in 1955, Poles have a mixed relationship with this iconic building, which was once the tallest in Europe. Gifted to Warsaw by Josef Stalin, the building was officially intended as a sign of friendship, but people argue it was unofficially a sign of Soviet dominance. Known by some as Stalin’s Syringe, others say the building has the city’s best view because it’s the only place you can’t see the building. But whatever your opinion on its origins, there’s no denying it’s a striking and unique landmark.
Although inhabited since the tenth century, the city of Warsaw was officially founded around 1300. Though little remains from that period, its Old Town covers a large portion of the city centre, including squares, churches, a palace and fortifications. With its narrow streets and beautiful architecture, you’ll want to lose yourself in its winding alleyways or have a drink in one of its numerous bars. Or several! Poland is CHEAP! It is, so far, the cheapest place in Europe we’ve visited. So we made the most of it. Of course.
But the Old Town is hiding a secret. Old though it is… none of it is more than sixty years old! During World War 2, the people of Warsaw revolted against Nazi occupation and Hitler’s response was catastrophic. He gave the order to destroy the entire city and “kill everything that moves”. The entire city was obliterated and in the years after the war, the survivors vowed to rebuild its historic centre exactly as it was. Based on paintings from the 17th century, the old buildings were lovingly reconstructed, brick by brick, building by building and if you didn’t know its history, you’d swear the city had remained this way for centuries. It would have been so easy to have abandoned the ruins and build a modern city on the site, but the people of Warsaw refused to accept the Nazis wiping out their past. And the beautiful Old Town is their legacy.
Lazienki Palace is a stunning palace out in the suburbs, which is well worth a visit. Even further out is Wilanow Palace, the seat of the Polish kings that remarkably survived demolition in World War 2.
Warsaw comes alive at night and its well-worth revisiting the Old Town after dark.
And just down the hill is the Multimedia Fountain Park, which is a beautiful maze of ponds with rainbow-lit fountains that run in spectacular formation throughout the evening. I love a rainbow. And I love a fountain. What a perfect place for us to visit then!
We were very pleasantly surprised by just how beautiful Warsaw is. Whether you’re interested in architecture, history or just exploring new places, Warsaw is definitely worth a trip.
New Technology 7D hologram Show in Dubai, Poland and Japan || You Need To see #HD
A 7D hologram is a method for capturing a high quality hologram using 7 parameters.
7 Dimensions
The universe exists in 3D space with time often considered a fourth dimension. The reason that a 7D hologram has so many dimensions is that the hologram is captured from a large number of positions that surround the scene or subject of the hologram.
Each position is described in 3D space. Each position captures a variety of viewing directions in 2D space. Two additional parameters are captured for each direction: image intensity and time. If you add these up you get 7 parameters, known as dimensions.
Steven Spielberg | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:02:12 1 Early life
00:07:41 2 Career
00:07:50 2.1 1970s
00:14:07 2.2 1980s
00:19:06 2.3 1990s
00:23:07 2.4 2000s
00:28:18 2.5 2010s
00:35:03 2.6 Upcoming projects
00:38:42 2.6.1 Projects on hold
00:39:44 2.7 Production credits
00:47:33 2.8 Onscreen appearances
00:48:43 2.9 Involvement in video games
00:50:18 3 Themes
00:55:14 4 Personal life
00:55:23 4.1 Marriages and children
00:58:18 4.2 Religion
01:01:34 4.3 Wealth
01:02:01 4.4 Yachting
01:02:41 4.5 Recognition
01:04:17 4.6 Politics
01:07:16 4.7 Hobbies
01:09:22 4.8 Stalking
01:10:23 5 Filmography
01:10:32 6 Awards and honors
01:16:06 6.1 Awards received by Spielberg films
01:16:17 6.2 Directed Academy Award Performances
01:16:33 7 Praise and criticism
01:24:18 7.1 Other
01:26:42 8 See also
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Voice name: en-US-Wavenet-C
I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era and one of the most popular directors and producers in film history. Spielberg started in Hollywood directing television and several minor theatrical releases. He became a household name as the director of Jaws (1975), which was critically and commercially successful and is considered the first summer blockbuster. His subsequent releases focused typically on science fiction and adventure films, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993) are seen as archetypes of modern Hollywood escapist filmmaking.Spielberg transitioned into addressing serious issues in his later work with The Color Purple (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Schindler's List (1993), Amistad (1997), and Saving Private Ryan (1998). He has largely adhered to this practice during the 21st century, with Munich (2005), Lincoln (2012), Bridge of Spies (2015), and The Post (2017). He co-founded Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Studios, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for several successful film trilogies, tetralogies and more including the Gremlins, Back to the Future, Men in Black, and the Transformers series. He later transitioned into producing several games within the video-game industry.
