| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia
local long form: Slovenska Republika
local short form: Slovensko |
| Capital: |
Bratislava |
| Location: |
Central Europe, south of Poland |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
48 40 N, 19 30 E |
| Area: |
total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km
water: 45 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
about twice the size of New Hampshire |
| Land
Boundaries: |
total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime
Claims: |
none (landlocked) |
| Climate: |
temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
| Terrain: |
rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
parliamentary democracy |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
| Independence |
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
| National
Holiday: |
Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
| Constitution: |
ratified 1 September 1992, fully 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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; 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
Branch: |
chief of state: President Ivan GASPAROVIC (since 15 June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Ivan MIKLOS (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pal CSAKY (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pavol RUSKO (since May 2004)
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; 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%; Mikulas DZURINDA reelected prime minister October 2002
note: government coalition - SDKU, SMK, KDH, ANO |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held September 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, Smer 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 69 (SDKU 22, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 12), opposition 81 (HZDS 26, Smer 25, KSS 9, Free Forum 6, People's Union 5, and independents 10) |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA]; Movement for Democracy or HZD [Jozef GRAPA]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [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 [Peter SULOVSKY] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
5,431,363 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 17.1% (male 475,263/female 453,340)
15-64 years: 71% (male 1,919,222/female 1,939,097)
65 years and over: 11.9% (male 241,610/female 402,831) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 35.43 years
male: 33.85 years
female: 37.25 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
| Ethnic groups: |
Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000), Czech, Moravian, Silesian 1.1%, Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.2% (1996) |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% |
| Languages: |
Slovak (official), Hungarian |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
1,294,700 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
3,678,800 (2003) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: a modernization and privatization 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 broadcast
stations: |
AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
6 national broadcasting, 7 regional, 67 local (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.sk |
| Internet hosts: |
89,592 (2004) |
| Internet users: |
1,375,800 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 3,661 km
broad gauge: 100 km 1.520-m gauge
standard gauge: 3,512 km 1.435-m gauge (1,588 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 49 km (1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge) (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 42,970 km
paved: 37,698 km (including 302 km of expressways)
unpaved: 5,272 km (2002) |
| Waterways: |
172 km (on Danube River) (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
gas 6,769 km; oil 449 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Bratislava, Komarno |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 41,891 GRT/63,185 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1
foreign-owned: 18 (Bulgaria 8, Estonia 1, Greece 1, Syria 1, Turkey 6, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
| Airports: |
34 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 7 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
1 (2004 est.) |
