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Travel to Slovakia — Unbiased reviews and great
deals from TripAdvisorSlovakia
| Slovak Republic National
name: Slovenska Republika President: Ivan Gasparovic (2004) Prime Minister: Robert Fico
(2006)
Current government officials
Land area: 18,842 sq mi (48,800 sq km);
total area: 18,859 sq mi (48,845 sq km) Population (2007 est.): 5,447,502 (growth
rate: 0.1%); birth rate: 10.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 7.1/1000;
life expectancy: 75.0; density per sq mi: 289
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Bratislava, 428,800 Other large city: Kosice, 233,600 Monetary unit: Koruna
Languages:
Slovak 84% (official), Hungarian 11%, Roma 2%,
Ukrainian 1% (2001)
Ethnicity/race:
Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%,
Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 69%, Protestant 11%, Greek
Catholic 4%, none 13% (2001) Literacy
rate: 99.6% (2001 est.) Economic
summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $109.6 billion; per capita
$20,300. Real growth rate: 10.4%. Inflation: 2.8%.
Unemployment: 8.4%. Arable land: 30%.
Agriculture: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs,
cattle, poultry; forest products. Labor force: 2.24 million
(Sept. 30, 2005, est.); agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction
9%, services 55.9% (2003). 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. Natural resources: brown
coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore;
salt; arable land. Exports: $32.39 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.):
vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals
14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004). Imports:
$34.48 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and transport
equipment 41.1%, intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%,
chemicals 9.8%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003).
Major trading partners: Germany, Czech Republic, Austria,
Italy, Poland, U.S., Hungary, Russia (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 1,934,558 (1998); mobile cellular: 736,662 (April 1999). Radio
broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998).
Radios: 3.12 million (1997). Television broadcast stations:
38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995). Televisions: 2.62 million
(1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2000).
Internet users: 700,000 (2000). Transportation: Railways: total: 3,668 km
(2002). Highways: total: 42,717 km; paved: 37,036 km (including
296 km of expressways); unpaved: 5,681 km (2000). Waterways:
172 km on the Danube. Ports and harbors: Bratislava,
Komarno. Airports: 37 (2002). International disputes: small boundary
changes made with Poland in 2003; Hungary has yet to amend status law
extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in
Slovakia, who protest the law.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Slovakia is located in central Europe. The land has rugged mountains,
rich in mineral resources, with vast forests and pastures. The Carpathian
Mountains dominate the topography of Slovakia, with lowland areas in the
southern region. Slovakia is about twice the size of the state of
Maryland.
Government
Parliamentary democracy.
History
Present-day Slovakia was settled by Slavic Slovaks about the 6th
century. They were politically united in the Moravian empire in the 9th
century. In 907, the Germans and the Magyars conquered the Moravian state,
and the Slovaks fell under Hungarian control from the 10th century up
until 1918. When the Hapsburg-ruled empire collapsed in 1918 following
World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czech lands of Bohemia, Moravia, and
part of Silesia to form the new joint state of Czechoslovakia. In March
1939, Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, established a German
“protectorate,” and created a puppet state out of Slovakia with Monsignor
Josef Tiso as prime minister. The country was liberated from the Germans
by the Soviet army in the spring of 1945, and Slovakia was restored to its
prewar status and rejoined to a new Czechoslovakian state.
After the Communist Party took power in Feb. 1948, Slovakia was again
subjected to a centralized Czech-dominated government, and antagonism
between the two republics developed. In Jan. 1969, the nation became the
Slovak Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia.
Nearly 42 years of Communist rule for Slovakia ended when Vaclav Havel
became president of Czechoslovakia in 1989 and democratic political reform
began. However, with the demise of Communist power, a strong Slovak
nationalist movement resurfaced, and the rival relationship between the
two states increased. By the end of 1991, discussions between Slovak and
Czech political leaders turned to whether the Czech and Slovak republics
should continue to coexist within the federal structure or be divided into
two independent states.
After the general election in June 1992, it was decided that two fully
independent republics would be created. The Republic of Slovakia came into
existence on Jan. 1, 1993. The parliament in February elected Michal Kovac
as president.
Populist Vladimir Meciar, who served three times as Slovakia's prime
minister, exhibited increasingly authoritarian behavior and was cited as
the reason Slovakia was for a time eliminated from consideration for both
the EU and NATO. Slovakia's very low influx of foreign capital during
Meciar's tenure was the result of his government's lack of transparency.
Meciar was unseated in 1998 elections by the reformist government of
Mikulás Dzurinda. In April 2000 Meciar was arrested and charged with
paying illegal bonuses to his cabinet ministers while in office. A
three-week standoff with police preceded the arrest, ending only when
police commandos blew open the door on Meciar's house and seized him. He
was also questioned about his alleged involvement in the 1995 kidnapping
of the son of Slovakia's former president, Michal Kovac.
Dzurinda has improved Slovakia's reputation in the West, but his tough
economic measures have made him unpopular within the country. Former prime
minister Meciar has proven oddly resilient. In Sept. 2002 elections, the
ruling coalition held onto power, despite Meciar coming out ahead in the
vote. In April 2004, Meciar ran for the presidency against his former
right-hand man, Ivan Gasparovic. Gasparovic, however, won the largely
ceremonial post by a wide majority. In 2004, Slovakia joined the EU and
NATO. In May 2005, it ratified the EU constitution.
Robert Fico of the Socialist Party became prime minister in July 2006,
after forming an odd coalition with two right-wing nationalist parties,
including Meciar's.
See also Encyclopedia: Slovakia.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Slovakia
Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic www.statistics.sk/webdata/english/index2_a.htm .
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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