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Slovakia
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FactsBackground: 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. note: data are in 2010 US dollars 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.); note: data are in 2010 US dollars 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. PressHospodarske NovinyBratislava News Agency of the Slovak Republik(Official news service), Bratislava Pravda(left-wing), Bratislava Slovak Spectator(independent English language weekly), Bratislava Sme(Independent), Bratislava TASR(Slovak new agency English), Slovakia in the NewsReflections on Post-Communist Central EuropeFormer top Czech spy Karl Koecher comments on the two decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Ten Years On, Slovaks Say, “This Is Our Home.”Andrzej Niewiadowski, writing for Warsaw's centrist Rzeczpospolita, asks Slovaks how they feel 10 years after gaining independence from Czechoslovakia. Slovakia: Now the Hard Part'The victory of a center-right coalition in September's parliamentary elections has all but settled any doubts about Slovakia's future economic and geopolitical orientation,' writes Andrew Yurkovsky in his review of the local press. NATO Expands EastwardComment from Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Macedonia |
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