Antigua and Barbuda (2001) | Slovakia (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
27.97% (male 9,527; female 9,203) 15-64 years: 67.15% (male 22,450; female 22,519) 65 years and over: 4.88% (male 1,360; female 1,911) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 465,304/female 443,967)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 1,929,448/female 1,947,735) 65 years and over: 12% (male 244,609/female 408,385) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 36 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 18
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 18
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
Area | total:
442 sq km (Antigua 281 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km) land: 442 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda |
total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. Some 3,000 refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption on nearby Montserrat have settled in Antigua and Barbuda since 1995. | 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. |
Birth rate | 19.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$122.6 million expenditures: $141.2 million, including capital expenditures of $17.3 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $22.7 billion
expenditures: $23.2 billion (2005 est.) |
Capital | Saint John's | 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 |
Climate | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 153 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 November 1981 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
conventional long form: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 5.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $357 million (1998) | $26.94 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lionel Alexander HURST chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
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 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.3 million (1995) | $1.9 billion in committed EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | Tourism continues to be the dominant activity in the economy accounting directly or indirectly for more than half of GDP. The budding offshore financial sector has been seriously hurt by financial sanctions imposed by the US and UK as a result of the loosening of its money-laundering controls. The government has made efforts to comply with international demands in order to get the sanctions lifted. Antigua and Barbuda was listed as a tax haven by the OECD in 2000. The dual island nation's agricultural production is mainly directed to the domestic market; the sector is constrained by the limited water supply and labor shortages that reflect the pull of higher wages in tourism and construction. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for about one-third of all tourist arrivals. | Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government made excellent progress during 2001-04 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and the government has helped facilitate a foreign investment boom with business-friendly policies, such as labor market liberalization and a 19% flat tax. Foreign investment in the automotive sector has been strong. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in 2001-05, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 18% in 2003-04, dropped to 16.4% in 2005, but remains the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 88.4 million kWh (1999) | 24.8 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 10.59 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 8.731 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (1999) | 30.57 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
Environment - current issues | water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian | Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | koruny per US dollar - 31.018 (2005), 32.257 (2004), 36.773 (2003), 45.327 (2002), 48.355 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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% |
Exports | $38 million (1998) | 2,160 bbl/day NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% | vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004) |
Exports - partners | OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% | Germany 26.2%, Czech Republic 14.1%, Austria 7.1%, Italy 6.7%, Poland 6.3%, Hungary 5.7% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $533 million (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 12.5% services: 83.5% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 29.4% services: 67.2% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (1999 est.) | 6% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 03 N, 61 48 W | 48 40 N, 19 30 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys |
Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total:
1,165 km paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 20.9% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as a drug-money-laundering center | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market |
Imports | $330 million (1998) | 59,000 bbl/day bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil | machinery and transport equipment 41.1%, intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%, chemicals 9.8%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003) |
Imports - partners | US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% | Germany 25.1%, Czech Republic 19.3%, Russia 10.5%, Austria 6.1%, Poland 4.7%, Hungary 4.6%, Italy 4.5% (2005) |
Independence | 1 November 1981 (from UK) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (1997 est.) | 3.8% (2005 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) | 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 |
Infant mortality rate | 22.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (1999 est.) | 2.7% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,830 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) | 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) |
Labor force | 30,000 | 2.24 million (30 September 2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) | agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction 9%, services 55.9% (2003) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
Land use | arable land:
18% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 11% other: 62% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.23%
permanent crops: 2.67% other: 68.1% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), local dialects | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census) |
Legal system | based on English common law | 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 |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 9 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 |
unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 June 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - Smer 29.1%, SDKU 18.4%, SNS 11.7%, SMK 11.7%, LS-HZDS 8.8%, KDH 8.3%; seats by party - Smer 50, SDKU 31, SNS 20, SMK 20, LS-HZDS 15, KDH 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
70.74 years male: 68.45 years female: 73.14 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.73 years
male: 70.76 years female: 78.89 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1960 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2001 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
681 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,070,390 GRT/5,289,904 DWT ships by type: bulk 15, cargo 424, chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 4, container 176, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 29 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Germany 4, Slovenia 2 (2000 est.) |
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) |
Military branches | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes Coast Guard) | Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Ozbrojene Sily Slovenskej Republiky): Land Forces (Pozemne Sily), Air Forces (Vzdusne Sily), Training and Support Forces (Vycviku a Podpory Sily) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $406 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.87% FY05 (2005) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 November (1981) | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | noun:
Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 6,769 km; oil 416 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three opposition parties - United National Democratic Party or UNDP, Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, and Progressive Labor Movement or PLM) | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] | Federation of Employers' Associations of the Slovak Republic; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ |
Population | 66,970 (July 2001 est.) | 5,439,448 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | At-risk-of-poverty rate after social transfers: 21% |
Population growth rate | 0.74% (2001 est.) | 0.15% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint John's | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 36,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
77 km narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane) |
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) |
Religions | Anglican (predominant), other Protestant, some Roman Catholic | Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: good automatic telephone system international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 28,000 (1996) | 1.197 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,300 (1996) | 4.54 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 6 national broadcasting, 7 regional, 67 local (2004) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | 2.31 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.33 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (1999 est.) | 16.4% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | 172 km (on Danube River) (2005) |