Slovakia

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

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

agricultural land:

40.1%;

• arable land 28.9%;
• permanent crops 0.4%;
• permanent pasture 10.8%

forest:

40.2%

other:

19.7% (2011 est.)

• 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:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.9 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.62 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Slovak Republic

conventional short form:

Slovakia

local long form:

Slovenska republika

local short form:

Slovensko

etymology:

related to the Slavic autonym (self-designation) "Slovenin," a derivation from "slovo" (word), denoting "people who speak (the same language)" (i.e., people who understand each other)

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

history:

several previous (preindependence); latest passed by the National Council 1 September 1992, signed 3 September 1992, effective 1 October 1992

amendments:

• proposed by the National Council;
• passage requires at least three-fifths majority vote of Council members;
• amended many times, last in 2017 (2017)

• 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

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Slovakia

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Andrej KISKA (since 15 June 2014)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Robert FICO (since 4 April 2012);
• Deputy Prime Ministers Robert KALINAK (since 4 April 2012), Lucia ZITNANSKA and Peter PELLEGRINI (since 23 March 2016)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 15 and 29 March 2014 (next to be held in March 2019);
• following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president

election results:

Andrej KISKA elected president; percent of vote in second round - Andrej KISKA (independent) 59.4%, Robert FICO (Smer-SD) 40.6%

description:

unicameral National Council or Narodna Rada (150 seats; members directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 5 March 2016 (next to be held in March 2020)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - Smer-SD 28.3%, SaS 12.1%, OLaNO-NOVA 11%, SNS 8.6%, LSNS 8%, Sme-Rodina 6.6%, Most-Hid 6.5%, Siet 5.6%, other 13.3%;
• seats by party - Smer-SD 49, SaS 21, OLaNO-NOVA 19, SNS 15, LSNS 14, Sme-Rodina 11, Most-Hid 11, Siet 10

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic (consists of the court president, vice president, and 79 judges organized into criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative divisions with 3- and 5-judge panels);
• Constitutional Court (consists of 13 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judge candidates proposed by the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic, an 18-member independent body to include the Supreme Court chief justice and presidential, governmental, parliamentary, and judiciary appointees;
• judges appointed by the president for life with mandatory retirement at age 65;
• Constitutional Court judges nominated by the National Council of the Republic and appointed by the president;
• judges appointed for 12-year terms

subordinate courts:

• regional and district civil courts;
• Higher Military Court;
• military district courts;
• Court of Audit

• Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Alojz HLINA]
• Bridge or Most-Hid [Bela BUGAR]
• Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert FICO]
• Freedom and Solidarity or SaS [Richard SULIK]
• Kotleba-People's Party Our Slovakia or LSNS [Marian KOTLEBA]
• Network or Siet [Marek CEPKO, acting]
• Ordinary People and Independent Personalities - New Majority or OLaNO-NOVA [Igor MATOVIC]
• Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Jozsef MENYHART]
• Slovak National Party or SNS [Andrej DANKO]
• We Are Family or Sme-Rodina [Boris KOLLAR]

• Alliance of Companies Employing 500 or More Employees or Klub500
• 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 or AZZZ
• 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 (since 19 September 2012)

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 Adam H. Sterling (since August 2016)

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; music based on the Slovak folk song "Kopala studienku"

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

• automobiles;
• metal and metal products;
• electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel;
• chemicals, synthetic fibers, wood and paper products;
• machinery;
• earthenware and ceramics;
• textiles;
• electrical and optical apparatus;
• rubber products;
• food and beverages;
• pharmaceutical

agriculture:

3.9%

industry:

22.7%

services:

73.4% (2016)

lowest 10%:

3.3%

highest 10%:

19.3% (2015 est.)

general assessment:

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

domestic:

Slovak Telecom maintains a near monopoly on fixed-line service; four 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 (2017)

• state-owned public broadcaster, Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), operates 2 national TV stations and multiple national and regional radio networks;
• roughly 50 privately owned TV stations operating nationally, regionally, and locally;
• about 40% of households are connected to multi-channel cable or satellite TV;
• 32 privately owned radio stations (2016)

number of registered air carriers:

4; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 23

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

11,100

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

• gas transmission pipelines 2,270 km;
• high-pressure gas distribution pipelines 6,278 km;
• mid- and low-pressure gas distribution pipelines 27,023 km (2016);
• oil 510 km (2015)

total:

3,626 km

broad gauge:

99 km 1.520-m gauge

standard gauge:

3,477 km 1.435-m gauge (1,587 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

50 km 1.000-m or 0.750-m gauge (2016)

country comparison to the world: 49

total:

11

by type:

cargo 9, refrigerated cargo 2

foreign-owned:

11 (Germany 3, Ireland 1, Italy 2, Montenegro 1, Slovenia 1, Turkey 1, Ukraine 2) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 112

• 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service;
• conscription in peacetime suspended in 2006;
• women are eligible to serve (2012)

• bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working group negotiations continued 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 strict Schengen border rules

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