Spielberg is one of the American film industry's most critically successful filmmakers, with praise for his directing talent and versatility, and he has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice. Some of his movies are also among the highest-grossing movies of all-time, while his total work makes him the highest-grossing film director in history. His net worth is estimated to be more than $3 billion.
Hungary | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Hungary
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
In case you don't find one that you were looking for, put a comment.
This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93,030 square kilometres (35,920 sq mi) in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Austria to the northwest, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, and Slovenia to the west. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world. Hungary's capital and its largest city and metropolis is Budapest. Other major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.
The territory of modern Hungary was for centuries inhabited by a succession of peoples, including Celts, Romans, Germanic tribes, Huns, West Slavs and the Avars. The foundations of the Hungarian state was established in the late ninth century AD by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád following the conquest of the Carpathian Basin. His great-grandson Stephen I ascended the throne in 1000, converting his realm to a Christian kingdom. By the 12th century, Hungary became a regional power, reaching its cultural and political height in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary was partially occupied by the Ottoman Empire (1541–1699). It came under Habsburg rule at the turn of the 18th century, and later joined Austria to form the Austro–Hungarian Empire, a major European power.The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I, and the subsequent Treaty of Trianon established Hungary's current borders, resulting in the loss of 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, and 32% of ethnic Hungarians. Following the tumultuous interwar period, Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Hungary became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, which contributed to the establishment of a socialist republic spanning four decades (1949–1989). The country gained widespread international attention as a result of its 1956 revolution and the seminal opening of its previously-restricted border with Austria in 1989, which accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. On 23 October 1989, Hungary became a democratic parliamentary republic.In the 21st century, Hungary is a middle power and has the world's 57th largest economy by nominal GDP, as well as the 58th largest by PPP, out of 191 countries measured by IMF. As a substantial actor in several industrial and technological sectors, it is the world's 35th largest exporter and 34th largest importer of goods. Hungary is an OECD high-income economy with a very high standard of living. It keeps up a social security and universal health care system, and a tuition-free university education. Hungary performs well in international rankings: it is 20th in quality of life, 24th in the Good Country Index, 28th in inequality-adjusted human development, 32nd in the Social Progress Index, 33rd in the Global Innovation Index and ranks as the 15th safest country in the world.
Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and has been part of the Schengen Area since 2007. Hungary is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the AIIB, the Council of Europe, the Visegrád Group and more. Well known for its rich cultural history, Hungary has contributed significantly to arts, music, literature, sports and science and technology. Hungary is the 11th most popular country as a tourist destination in Europe, attracting 14.3 million international tourists in 2015. It is home to the largest thermal water cave system and the second largest thermal lake in the world, the largest lake in Central Europe and the largest natural grasslands in Europe.
Hungary | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Hungary
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] (listen)) is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93,030 square kilometres (35,920 sq mi) in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Austria to the northwest, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, and Slovenia to the west. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world. Hungary's capital and its largest city and metropolis is Budapest. Other major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.
