Slovakia




                                 Geography


Location:
     Central Europe, between Hungary and Poland
Map references:
     Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the
     World
Area:
total area:
     48,845 sq km
land area:
     48,800 sq km
comparative area:
     about twice the size of New Hampshire
Land boundaries:
     total 1,355 km, Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 515 km,
     Poland 444 km, Ukraine 90 km
Coastline:
     0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
     none; landlocked
International disputes:
     Gabcikovo Dam dispute with Hungary; unresolved property issues with
     Czech Republic over redistribution of former Czechoslovak federal
     property
Climate:
     temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Terrain:
     rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the
     south
Natural resources:
     brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and
     manganese ore; salt
Land use:
arable land:
     NA%
permanent crops:
     NA%
meadows and pastures:
     NA%
forest and woodland:
     NA%
other:
     NA%
Irrigated land:
     NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
     acid rain damaging forests
natural hazards:
     NA




international agreements:
     party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
     Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Environmental Modification,
     Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
     Protection; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental
     Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note:
     landlocked


                                  People


Population:
     5,403,505 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.53% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     14.55 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     9.28 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     10.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     72.81 years
male:
     68.66 years
female:
     77.2 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     1.96 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Slovak(s)
adjective:
     Slovak
Ethnic divisions:
     Slovak 85.6%, Hungarian 10.8%, Gypsy 1.5% (the 1992 census figures
     underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which could reach 500,000 or
     more), Czech 1.1%, Ruthenian 15,000, Ukrainian 13,000, Moravian 6,000,
     German 5,000, Polish 3,000
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%,
     other 17.5%
Languages:
     Slovak (official), Hungarian
Literacy:
total population:
     NA%
male:
     NA%
female:
     NA%




Labor force:
     2.484 million
by occupation:
     industry 33.2%, agriculture 12.2%, construction 10.3%, communication
     and other 44.3% (1990)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Slovak Republic
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Slovenska Republika
local short form:
     Slovensko
Digraph:
     LO
Type:
     parliamentary democracy
Capital:
     Bratislava
Administrative divisions:
     4 departments (kraje, singular - Kraj) Bratislava, Zapadoslovensky,
     Stredoslovensky, Vychodoslovensky
Independence:
     1 January 1993 (from Czechoslovakia)
National holiday:
     Anniversary of Slovak National Uprising, August 29 (1944)
Constitution:
     ratified 1 September 1992; fully effective 1 January 1993
Legal system:
     civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted
     compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the
     obligations of Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)
     and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     President Michal KOVAC (since 8 February 1993); election last held 8
     February 1993 (next to be held NA 1998); results - Michal KOVAC
     elected by the National Council
head of government:
     Prime Minister Jozef MORAVCIK (since 16 March 1994)
cabinet:
     Cabinet; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime
     minister
Legislative branch:
     unicameral




National Council (Narodni Rada):
     elections last held 5-6 June 1992 (next to be held 31
     September-1October 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats
     - (150 total) Movement for a Democratic Slovakia 55, Party of the
     Democratic Left 28, Christian Democratic Movement 18, Slovak National
     Party 9, National Democratic Party 5, Hungarian Christian Democratic
     Movement/Coexistence 14, Democratic Union of Slovakia 16, independents
     5
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
     Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, Vladimir MECIAR, chairman; Party
     of the Democratic Left, Peter WEISS, chairman; Christian Democratic
     Movement, Jan CARNOGURSKY; Slovak National Party, Jan SLOTA, chairman;
     Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement, Vojtech BUGAR; National
     Democratic Party - New Alternative, Ludovit CERNAK, chairman;
     Democratic Union of Slovakia, Jozef MORAVCIK, chairman; Coexistence
     Movement, Miklos DURAY, chairman
Other political or pressure groups:
     Green Party; Social Democratic Party in Slovakia; Freedom Party;
     Slovak Christian Union; Hungarian Civic Party
Member of:
     BIS, CCC, CE (guest), CEI, CERN, COCOM (cooperating), CSCE, EBRD, ECE,
     FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
     INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
     LORCS, NACC, NSG, PCA, UN (as of 8 January 1993), UNAVEM II, UNCTAD,
     UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMUR, UNPROFOR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador-designate Bravislav LICHARDUS
chancery:
     (temporary) Suite 330, 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone:
     (202) 965-5161
FAX:
     (202) 965-5166
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassdor Theodore RUSSELL
embassy:
     Hviezdoslavovo Namesite 4, 81102 Bratislava
mailing address:
     use embassy street address
telephone:
     [42] (7) 330-861
FAX:
     [42] (7) 335-439
Flag:
     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


