Slovakia

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.

• temperate;
• cool summers;
• cold, cloudy, humid winters

• brown coal and lignite;
• small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore;
• salt;
• arable land

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.)

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.)

total population:

73.74 years

male:

69.71 years

female:

77.98 years (2000 est.)

noun:

Slovak(s)

adjective:

Slovak

definition:

NA

total population:

NA%

male:

NA%

female:

NA%

conventional long form:

Slovak Republic

conventional short form:

Slovakia

local long form:

Slovenska Republika

local short form:

Slovensko

• 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

chief of state:

President Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998)

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 30 May 1999 (next to be held NA 2004);
• note - following the National Council elections in September 1998, the Constitution was changed to allow direct election of the president;
• 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:

Rudolf SCHUSTER won the first direct popular election with 57% of the vote

note: government coalition - SDK, SDL, SMK, SOP

• Supreme Court, judges are elected by the National Council;
• Constitutional Court, judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the parliament

• Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Jan CARNOGURSKY];
• Coexistence [Miklos DURAY];
• Democratic Party or DS [Jan LANGOS];
• Democratic Union or DU [Lubomir HARACH];
• Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement or MKDH [Bela BUGAR];
• Hungarian Civic Party or MOS [Laszlo A. NAGY];
• Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR];
• Party of Civic Understanding or SOP [Pavol HAMZIK];
• Party of Greens in Slovakia or SZS [Ladislav AMBROS];
• Party of the Democratic Center or SDS [Ivan MJARTAN];
• Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Jozef MIGAS];
• Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK (includes MKDH, MOS, and Coexistence) [Bela BUGAR];
• Slovak Democratic Coalition or SDK (includes KDH, DS, DU, SSDS, SZS) [Mikulas DZURINDA];
• Slovak National Party or SNS [Anna MALIKOVA];
• Social Democratic Party of Slovakia or SSDS [Jaroslav VOLF];
• SMER [Robert FICO]

• Association of Employers of Slovakia;
• Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS;
• Christian Social Union;
• Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ;
• Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG;
• Party of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen of Slovakia

chief of mission:

Ambassador Martin BUTORA

chancery:

(temporary) Suite 250, 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 965-5161

FAX:

[1] (202) 965-5166

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Douglas HENGEL

embassy:

Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[421] (7) 5443-0861, 5443-3338

FAX:

[421] (7) 5441-5148

• three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side;
• the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue

lowest 10%:

5.1%

highest 10%:

18.2% (1992)

• 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

• grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit;
• pigs, cattle, poultry;
• forest products

• machinery and transport equipment 37%;
• intermediate manufactured goods 30%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%;
• chemicals 9%;
• raw materials 4% (1998)

• machinery and transport equipment 40%;
• intermediate manufactured goods 18%;
• fuels 11%;
• chemicals 11%;
• miscellaneous manufactured goods 10% (1998)

domestic:

• predominantly an analog system which 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:

• 3 international exchanges, 1 in Bratislava and 2 in Banska Bystrica, are available;
• Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects which will increase the availability of external services

total:

3,660 km

broad gauge:

102 km 1.520-m gauge

standard gauge:

3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1505 km electrified; 1,011 km double track)

narrow gauge:

51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (1998)

total:

17,710 km

paved:

17,533 km (including 288 km of expressways)

unpaved:

177 km (1998 est.)

total:

3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,041 GRT/19,517 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 3 (1999 est.)

• ongoing Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Hungary;
• agreement with Czech Republic signed 24 November 1998 resolves issues of redistribution of former Czechoslovak federal property - approval by both parliaments is expected in 2000