The territory of modern Hungary was for centuries inhabited by a succession of peoples, including Celts, Romans, Germanic tribes, Huns, West Slavs and the Avars. The foundations of the Hungarian state was established in the late ninth century AD by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád following the conquest of the Carpathian Basin. His great-grandson Stephen I ascended the throne in 1000, converting his realm to a Christian kingdom. By the 12th century, Hungary became a regional power, reaching its cultural and political height in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary was partially occupied by the Ottoman Empire (1541–1699). It came under Habsburg rule at the turn of the 18th century, and later joined Austria to form the Austro–Hungarian Empire, a major European power.The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I, and the subsequent Treaty of Trianon established Hungary's current borders, resulting in the loss of 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, and 32% of ethnic Hungarians. Following the tumultuous interwar period, Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Hungary became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, which contributed to the establishment of a socialist republic spanning four decades (1949–1989). The country gained widespread international attention as a result of its 1956 revolution and the seminal opening of its previously-restricted border with Austria in 1989, which accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. On 23 October 1989, Hungary became a democratic parliamentary republic.In the 21st century, Hungary is a middle power and has the world's 57th largest economy by nominal GDP, as well as the 58th largest by PPP, out of 191 countries measured by IMF. As a substantial actor in several industrial and technological sectors, it is the world's 35th largest exporter and 34th largest importer of goods. Hungary is an OECD high-income economy with a very high standard of living. It keeps up a social security and universal health care system, and a tuition-free university education. Hungary performs well in international rankings: it is 20th in quality of life, 24th in the Good Country Index, 28th in inequality-adjusted human development, 32nd in the Social Progress Index, 33rd in the Global Innovation Index and ranks as the 15th safest country in the world.
Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and has been part of the Schengen Area since 2007. Hungary is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the AIIB, the Council of Europe, the Visegrád Group and more. Well known for its rich cultural history, Hungary has contributed significantly to arts, music, literature, sports and science and technology. Hungary is the 11th most popular country as a tourist destination in Europe, attracting 14.3 million international tourists in 2015. It is home to the largest thermal water cave system and the second largest thermal lake in the world, the largest lake in Central Europe and the largest natural grasslands in Europe.
Eastern Bloc economies | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Eastern Bloc economies
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
The Eastern Bloc (also known as the Socialist Bloc, Communist Bloc and Soviet Bloc) was the group of Communist-controlled states stretching from Central and Eastern Europe to East and Southeast Asia largely controlled by the Soviet Union during the Cold War in opposition to the Western Bloc led by the United States. The term generally includes the USSR and its satellite states in the Comecon, including Vietnam and its satellites Laos and Kampuchea, North Korea, and China (before 1961.) Cuba is included as well after 1961, but demonstrated independence from Soviet policy following the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Widespread Soviet hegemony ended with the success of the Revolutions of 1989 against the Warsaw Pact, and the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union brought the Eastern Bloc and the Cold War to an end.
During Joseph Stalin's lifetime, Soviet control over the Eastern Bloc was tested but never seriously challenged by the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état and Tito–Stalin Split over control of Yugoslavia, the 1949 Chinese Communist Revolution and Chinese and North Korean involvement in the Korean War against the United Nations. After his death in 1953, the Korean War was halted but not settled and anti-Soviet sentiment sparked the East German uprising. The Eastern Bloc started to break apart in 1956, when new leader Nikita Khrushchev's Secret Speech denouncing Stalin helped spark the anti-Soviet Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which was suppressed by a Soviet invasion, and the Sino–Soviet Split with Mao Zedong's China, which gave North Korea and North Vietnam more independence from both, and facilitated the Soviet–Albanian split. The Cuban Missile Crisis preserved the Cuban Revolution from rollback by the United States, but Fidel Castro became increasingly independent of Soviet rule afterwards, most notably in its 1975 intervention in Angola. That year, the fall of former French Indochina to communism following the end of the Vietnam War gave the Eastern Bloc renewed confidence which had been frayed by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev's 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia to suppress the Prague Spring, which had led to Albania withdrawing from the Pact, briefly aligning with Mao Zedong's China until the Sino-Albanian split.
