Atlantic Ocean (2004) | Slovakia (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
18.86% (male 522,563; female 498,832) 15-64 years: 69.6% (male 1,872,496; female 1,896,249) 65 years and over: 11.54% (male 236,996; female 387,801) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | - | 35 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
18 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
17 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 76.762 million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total:
48,845 sq km land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than 6.5 times the size of the US | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | In 1918 the Slovaks joined 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. Historic, political, and geographic factors have caused Slovakia to experience more difficulty in developing a modern market economy than some of its Central European neighbors. |
Birth rate | - | 10.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues:
$5.2 billion expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
Capital | - | Bratislava |
Climate | tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to November | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 111,866 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | ratified 1 September 1992, fully 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:
Slovak Republic conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | - | Slovak koruna (SKK) |
Death rate | - | 9.25 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $10.3 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | chief of mission:
Ambassador Carl SPIELVOGEL embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [421] (7) 5443-3338 FAX: [421] (7) 5443-0096 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | - | chief of mission:
Ambassador Martin BUTORA chancery: Suite 250, 2201 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; note - new chancery opening in June 2001 at International Court NW, Washington, DC telephone: [1] (202) 965-5161 FAX: [1] (202) 965-5166 |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Hungary is before the ICJ |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $421.9 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The Atlantic Ocean provides some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, the dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea). | Slovakia continues the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The economic slowdown in 1999 stemmed from large budget and current account deficits, fast-growing external debt, and persistent corruption. Even though GDP growth reached only 2.2% in 2000, the year was marked by positive developments such as foreign direct investment of $1.5 billion, strong export performance, restructuring and privatization in the banking sector, entry into the OECD, and initial efforts to stem corruption. Strong challenges face the government in 2001, especially the maintenance of fiscal balance, the further privatization of the economy, and the reduction of unemployment. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 21.471 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 930 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1.4 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | - | 22.582 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
37.56% hydro: 18.27% nuclear: 44.17% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point:
Bodrok River 94 m highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | - | Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000), Czech, Moravian, Silesian 1.1%, Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.2% (1996) |
Exchange rates | - | koruny per US dollar - 48.09 (March 2001), 46.395 (2000), 41.363 (1999), 35.233 (1998), 33.616 (1997), 30.654 (1996) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state:
President Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998) 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; election last held 29 May 1999 (next to be held NA May/June 2004); 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: Rudolf SCHUSTER elected president in the first direct, popular election; percent of vote - Rudolf SCHUSTER 57% note: government coalition - SDK, SDL, SMK, SOP, KDH |
Exports | - | $12 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | - | EU 59.7% (Germany 27.8%, Austria 8%, Italy 8.9%), Czech Republic 18.1% (1999) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | - | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $55.3 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture:
4.5% industry: 29.3% services: 66.2% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $10,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 25 00 W | 48 40 N, 19 30 E |
Geography - note | major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean | landlocked |
Highways | - | total:
17,710 km paved: 17,533 km (including 288 km of expressways) unpaved: 177 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
5.1% highest 10%: 18.2% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe |
Imports | - | $12.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) |
Imports - partners | - | EU 51.4% (Germany 26%, Italy 7.1%), Czech Republic 16.6%, Russia 11.9% (1999) |
Independence | - | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 9.3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | - | 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 | - | 8.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 12.2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | - | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | - | 800 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) |
Labor force | - | 3 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | industry 29.3%, agriculture 8.9%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8.2%, services 45.6% (1994) |
Land boundaries | - | total:
1,355 km border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 515 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 90 km |
Land use | - | arable land:
31% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 41% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | - | Slovak (official), Hungarian |
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 Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
Legislative branch | - | 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 25-26 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS 27%, SDK 26.3%, SDL 14.7%, SMK 9.1%, SNS 9.1%, SOP 8%; seats by party - governing coalition 93 (SDK 42, SDL 23, SMK 15, SOP 13), opposition 57 (HZDS 43, SNS 14) |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
73.97 years male: 69.95 years female: 78.2 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | body of water between Africa, Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western Hemisphere | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total:
3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,041 GRT/19,517 DWT ships by type: cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Civil Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $380 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.71% (FY00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,487,093 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,136,811 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
45,502 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | - | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | - | noun:
Slovak(s) adjective: Slovak |
Natural hazards | icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December) | NA |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | - | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km |
Political parties and leaders | - | Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Liberal Democratic Union or LDU [Jan BUDAJ]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Party of Civic Understanding or SOP [Pavol HAMZIK]; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Jozef MIGAS]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; note - this is DZURINDA's new party for 2002 elections; he remains chairman of a rump and splintering SDK; Slovak Democratic Coalition or SDK (loose parliamentary club grouping representing members of the smaller SSDS, SZS, and those committed to run under SDKU in 2002) [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Anna MALIKOVA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG |
Population | - | 5,414,937 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 0.13% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm (Sweden) | Bratislava, Komarno |
Radio broadcast stations | - | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.12 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
3,660 km broad gauge: 102 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1,505 km electrified; 1,011 km double track) narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (1998) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% |
Sex ratio | - | 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: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | 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: 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 | - | 1,934,558 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 736,662 (April 1999) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and coastal portions of the Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Transportation - note | Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways; significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of US | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 17% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 172 km (all on the Danube) |