                                  Economy




Overview:
     The dissolution of Czechoslovakia into two independent states - the
     Czech Republic and Slovakia - on 1 January 1993 has complicated the
     task of moving toward a more open and decentralized economy. The old
     Czechoslovakia, even though highly industrialized by East European
     standards, suffered from an aging capital plant, lagging technology,
     and a deficiency in energy and many raw materials. In January 1991,
     approximately one year after the end of communist control of Eastern
     Europe, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic launched a sweeping
     program to convert its almost entirely state-owned and controlled
     economy to a market system. In 1991-92 these measures resulted in
     privatization of some medium- and small-scale economic activity and
     the setting of more than 90% of prices by the market - but at a cost
     in inflation, unemployment, and lower output. For Czechoslovakia as a
     whole inflation in 1991 was roughly 50% and output fell 15%. In 1992
     in Slovakia, inflation slowed to an estimated 8.7% and the estimated
     fall in GDP was a more moderate 7%. In 1993 GDP fell roughly 5%, with
     the disruptions from the separation from the Czech lands probably
     accounting for half the decline; exports to the Czech Republic fell
     about 35%. Bratislava adopted an austerity program in June and
     devalued its currency 10% in July. In 1993, inflation rose an
     estimated 23%, unemployment topped 14%, and the budget deficit
     exceeded the IMF target of $485 million by over $200 million. By
     yearend 1993 Bratislava estimated that 29% of GDP was being produced
     in the private sector. The forecast for 1994 is gloomy; Bratislava
     optimistically projects no growth in GDP, 17% unemployment, a $425
     million budget deficit, and 12% inflation. At best, if Slovakia stays
     on track with the IMF, GDP could fall by only 2-3% in 1994 and
     unemployment could be held under 18%, but a currency devaluation will
     likely drive inflation above 15%.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $31 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     -5% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $5,800 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     23% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     14.4% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $4.5 billion
expenditures:
     $5.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports:
     $5.13 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities:
     machinery and transport equipment; chemicals; fuels, minerals, and
     metals; agricultural products
partners:
     Czech Republic, CIS republics, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary,
     Italy, France, US, UK
Imports:
     $5.95 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)




commodities:
     machinery and transport equipment; fuels and lubricants; manufactured
     goods; raw materials; chemicals; agricultural products
partners:
     Czech Republic, CIS republics, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland,
     Hungary, UK, Italy
External debt:
     $3.2 billion hard currency indebtedness (31 December 1993)
Industrial production:
     growth rate -13.5% (December 1993 over December 1992)
Electricity:
capacity:
     6,800,000 kW
production:
     24 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     4,550 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     brown coal mining, chemicals, metal-working, consumer appliances,
     fertilizer, plastics, armaments
Agriculture:
     largely self-sufficient in food production; diversified crop and
     livestock production, including grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops,
     fruit, hogs, cattle, and poultry; exporter of forest products
Illicit drugs:
     transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western
     Europe
Economic aid:
donor:
     the former Czechoslovakia was a donor - $4.2 billion in bilateral aid
     to non-Communist less developed countries (1954-89)
Currency:
     1 koruna (Sk) = 100 halierov
Exchange rates:
     koruny (Sk) per US$1 - 32.9 (December 1993), 28.59 (December 1992),
     28.26 (1992), 29.53 (1991), 17.95 (1990), 15.05 (1989); note - values
     before 1993 reflect Czechoslovak exchange rate
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     3,669 km total (1990)
Highways:
total:
     17,650 km (1990)
paved:
     NA
unpaved:
     NA
Inland waterways:
     NA km
Pipelines:
     petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km




Ports:
     maritime outlets are in Poland (Gdynia, Gdansk, Szczecin), Croatia
     (Rijeka), Slovenia (Koper), Germany (Hamburg, Rostock); principal
     river ports are Komarno on the Danube and Bratislava on the Danube
Merchant marine:
     total 19 (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 309,502 GRT/521,997 DWT, bulk
     13, cargo 6
note:
     most under the flag of Saint Vincent
Airports:
total:
     46
usable:
     32
with permanent-surface runways:
     7
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     6
with runways 1,060-2,439 m:
     18
note:
     a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications:
     NA


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense, Railroad Units
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 1,426,290; fit for military service 1,095,604; reach
     military age (18) annually 48,695 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     8.2 billion koruny, NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of
     defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate
     could produce misleading results