Country Facts - Slovakia

The People

Nationality Slovakian

Ethnic Composition

Slovak	85.7%
Hungarians	10.6%
Roma	1.6%
Czech	1.0%
Ruthenian	0.6%
Ukranian	0.6%
German	0.1%
Polish	0.1%
Other	0.3%

Religious Composition

Roman Catholic	60.3%
Atheist	9.7%
Protestant	8.4%
Orthodox	4.1%
Other	17.5%

Languages Spoken

Slovak is the official language. Some minority languages such as Hungarian may be used for official business.

Education and Literacy

Estimated adult literacy is 95 percent. Education is compulsory for 10 years, until the age of 18. Slovakia also has 13 universities.

Labor Force

Total: 3 million

By occupation:

Industry	29.3%
Agriculture	8.9%
Construction	8.0%
Transport and communication	8.2%
Services	45.6%

Geography

Land Mass Total

18,859 sq mi (48,845 sq km)

Land

18,841 sq mi (48,800 sq km)

Water

17 sq mi (45 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 946 mi (1,524 km)
Border countries: Austria 56 mi (91 km), Czech Republic 133 mi (215 km), Hungary 420 mi (677 km), Poland 275 mi (444 km), Ukraine 60 mi (97 km)

Coastline

0 mi (0 km), landlocked

Maritime claim

None

Climate/Weather

Temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Terrain

Rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Bodrok River 308 ft (94 m)
Highest: Gerlachovka 8,710 ft (2,655 m)

Natural Resources

Brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper, and manganese ore; salt; arable land

Land use

Arable land	31%
Permanent crops	3%
Other	66%

(1998)

Natural hazards

N/A

Environment - current issues

Air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests.

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.

Demographics

Population

5,422,366 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	18.3%	Male: 508,256	Female: 484,739
15-64 years:	70.1%	Male: 1,888,705	Female: 1,910,842
65 years and over:	11.6%	Male: 237,770	Female: 392,054

(2002))

Growth Rate

0.14% (2002)

Life Expectancy

74.2 years (2002)
Female: 78.41 years
Male: 70.19 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$11,500 (2001)

Infant Mortality

8.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

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:	0.61 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.95 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The Dzurinda government made excellent progress in 2001 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in 2001, despite recession in key export markets. Revival of domestic demand, partly due to a rise in real wages, offset slowing export growth to help drive the economy to its strongest expansion since 1998. Solid domestic demand is expected to boost economic growth to 3.4 percent in 2002, and about 4 percent in 2003. Analysts predict a 4.4 percent growth rate by 2005. Unemployment, rising to 19.8 percent at the end of 2001, remained the economy's Achilles' heel. The government faced other strong challenges in 2002, especially the maintenance of fiscal balance, cutting budget and current account deficits, and privatization of the Slovak energy and power monopolies. Although still in the shadow of its Czech cousins, Slovakia forges ahead with economic improvements with an eye towards eventual E.U. accession.

Unemployment

19.8% (yearend 2001)

Inflation Rate

7.4% (2001)

Industries

Metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and man-made fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products

Exports

US$12.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$14.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$62 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

EU 59.0% (Germany 26.8%, Italy 9.2%, Austria 8.4%), Czech Republic 17.4% (2000)

Top Import Partners

EU 48.9% (Germany 25.1%, Italy 6.2%), Russia 17.0%, Czech Republic 14.7% (2000)

Top Exports

Machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999)

Top Imports

Machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999)

Debt - external

US$7.8 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$421.9 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 6p.m.	Slightly shorter hours on the weekend.
Banks	8a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Government	8a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Epiphany	January 6	January 6	January 6
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter¹	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 21	April 12	March 28
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Liberation Day	May 8	May 8	May 8
Sts. Cyril and Methodius	July 5	July 5	July 5
Anniversary of Slovak National Uprising	August 29	August 29	August 29
Constitution Day	September 1	September 1	September 1
Our Lady of Seven Sorrows	September 15	September 15	September 15
All Saints' Day	November 1	November 1	November 1
Christmas Eve	December 24	December 24	December 24
Christmas Day²	December 25	December 25	December 25
Second Day of Christmas	December 26	December 26	December 26

Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press