Comoros (2001) | Slovakia (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 islands; Grande Comore (Njazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Moheli (Mwali); note - there are also four municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni, Moroni, and Moutsamoudou | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky kraj, Bratislavsky kraj, Kosicky kraj, Nitriansky kraj, Presovsky kraj, Trenciansky kraj, Trnavsky kraj, Zilinsky kraj |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
42.81% (male 127,955; female 127,267) 15-64 years: 54.26% (male 159,560; female 163,949) 65 years and over: 2.93% (male 8,326; female 9,145) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.4% (male 456,105/female 435,154)
15-64 years: 71.5% (male 1,938,846/female 1,955,382) 65 years and over: 12.2% (male 247,728/female 414,287) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra, coconuts, bananas, cassava (tapioca) | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | 4 (2000 est.) | 35 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 20
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: 10 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
Area | total:
2,170 sq km land: 2,170 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | Unstable Comoros has endured 19 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1975. In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared their independence from Comoros. In 1999, military chief Col. AZALI seized power. He has pledged to resolve the secessionist crisis through the 2000 Fomboni Accord, a confederal arrangement that the Organization of African Unity has yet to recognize. | 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 | 39.52 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.65 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$48 million expenditures: $53 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997) |
revenues: $25.63 billion
expenditures: $27.02 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Moroni | 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; rainy season (November to May) | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 340 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 20 October 1996 | 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:
Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros conventional short form: Comoros local long form: Republique Federale Islamique des Comores local short form: Comores |
conventional long form: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | Comoran franc (KMF) | - |
Death rate | 9.35 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.48 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $197 million (1997 est.) | $28.95 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Comoros; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Comoros | 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) 5441-8861 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Deputy Permanent Representative Mahmoud Mohamed ABOUD (acting) chancery: (temporary) care of the Permanent Mission of the Federal and Islamic Republic of the Comoros to the United Nations, 420 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022 telephone: [1] (212) 972-8010 FAX: [1] (212) 983-4712 |
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 | claims French-administered Mayotte; the island of Anjouan (Nzwani) has moved to secede from Comoros | bilateral government, legal, technical and economic working group negotiations continued in 2006 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 | $28.1 million (1997) | $235 million in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004) |
Economy - overview | One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, is the leading sector of the economy. It contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main staple, accounts for the bulk of imports. The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population growth rate. Continued foreign support is essential if the goal of 4% annual GDP growth is to be met. Remittances from 150,000 Comorans abroad help supplement GDP. | 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 2001-06 despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 18% in 2003-04, dropped to 10.2% in 2006 but remains the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 15.8 million kWh (1999) | 24.93 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 11.27 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 8.005 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 17 million kWh (1999) | 29.89 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
88.24% hydro: 11.76% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Le Kartala 2,360 m |
lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation and erosion results from crop cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava | Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Comoran francs per US dollar - 524.41 (January 2001), 533.98 (2000), 461.77 (1999), 442.46 (1998), 437.75 (1997), 383.66 (1996)
note: prior to January 1999, the official rate was pegged to the French franc at 75 Comoran francs per French franc; since 1 January 1999, the Comoran franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comoran francs per euro |
koruny per US dollar - 29.611 (2006), 31.018 (2005), 32.257 (2004), 36.773 (2003), 45.327 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President AZALI Assoumani (since 6 May 1999); note - the interim government of President Tajiddine Ben Said MASSOUNDE, which had assumed power on 6 November 1998 upon the death of President Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim, was overthrown in a bloodless coup on 30 April 1999 head of government: Prime Minister Hamada MADI (since late November 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 6 and 16 March 1996 (next to be held NA); prime minister appointed by the president note: President AZALI claimed a one-year term at the time of the coup; but elections, promised for spring 2000, were not held election results: results of the last presidential election before the coup were: Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim elected president; percent of vote - 64.3% |
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 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 in 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 | $7.9 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | 77,660 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra | vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004) |
Exports - partners | France 50%, Germany 25% (1998) | Germany 23.7%, Czech Republic 14.1%, Italy 6.5%, Poland 6.2%, Austria 6%, Hungary 5.8%, France 4.3%, Netherlands 4.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | green with a white crescent in the center of the field, its points facing downward; there are four white five-pointed stars placed in a line between the points of the crescent; the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by Comoros); the design, the most recent of several, is described in the constitution approved by referendum on 7 June 1992 | 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 - $419 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 4% services: 56% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 31.6% services: 64.8% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $720 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2000 est.) | 8.3% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 10 S, 44 15 E | 48 40 N, 19 30 E |
