from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Slovakia
Introduction
Background: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the
close of World War I allowed the Slovaks to join 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 48 40 N, 19 30 E
coordinates:
Map Europe
references:
Area: total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km
water: 45 sq km
Area - about twice the size of New Hampshire
comparative:
Land total: 1,524 km
boundaries: border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km,
Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime none (landlocked)
claims:
Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Terrain: rugged mountains in the central and northern part and
lowlands in the south
Elevation lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
extremes: highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m
Natural brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore,
resources: copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land
Land use: arable land: 29.23%
permanent crops: 2.67%
other: 68.1% (2005)
Irrigated 1,830 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural NA
hazards:
Environment - air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human
current health risks; acid rain damaging forests
issues:
Environment - party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides,
international Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air
agreements: Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
Geography - landlocked; most of the country is rugged and
note: mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are
interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys
People
Population: 5,439,448 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.7% (male 465,304/female 443,967)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 1,929,448/female 1,947,735)
65 years and over: 12% (male 244,609/female 408,385)
(2006 est.)
Median age: total: 35.8 years
male: 34.2 years
female: 37.6 years (2006 est.)
Population 0.15% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 10.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 9.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 8.48 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 5.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 74.73 years
expectancy at male: 70.76 years
birth: female: 78.89 years (2006 est.)
Total 1.33 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - less than 200 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - less than 100 (2001 est.)
deaths:
Nationality: noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak
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: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.6% (2001 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia
local long form: Slovenska Republika
local short form: Slovensko
Government parliamentary democracy
type:
Capital: name: Bratislava
geographic coordinates: 48 09 N, 17 07 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in
March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky,
divisions: Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky,
Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky
Independence: 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech
Republic and Slovakia)
National Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)
holiday:
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;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations;
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 chief of state: President Ivan GASPAROVIC (since 15
branch: June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Robert FICO (since 4
July 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Dusan CAPLOVIC,
Robert KALINAK, Stefan HARABIN, Jan MIKOLAJ (since 4
July 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by direct, popular vote
for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
election last held 3 April and 17 April 2004 (next to
be held April 2009); following National Council
elections, the leader of the majority party or the
leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed
prime minister by the president
election results: Ivan GASPAROVIC elected president in
runoff; percent of vote - Ivan GASPAROVIC 59.9%,
Vladimir MECIAR 40.1%
Legislative unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or
branch: Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members
are elected on the basis of proportional representation
to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2006 (next to be held
2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - Smer
29.1%, SDKU 18.4%, SNS 11.7%, SMK 11.7%, LS-HZDS 8.8%,
KDH 8.3%; seats by party - Smer 50, SDKU 31, SNS 20,
SMK 20, LS-HZDS 15, KDH 14
Judicial Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National
branch: Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by
president from group of nominees approved by the
National Council); Special Court (judges elected by a
council of judges and appointed by president)
Political Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY];
parties and Direction-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) [Robert FICO];
leaders: Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA]; Movement for Democracy
or HZD [Jozef GRAPA]; People's Party - Movement for a
Democratic Slovakia or LS-HZDS [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
[Jan SLOTA]
Political Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of
pressure Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade
groups and Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and
leaders: METALURG
International ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer),
organization CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO,
participation: IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU,
ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN,
UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO,
UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate
partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Rastislav KACER
representation chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054
FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Rodolphe "Skip" M. VALLEE
representation embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava
from the US: mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava
telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338
FAX: [421] (2) 5443-0096
Flag three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and
description: red superimposed with the coat of arms of Slovakia
(consisting of a red shield bordered in white and
bearing a white Cross of Lorraine surmounting three
blue hills); the coat of arms is centered vertically
and offset slightly to the hoist side
Economy
Economy - Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition
overview: 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. Foreign investment in the automotive sector
has been strong. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded
expectations in 2001-05, despite the general European
slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in
2003-04, dropped to 11.4% in 2005, but remains the
economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1
May 2004.
