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SLOVAKIA
Slovakia (Slovak: Slovensko) is a landlocked
republic in Central Europe. It borders the Czech Republic in the northwest,
Poland in the north, Ukraine in the east, Hungary in the south, and Austria
in the southwest.
Name
Slovakia is officially also called the Slovak Republic (in Slovak: Slovenská
republika). The short form is linguistically and historically as correct as
the long one, just like with French Republic vs. France, Republic of
Slovenia vs. Slovenia etc.
The recent
practice, especially in economic texts, of using the name Slovak Republic
instead of Slovakia, when the terms Hungary, Slovenia etc. are used in the
same text, is therefore wrong. This wrong usage arose in analogy to the use
of the term Czech Republic, but that is (partly) another problem (see Czech
Republic, Czech lands).
History
The original Slavic population settled the general territory of Slovakia in
the 5th century. Slovakia was part of the center of Samo's empire in the 7th
century. The highest point of the 9th-century proto-Slovak state known as
Great Moravia came with the arrival of Cyril and Methodius and the expansion
under King Svatopluk. Eventually, Slovakia became a part of the Kingdom of
Hungary in the 11th-14th centuries and as such was later part of Austria-Hungary.
In 1918, Slovakia joined with the regions of Bohemia and neighbouring
Moravia to form Czechoslovakia, a country that lasted until it was broken up
by the Munich Agreement of 1938. Slovakia became a separate republic that
would be tightly controlled by Nazi Germany. After World War II,
Czechoslovakia was reassembled and came under the influence of the Soviet
Union and its Warsaw Pact from 1945 onward. The end of communist rule in
Czechoslovakia in 1989 during the peaceful Velvet Revolution was followed
once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two successor states.
Slovakia and the Czech Republic went their separate ways after January 1,
1993. Slovakia became a member of the European Union in May 2004.
Politics
Slovakia joined NATO on March 29, 2004 and the EU on May 1, 2004. There were
Presidential elections in Slovakia on April 3, 2004 and April 17 2004.
The Slovak head of state is the president, elected by direct popular vote
for a five-year term. Most executive power lies with the head of government,
the prime minister, who is usually the leader of the major party or a
majority coalition in parliament and appointed by the president. The
remainder of the cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation
of the prime minister.
Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National
Council of the Slovak Republic (Národná rada Slovenskej republiky).
Delegates are elected for 4-year terms on the basis of proportional
representation. Slovakia highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court (Ústavný
súd), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are
appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by
parliament.
Administrative divisions
As for administrative division, Slovakia is subdivided into 8 "kraje"
(singular - kraj, usually translated as regions, but actually meaning rather
county), each of which is named after their principal city. As for
territorial division and the definition of self-governing entities, since
2002, Slovakia is divided into 8 "vyššie územné celky" abbr. VÚC (Higher
Territorial Units) and 8 "samosprávne kraje" (Self-governing (or: autonomous)
Regions), both of which are presently identical with the 8 "kraje":
Banska Bystrica region (Banskobystrický kraj) (see also Banska Bystrica)
Bratislava region (Bratislavský kraj) (see also Bratislava)
Kosice region (Košický kraj) (see lalso Kosice)
Nitra region (Nitriansky kraj) (see also Nitra)
Presov region (Prešovský kraj) (see also Presov)
Trencin region (Trenciansky kraj) (see also Trencin)
Trnava region (Trnavský kraj) (see also Trnava)
Zilina region (Žilinský kraj) (see also Zilina)
(the word "kraj" can be replaced by "VÚC" or "samosprávny kraj" in each
case)
The "kraje" are - and have always been - subdivided into many "okresy"
(singular - okres, usually translated as districts). Slovakia currently has
79 districts.
Geography
The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the
Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the
country. Amongst them are the high peaks of the Tatra mountains, which are a
popular skiing destination and home to many scenic lakes and valleys as well
as the highest point in Slovakia, the Gerlachovský štít at 2,655 m. Lowlands
are found in the southwestern (along the Danube) and southeastern parts of
Slovakia. Major Slovak rivers, besides the Danube, are the Váh and the Hron.
The Slovak climate is temperate, with relatively cool summers and cold,
cloudy and humid winters.
Economy
In a survey of the German Chamber of Commerce held in March 2004, as much as
50 percent of German enterpreneurs chose Slovakia as the best place for
investment.
Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally
planned economy to a modern market economy. The Dzurinda government made
progress in 2001 in macroeconomic stabilisation and structural reform. Major
privatisations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely
in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy
exceeded expectations in the early 2000s, despite recession in key export
markets.
Revival of domestic demand in 2002, partly due to a rise in real wages,
offset slowing export growth to help drive the economy to its strongest
expansion since 1998. Solid domestic demand boosted economic growth to 4.4
percent in 2002. Strong export growth, in turn, pushed economic growth to a
still-strong 4.2 percent in 2003, despite a downturn in household
consumption.
Unemployment, rising from 14.9 percent at the end of 1998 to 19.2 percent at
the end of 2001 (seasonally adjusted harmonised rate) during the radical
reforms introduced by the Dzurinda government since 1999, decreased again to
16.6 percent at the end of 2003.
Inflation dropped from an average annual rate of 12.0 percent in 2000 to
just 3.3 percent in the election year 2002, but it rose again in 2003-2004
due to necessary increases in taxes and regulated prices. Nonetheless, the
CPI is widely expected to fall below 4 percent by 2005.
In the draft budget for 2005-2007, published on 17 August 2004, Finance
Minister Ivan Mikloš announced that it is hoped that Slovakia will adopt the
Euro currency in January 2009, although the public sector deficit needs to
be cut in the draft budget from its current 3.8 percent of GDP to below 3
percent in order for this to be possible.
Demographics
The majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are ethnically Slovak (86
percent). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (10 percent) and are
concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of the country. Other
ethnic groups include Roma, Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, and
Poles.
The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of
Slovak citizens (60.3 percent) practice Roman Catholicism; the
second-largest group consider themselves atheists (9.7 percent). About 8.4
percent are Protestants, and 4.1 percent are Greek Catholic, i.e., Eastern
Catholic and some 0.9 percent are Eastern Orthodox. About 2,300 Jews remain
of the estimated pre-WWII population of 120,000. The official state language
is Slovak, a member of the Slavic languages, but Hungarian is also widely
spoken in the south and enjoys a co-official status in some regions.
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