Bács-Kiskun

a megye (county) in Hungary, in the southern part of the Danube-Tisza interfluve. Area, 8,363 sq km; population, 563,000 (1968). The administrative center is the city of Kecskemét.

The topography of Bács-Kiskun consists primarily of flat lowlands. There are many undrained lakes. The forest-steppe regions (puszta) have well-preserved oak forests in certain areas. Approximately two-thirds of the population are engaged in agriculture. The hilly sand plains of the Bács-Kiskun region and the loess soils that replace them in the south were gradually consolidated by forest and vineyard plantings since the middle of the 19th century; this area has become the most important horticultural (apples, peaches, apricots, plums, and so on) and grape-growing region in the country. In 1964 the usable land area of the megye consisted of 55.6 percent plowed land, 11.4 percent orchards and vineyards, 19.2 percent meadows and pastures, and 13.1 percent forests. Wheat and corn are cultivated in the Danube valley, and rye and potatoes are grown in the central and northern sections of the megye. High-quality commercial grade vegetables (chiefly tomatoes) are grown in the Kecskemet area. Poultry and pig farms are also operated. The leading branch of industry, which employed 48,000 people in 1966, is food processing (canning of fruits and vegetables, distillation of alcoholic beverages, pepper grinding, flour milling, and so on) which is concentrated mainly at Kecskemet, where agricultural machinery is also produced. Baja is the center of the textile industry and a port on the Danube River.