Slovakia

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

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

total:

1.04

per capita:

193 cu m/yr (2003)

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

noun:

Slovak(s)

adjective:

Slovak

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.6 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

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 September 1998;
• amended February 2001

note: the change in September 1998 allowed direct election of the president; the amendment of February 2001 allowed Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership

• civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes;
• note - legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal system

chief of state:

President Ivan GASPAROVIC (since 15 June 2004)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Robert FICO (since 4 April 2012);
• Deputy Prime Ministers Robert KALINAK, Peter KAZIMIR, Miroslav LAJCAK (since 4 April 2012), Lubomir VAZNY (since 26 November 2012)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 21 March and 4 April 2009 (next to be held no later than April 2014);
• following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president

election results:

Ivan GASPAROVIC reelected president in runoff; percent of vote - Ivan GASPAROVIC 55.5%, Iveta RADICOVA 44.5%

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

parties in the Parliament:

• Bridge or Most-Hid [Bela BUGAR];
• Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Jan FIGEL];
• Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert FICO];
• Freedom and Solidarity or SaS [Richard SULIK];
• Ordinary People and Independent Personalities or OLaNO [Igor MATOVIC];
• Slovak Democratic and Christian Union-Democratic Party or SDKU-DS [Pavol FRESO]

selected parties outside the Parliament:

• Civic Conservative Party or OKS [Ondrej DOSTAL];
• Nation and Justice - Our Party or NAS [Anna BELOUSOVOVA];
• Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Jozef DURICA];
• Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Jozsef BERENYI];
• People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or LS-HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR];
• People's Party - Our Slovakia or LSNS [Marian KOTLEBA];
• Slovak National Party or SNS [Andrej DANKO]

• Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS;
• Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ;
• Entrepreneurs Association of Slovakia or ZPS;
• Federation of Employers' Associations of the Slovak Republic;
• Medical Trade Association or LOZ;
• National Union of Employers or RUZ;
• Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry or SOPK;
• The Business Alliance of Slovakia or PAS

chief of mission:

Ambassador Peter KMEC

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 Theodore SEDGWICK

embassy:

Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava

mailing address:

P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava

telephone:

[421] (2) 5443-3338

FAX:

[421] (2) 5441-8861

• three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red derive from the Pan-Slav colors;
• the Slovakian coat of arms (consisting of a red shield bordered in white and bearing a white double-barred cross of St. Cyril and St. Methodius surmounting three blue hills) is centered over the bands but offset slightly to the hoist side

note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia

name:

"Nad Tatrou sa blyska" (Lightning Over the Tatras)

lyrics/music:

Janko MATUSKA/traditional

note: adopted 1993, in use since 1844; the anthem's music is based on the Slovak folk song "Kopala studienku"

agriculture:

3.5%

industry:

27%

services:

69.4% (December 2009)

lowest 10%:

4.4%

highest 10%:

22.4% (2009 est.)

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

general assessment:

Slovakia has a modern telecommunications system that has expanded dramatically in recent years with the growth in cellular services

domestic:

• analog system is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities;
• 3 companies provide nationwide cellular services

international:

• country code - 421;
• 3 international exchanges (1 in Bratislava and 2 in Banska Bystrica) are available;
• Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services

• state-owned public broadcaster, Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), operates 3 national TV stations and multiple national and regional radio networks;
• roughly 35 privately-owned TV stations operating nationally, regionally, and locally;
• about 40% of households are connected to multi-channel cable or satellite TV;
• more than 20 privately-owned radio stations (2008)

total:

3,622 km

country comparison to the world: 48

broad gauge:

99 km 1.520-m gauge

standard gauge:

3,473 km 1.435-m gauge (1,615 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

50 km 1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge (2008)

total:

43,761 km

country comparison to the world: 83

paved:

38,085 km (includes 384 km of expressways)

unpaved:

5,676 km (2008)

• 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• women are eligible to serve (2010)

males age 16-49:

1,405,310

females age 16-49:

1,369,897 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,156,113

females age 16-49:

1,139,380 (2010 est.)

male:

31,646

female:

30,219 (2010 est.)

• bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working group negotiations continued in 2006 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 has implemented the strict Schengen border rules

• transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe;
• producer of synthetic drugs for regional market;
• consumer of ecstasy