GDP $88.78 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $43.07 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 6.1% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $16,300 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 3.5%
composition by industry: 29.4%
sector: services: 67.2% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 2.24 million (30 September 2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction 9%,
by occupation: services 55.9% (2003)
Unemployment 11.7% (2005 est.)
rate:
Population 21% NA%
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 5.1%
income or highest 10%: 18.2% (1992)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 25.8 (1996)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 2.7% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 26% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $22.7 billion
expenditures: $23.2 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: 36.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs,
products: 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 3.7% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 30.57 billion kWh (2004)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 30.3%
production by hydro: 16%
source: nuclear: 53.6%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 24.8 billion kWh (2004)
consumption:
Electricity - 10.59 billion kWh (2004)
exports:
Electricity - 8.731 billion kWh (2004)
imports:
Oil - 3,808 bbl/day (2003 est.)
production:
Oil - 71,400 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 2,160 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: 117,000 bbl/day NA bbl/day
Oil - proved 4.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)
reserves:
Natural gas - 165 million cu m (2004 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 6.72 billion cu m (2004 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 1 million cu m (2004 est.)
exports:
Natural gas - 6.949 billion cu m (2004 est.)
imports:
Natural gas - 15.01 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
proved
reserves:
Current $-4.066 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $32.39 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment
commodities: 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%,
plastics 5.4% (2004)
Exports - Germany 26.2%, Czech Republic 14.1%, Austria 7.1%,
partners: Italy 6.7%, Poland 6.3%, Hungary 5.7% (2005)
Imports: $34.48 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - machinery and transport equipment 41.1%, intermediate
commodities: manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%, chemicals 9.8%,
miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003)
Imports - Germany 25.1%, Czech Republic 19.3%, Russia 10.5%,
partners: Austria 6.1%, Poland 4.7%, Hungary 4.6%, Italy 4.5%
(2005)
Reserves of $14.97 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $26.94 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $12.67 billion in available EU structural adjustment
recipient: and cohesion funds (2007-13)
Currency Slovak koruna (SKK)
(code):
Currency code: SKK
Exchange koruny per US dollar - 31.018 (2005), 32.257 (2004),
rates: 36.773 (2003), 45.327 (2002), 48.355 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 1.197 million (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 4.54 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: a modernization and privatization
system: program is increasing accessibility to telephone
service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers,
and generally improving service quality
domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now
receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with
fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities;
mobile cellular capability has been added
international: country code - 421; three international
exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska
Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in
several international telecommunications projects that
will increase the availability of external services
Radio AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 3.12 million (1997)
Television 6 national broadcasting, 7 regional, 67 local (2004)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 2.62 million (1997)
Internet .sk
country code:
Internet 210,758 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 6 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 2.5 million (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 36 (2006)
Airports - total: 18
with paved over 3,047 m: 2
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 8 (2006)
Airports - total: 18
with unpaved 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 8 (2006)
Heliports: 1 (2006)
Pipelines: gas 6,769 km; oil 416 km (2006)
Railways: total: 3,662 km
broad gauge: 100 km 1.520-m gauge
standard gauge: 3,512 km 1.435-m gauge (1,588 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 50 km (1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge) (2005)
Roadways: total: 42,993 km
paved: 37,533 km (including 316 km of expressways)
unpaved: 5,460 km (2003)
Waterways: 172 km (on Danube River) (2005)
Merchant total: 43 ships (1000 GRT or over) 217,819 GRT/309,049
marine: DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 36, chemical tanker 1
foreign-owned: 40 (Bulgaria 7, Estonia 1, Greece 4,
Israel 7, Poland 2, Syria 2, Turkey 8, UK 1, Ukraine 8)
registered in other countries: 2 (Cyprus 1, Georgia 1)
(2006)
Ports and Bratislava, Komarno
terminals:
Military
Military Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Ozbrojene Sily
branches: Slovenskej Republiky): Land Forces (Pozemne Sily), Air
Forces (Vzdusne Sily), Training and Support Forces
(Vycviku a Podpory Sily) (2005)
Military complete transition to an all-volunteer professional
service age force went into effect at the beginning of 2006 after
and 140 years of mandatory army service; volunteers include
obligation: women, with minimum age of 17 years (2005)
Manpower males age 18-49: 1,351,848
available for females age 18-49: 1,322,647 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 1,089,645
for military females age 18-49: 1,093,077 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 41,544
reaching females age 18-49: 40,183 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $406 million (2002)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 1.87% FY05 (2005)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - Hungary amended its status law extending special social
international: 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