Map of Slovakia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 has experienced more difficulty than the Czech Republic in developing a modern market economy.


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Location: Central Europe south of Poland

Geographic coordinates: 48 40 N 19 30 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Comparative: about twice the size of New Hampshire

Land boundaries

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

Natural resources: brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land

Land use

Irrigated land: 800 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked


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Population: 5,407,956 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 0.12% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality

Ethnic groups: Slovak 85.7% Hungarian 10.6% Gypsy 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community which is about 500,000) Czech Moravian Silesian 1.1% Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6% German 0.1% Polish 0.1% other 0.2% (1996)

Languages: Slovak (official) Hungarian

Religions: Roman Catholic 60.3% atheist 9.7% Protestant 8.4% Orthodox 4.1% other 17.5%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.12% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 10 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 9.29 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.53 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 9.18 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Bratislava

Administrative divisions: 8 regions (kraje singular - kraj); Banskobystricky Bratislavsky Kosicky Nitriansky Presovsky Trenciansky Trnavsky Zilinsky

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech and Slovak Republics)

National holiday: Slovak Constitution Day 1 September (1992); Anniversary of Slovak National Uprising 29 August (1944)

Constitution: ratified 1 September 1992 fully effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

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)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court judges are elected by the National Council; Constitutional Court judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the parliament

Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Jan CARNOGURSKY]; Coexistence [Miklos DURAY]; Democratic Party or DS [Jan LANGOS]; Democratic Union or DU [Lubomir HARACH]; Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement or MKDH [Bela BUGAR]; Hungarian Civic Party or MOS [Laszlo A. NAGY]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Party of Civic Understanding or SOP [Pavol HAMZIK]; Party of Greens in Slovakia or SZS [Ladislav AMBROS]; Party of the Democratic Center or SDS [Ivan MJARTAN]; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Jozef MIGAS]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK (includes MKDH MOS and Coexistence) [Bela BUGAR]; Slovak Democratic Coalition or SDK (includes KDH DS DU SSDS SZS) [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Anna MALIKOVA]; Social Democratic Party of Slovakia or SSDS [Jaroslav VOLF]; SMER [Robert FICO]

International organization participation: Australia Group BIS BSEC (observer) CCC CE CEI CERN EAPC EBRD ECE EU (applicant) FAO IAEA IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IDA IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat (nonsignatory user) Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU NAM (guest) NSG OPCW OSCE PCA PFP UN UNCTAD UNDOF UNESCO UNIDO UNTSO UPU WEU (associate partner) WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Slovakia continues the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. It started 1999 faced with a sharp slowdown in GDP growth large budget and current account deficits fast-growing external debt and persisting corruption but made considerable progress toward achieving macroeconomic stabilization later in the year. Tough austerity measures implemented in May cut the overall fiscal deficit from 6% in 1998 to under 4% of GDP and the current account deficit was halved to an estimated 5% of GDP. Slovakia was invited by the EU in December to begin accession negotiations early in 2000. Foreign investor interest although rising has not yet led to actual deals; several credit rating agencies have upgraded their outlook for the country. However Slovakia's fiscal position remains weak; inflation and unemployment remain high; and the government is only now addressing the structural problems inherited from the MECIAR period such as large inefficient enterprises an insolvent banking sector and high inter-company debts and declining tax and social support payments. Furthermore the government faces considerable public discontent over the government's austerity package persistent high unemployment - which reached an all-time high of 20% in December 1999 - rising consumer prices reduced social benefits and declining living standards. Real GDP is forecast to stagnate in 2000; inflationary pressures will remain strong due to further price liberalization; and little scope exists for further fiscal consolidation in the 2000 budget which is based on rosier assumptions than nearly all private forecasts.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 1.9% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,500 (1999 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

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: 0.9% (1998)

Labor force: 3.32 million (1997)
By occupation industry: 29.3%
By occupation agriculture: 8.9%
By occupation construction: 8%
By occupation transport and communication: 8.2%
By occupation services: 45.6% (1994)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1999 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 14% (1999 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $10.1 billion (f.o.b. 1999 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment 37%; intermediate manufactured goods 30% miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%; chemicals 9%; raw materials 4% (1998)
Partners: EU 56% (Germany 29% Austria 7%) Czech Republic 20% Poland 7% (1998)

Imports: $11.2 billion (f.o.b. 1999 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment 40%; intermediate manufactured goods 18%; fuels 11%; chemicals 11%; miscellaneous manufactured goods 10% (1998)
Partners: EU 50% (Germany 26% Italy 6%) Czech Republic 18% Russia 10% (1998)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $10.6 billion (1999)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: koruny (Sk) per US$1 - 42.059 (January 2000) 41.363 (1999) 35.233 (1998) 33.616 (1997) 30.654 (1996) 29.713 (1995)


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Electricity
Production: 20.035 billion kWh (1998)
Consumption: 23.3 billion kWh (1999 est.)
Exports: 920 million kWh (1999 est.)
Imports: 840 million kWh (1999 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 1.557 million (1998)
Mobile cellular: 641,000 (1998)

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet
Service providers isps: 11 (1999)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $332 million (FY99)
Percent of gdp: 1.7% (FY99)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 36 (1999 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 172 km on the Danube

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: ongoing Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Hungary; agreement with Czech Republic signed 24 November 1998 resolves issues of redistribution of former Czechoslovak federal property - approval by both parliaments is expected in 2000

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe