Guide to Slovakia Introduction Background: In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.
Geography Location: Central Europe, south of Poland
Geographic coordinates: 48 40 N, 19 30 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total
Area - comparative: about twice the size of New Hampshire
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Terrain: rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 1,740 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys
People Population: 5,431,363 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.15% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 10.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 9.43 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 1.32 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 200 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2001 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
Religions: Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census)
Languages: Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Bratislava
Administrative divisions: 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky
Independence: 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
National holiday: Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)
Constitution: ratified 1 September 1992, effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership
Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council)
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA]; Movement for Democracy or HZD [Jozef GRAPA]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; New Citizens Alliance or ANO [Pavol RUSKO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; People's Union or LU [Gustav KRAJCI]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [Jozef SEVC]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Peter SULOVSKY]
Political pressure groups and leaders: Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG
International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue
Economy Economy - overview: Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government made excellent progress during 2001-04 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and the government has helped facilitate a foreign investment boom with business-friendly policies, such as labor market liberalization and a 19% flat tax. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in 2001-04, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003-04, remains the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $78.89 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 2.2 million (3rd quarter, 2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction 9%, services 55.9% (2003)
Unemployment rate: 13.1% (31 December 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 26.3 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.5% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 24% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 46.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products
Industries: metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products
Industrial production growth rate: 5.1% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 31.15 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 28.89 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: 8 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: 6 billion kWh (2003)
Oil - production: 1,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 82,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 4.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 190 million cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 6.8 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 6.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 7.504 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $-1.4 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $29.24 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4%% (2004 est.)
Exports - partners: Germany 34.4%, Czech Republic 14.7%, Austria 8.2%, Italy 5.8%, Poland 5.3%, US 4.5%, Hungary 4.3% (2004)
Imports: $29.67 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment 41.1%, intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%, chemicals 9.8%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003)
Imports - partners: Germany 26.1%, Czech Republic 21.3%, Russia 9.1%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.9% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $14.91 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $19.54 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $2.2 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06)
Currency (code): Slovak koruna (SKK)
Currency code: SKK
Exchange rates: koruny per US dollar - 32.257 (2004), 36.773 (2003), 45.327 (2002), 48.355 (2001), 46.035 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 1,294,700 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,678,800 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: 3.12 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 6 national broadcasting, 7 regional, 67 local (2004)
Televisions: 2.62 million (1997)
Internet country code: .sk
Internet hosts: 89,592 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2000)
Internet users: 1,375,800 (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 172 km (on Danube River) (2004)
Pipelines: gas 6,769 km; oil 449 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Bratislava, Komarno
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 34 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Army of the Slovak Republic (Armady Slovenskej Republika)
Military service age and obligation: complete transition to an all-volunteer professional force is planned for 1 January 2007; 82% of Slovak armed forces were volunteers as of January 2005; volunteers include women, with minimum age of 17 years; 18 years of age for compulsory military service (January 2005)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $406 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.89% (2002)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: Hungary amended its status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, to which Slovakia had protested; consultations continue between Slovakia and Hungary over Hungary's completion of its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Slovakia must implement the strict Schengen border rules
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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