Slovakia

The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I allowed the Slovaks to join 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 joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.

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

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

• landlocked;
• most of the country is rugged and mountainous;
• the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys

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:

0.6 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

noun:

Slovak(s)

adjective:

Slovak

conventional long form:

Slovak Republic

conventional short form:

Slovakia

local long form:

Slovenska Republika

local short form:

Slovensko

name:

Bratislava

geographic coordinates:

48 09 N, 17 07 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• ratified 1 September 1992, 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

• civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations;
• 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 Ivan GASPAROVIC (since 15 June 2004)

head of government:

Prime Minister Robert FICO (since 4 July 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Dusan CAPLOVIC, Robert KALINAK, Stefan HARABIN, Jan MIKOLAJ (since 4 July 2006)

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 (eligible for a second 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%

• Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council);
• Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council);
• Special Court (judges elected by a council of judges and appointed by president)

• Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY];
• Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert FICO];
• Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA];
• Movement for Democracy or HZD [Jozef GRAPA];
• People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or LS-HZDS [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 [Vladimir DADO];
• Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA];
• Slovak National Party or SNS [Jan SLOTA]

• Federation of Employers' Associations of the Slovak Republic;
• Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS;
• Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ

chief of mission:

Ambassador Rastislav KACER

chancery:

3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 237-1054

FAX:

[1] (202) 237-6438

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Rodolphe "Skip" M. VALLEE

embassy:

Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava

mailing address:

P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava

telephone:

[421] (2) 5443-3338

FAX:

[421] (2) 5443-0096

• three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the coat of arms of Slovakia (consisting of a red shield bordered in white and bearing a white Cross of Lorraine surmounting three blue hills);
• the coat of arms is centered vertically and offset slightly to the hoist side

lowest 10%:

3.1%

highest 10%:

20.9% (1992)

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

• 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

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

total:

3,662 km

broad gauge:

100 km 1.520-m gauge

standard gauge:

3,512 km 1.435-m gauge (1,588 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

50 km (1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge) (2005)

total:

42,993 km

paved:

37,533 km (including 316 km of expressways)

unpaved:

5,460 km (2003)

total:

43 ships (1000 GRT or over) 217,819 GRT/309,049 DWT

by type:

bulk carrier 6, cargo 36, chemical tanker 1

foreign-owned:

40 (Bulgaria 7, Estonia 1, Greece 4, Israel 7, Poland 2, Syria 2, Turkey 8, UK 1, Ukraine 8)

registered in other countries:

2 (Cyprus 1, Georgia 1) (2006)

• complete transition to an all-volunteer professional force went into effect at the beginning of 2006 after 140 years of mandatory army service;
• volunteers include women, with minimum age of 17 years (2005)

males age 18-49:

1,351,848

females age 18-49:

1,322,647 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

1,089,645

females age 18-49:

1,093,077 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

41,544

females age 18-49:

40,183 (2005 est.)

• Hungary amended its status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, to which Slovakia had protested;
• consultations continue between Slovakia and Hungary over Hungary's completion of its portion of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric dam project along the Danube;
• as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Slovakia must implement the strict Schengen border rules