Slovakia

Facts

Background: Slovakia's roots can be traced to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. Subsequently, the Slovaks became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Following the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (Magyarization) resulted in a strengthening of Slovak nationalism and a cultivation of cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who were themselves ruled by the Austrians. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-dominated 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 and the euro area on 1 January 2009.
Location: Central Europe, south of Poland
Area land: 48,105 sq km
Area water: 930 sq km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Country name conventional long form: Slovak Republic
Country name conventional short form: Slovakia
Country name former: Slovak Republic
Population: 5,477,038 (July 2011 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 15.6% (male 437,755/female 417,797); 15-64 years: 71.6% (male 1,955,031/female 1,965,554); 65 years and over: 12.8% (male 262,363/female 438,538) (2011 est.);
Population growth rate: 0.117% (2011 est.)
Birth rate: 10.48 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death rate: 9.6 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.051 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 (2011 est.);
Infant mortality rate: total: 6.59 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 7.69 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.);
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.83 years; male: 71.92 years; female: 79.93 years (2011 est.);
Total fertility rate: 1.37 children born/woman (2011 est.);
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2009 est.);
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: fewer than 500 (2009 est.);
HIV/AIDS - deaths: fewer than 100 (2009 est.);
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% (2004);
GDP (purchasing power parity): $121.3 billion (2010 est.); $116.7 billion (2009 est.); $122.4 billion (2008 est.);

GDP (official exchange rate): $88.4 billion (2010 est.);
GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2010 est.); -4.7% (2009 est.); 6.2% (2008 est.);
GDP - per capita (PPP): $22,200 (2010 est.); $21,400 (2009 est.); $22,400 (2008 est.);
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2.7%; industry: 35.6%; services: 61.8% (2010 est.);
Population below poverty line: 21% (2002);
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.1%; highest 10%: 20.9% (1996);
Labor force: 2.673 million (2010 est.);
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 3.5%; industry: 27%; services: 69.4% (December 2009);
Unemployment rate: 13.5% (2010 est.); 11.4% (2009 est.);
Budget: revenues: $28.45 billion; expenditures: $35.01 billion (2010 est.);
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: 7.5% (2010 est.);
Electricity - production: 25.9 billion kWh (2009 est.);
Electricity - consumption: 28.75 billion kWh (2009 est.);
Electricity - exports: 8.891 billion kWh (2008 est.);
Electricity - imports: 9.412 billion kWh (2008 est.);

Statistics: CIA World Factbook.

Press

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