Study Overseas

Background

In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a communist nation within Soviet-ruled 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 has experienced more difficulty than the Czech Republic in developing a modern market economy.

Population: 5,407,956 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:

• 0-14 years: 19% (male 538,780; female 514,427)
• 15-64 years: 69% (male 1,854,779; female 1,880,584)
• 65 years and over: 12% (male 236,072; female 383,314) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.12% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 10 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 9.29 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

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: 0.62 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

• total population: 73.74 years
• male: 69.71 years
• female: 77.98 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:

• noun: Slovak(s)
• adjective: Slovak

Ethnic groups: Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Gypsy 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

Literacy:

• definition: NA
• total population: NA%
• male: NA%
• female: NA%

Geography

Location: Central Europe, south of Poland

Geographic coordinates: 48 40 N, 19 30 E

Map references: Europe

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: 1,355 km
• border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 515 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 90 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

Elevation extremes:

• lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
• highest point: Gerlachovka 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%
• permanent pastures: 17%
• forests and woodland: 41%
• other: 8% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 800 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: landlocked