Under the Brezhnev Doctrine, the Soviet Union reserved the right to intervene in other Communist countries. In response, China moved towards the United States following a 1969 border war which almost went nuclear, and later reformed and liberalized its economy, while the Eastern Bloc stagnated economically behind the capitalist First World. Brezhnev's invasion of Afghanistan nominally expanded the Eastern Bloc, but the war proved unwinnable and too costly for the Soviets, challenged in Eastern Europe by civil resistance in Poland. In the late 1980s, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev pursued policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) to reform the Eastern Bloc and end the Cold War, which brought forth unrest throughout the bloc. Unlike previous Soviet leaders in 1953, 1956, and 1968, Gorbachev refused to use force to end the 1989 Revolutions against Marxist-Leninist rule in Eastern Europe. The fall of the Berlin Wall and end of the Warsaw Pact spread nationalist and liberal ideals throughout the Soviet Union, which would soon fall itself at the end of 1991. Conservative communist elites attempted to turn back liberal reforms and movements, which hastened the end of Marxist-Leninist rule in Eastern Europe but preserved it in China.
Though the Soviet Union and its rival the United States considered Europe the most important front of the Cold War, during the Cold War, the term Eastern Bloc was often used interchangeably with the term Second World. This broadest usage of the term would include not only Maoist China and Cambodia, but short-lived Soviet satellites such as East Turkestan Republic (1944-1949), the People's Repub ...
Hungary | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Hungary
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
In case you don't find one that you were looking for, put a comment.
This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93,030 square kilometres (35,920 sq mi) in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Austria to the northwest, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, and Slovenia to the west. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world. Hungary's capital and its largest city and metropolis is Budapest. Other major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.
The territory of modern Hungary was for centuries inhabited by a succession of peoples, including Celts, Romans, Germanic tribes, Huns, West Slavs and the Avars. The foundations of the Hungarian state was established in the late ninth century AD by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád following the conquest of the Carpathian Basin. His great-grandson Stephen I ascended the throne in 1000, converting his realm to a Christian kingdom. By the 12th century, Hungary became a regional power, reaching its cultural and political height in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Hungary was partially occupied by the Ottoman Empire (1541–1699). It came under Habsburg rule at the turn of the 18th century, and later joined Austria to form the Austro–Hungarian Empire, a major European power.The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I, and the subsequent Treaty of Trianon established Hungary's current borders, resulting in the loss of 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, and 32% of ethnic Hungarians. Following the tumultuous interwar period, Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Hungary became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, which contributed to the establishment of a socialist republic spanning four decades (1949–1989). The country gained widespread international attention as a result of its 1956 revolution and the seminal opening of its previously-restricted border with Austria in 1989, which accelerated the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. On 23 October 1989, Hungary became a democratic parliamentary republic.In the 21st century, Hungary is a middle power and has the world's 57th largest economy by nominal GDP, as well as the 58th largest by PPP, out of 191 countries measured by IMF. As a substantial actor in several industrial and technological sectors, it is the world's 35th largest exporter and 34th largest importer of goods. Hungary is an OECD high-income economy with a very high standard of living. It keeps up a social security and universal health care system, and a tuition-free university education. Hungary performs well in international rankings: it is 20th in quality of life, 24th in the Good Country Index, 28th in inequality-adjusted human development, 32nd in the Social Progress Index, 33rd in the Global Innovation Index and ranks as the 15th safest country in the world.
Hungary joined the European Union in 2004 and has been part of the Schengen Area since 2007. Hungary is a member of the United Nations, NATO, WTO, World Bank, the AIIB, the Council of Europe, the Visegrád Group and more. Well known for its rich cultural history, Hungary has contributed significantly to arts, music, literature, sports and science and technology. Hungary is the 11th most popular country as a tourist destination in Europe, attracting 14.3 million international tourists in 2015. It is home to the largest thermal water cave system and the second largest thermal lake in the world, the largest lake in Central Europe and the largest natural grasslands in Europe.