Geography - note | important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel | 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 (2007) |
Highways | total:
880 km paved: 673 km unpaved: 207 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 20.9% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market; consumer of ecstasy |
Imports | $55.1 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) | 138,200 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods; petroleum products, cement, transport equipment | 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 | France 38%, Pakistan 13%, South Africa 8%, Kenya 8% (1998) | Germany 23.6%, Czech Republic 18.2%, Russia 11%, Hungary 6%, Austria 5.5%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | 6 July 1975 (from France) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (1999 est.) | 7.8% (2006 est.) |
Industries | tourism, perfume distillation, textiles, furniture, jewelry, construction materials, soft drinks | 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 | 84.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 7.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.5% (1999) | 4.5% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, CCC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, InOC, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTrO (applicant) | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, 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, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,830 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supremes (two members appointed by the president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one elected by the Council of each island, and others are former presidents of the republic) | 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 | 144,500 (1996 est.) | 2.658 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% | 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:
35% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 18% other: 30% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 29.23%
permanent crops: 2.67% other: 68.1% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census) |
Legal system | French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code | 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 legislature consists of the Senate (15 seats: five from each island); members selected by regional councils for six-year terms) and a Federal Assembly or Assemblee Federale (43 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - the Federal Assembly was dissolved following the coup of 30 April 1999
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 1 and 8 December 1996 (next to be held NA) election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RND 39, FNJ 3, independent 1 note: the constitution stipulates that only parties that win six seats in the Federal Assembly (two from each island) are permitted to be in opposition, but if no party accomplishes that, the second most successful party will be in opposition; in the elections of December 1996 the FNJ appeared to qualify as opposition |
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 in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - Smer 29.1%, SDKU 18.4%, SMK 11.7%, SNS 11.7%, LS-HZDS 8.8%, KDH 8.3%, other 12%; seats by party - Smer 50, SDKU 31, SMK 20, SNS 19, LS-HZDS 16, KDH 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
60.41 years male: 58.2 years female: 62.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.95 years
male: 71 years female: 79.11 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.3% male: 64.2% female: 50.4% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2001 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, group of islands in the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,122 GRT/29,817 DWT ships by type: cargo 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 260,766 GRT/361,651 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 45, refrigerated cargo 3 foreign-owned: 46 (Bulgaria 7, Estonia 2, Greece 4, Israel 6, Italy 1, Poland 2, Syria 2, Turkey 11, Ukraine 10, UK 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Comoran Security Force | Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Ozbrojene Sily Slovenskej Republiky): Land Forces (Pozemne Sily), Air Forces (Vzdusne Sily) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.87% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
141,120 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
83,920 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 July (1975) | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | noun:
Comoran(s) adjective: Comoran |
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
Natural hazards | cyclones possible during rainy season (December to April); Le Kartala on Grand Comore is an active volcano | NA |
Natural resources | NEGL | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 6,769 km; oil 416 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Front National pour la Justice or FNJ (Islamic party in opposition) [Ahmed Abdallah MOHAMED, Ahmed ABOUBACAR, Soidiki M'BAPANOZA]; Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND (party of the government) [Ali Bazi SELIM] | Parties in the Parliament: Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert FICO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia or LS-HZDS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU-DS [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Jan SLOTA]; Parties outside the Parliament: Agrarian Party of the Provinces or ASV [Jozef VASKEBA]; Civic Conservative Party or OKS [Peter TATAR]; Free Forum [Zuzana MARTINAKOVA]; Hope or NADEJ [Alexandra NOVOTNA]; Left-wing Bloc or LB [Jozef KALMAN]; Mission 21 - New Christian Democracy or MISIA 21 [Ivan SIMKO]; Movement for Democracy or HZD [Jozef GRAPA]; New Citizens Alliance or ANO [Pavol RUSKO]; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Ladislav KOZMON]; Prosperita Slovenska or PS [Frantisek A. ZVRSKOVEC]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [Vladimir DADO]; Slovak National Coalition or SLNKO [Vitazoslav MORIC]; Slovak People's Party or SLS [Jozef SASIK]; Union of the Workers of Slovakia or ZRS [Jan LUPTAK] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Federation of Employers' Associations of the Slovak Republic; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; National Union of Employers or RUZ; Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry or SOPK; Entrepreneurs Association of Slovakia or ZPS; The Business Alliance of Slovakia or PAS |
Population | 596,202 (July 2001 est.) | 5,447,502 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 21% (2002) |
Population growth rate | 3.02% (2001 est.) | 0.147% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fomboni, Moroni, Moutsamoudou | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 90,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 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) (2006) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 98%, Roman Catholic 2% | Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.992 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.598 male(s)/female total population: 0.942 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
sparse system of microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communication stations domestic: HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay international: HF radiotelephone communications to Madagascar and Reunion |
general assessment: Slovakia has a modern telecommunications system that has expanded dramatically in recent years with the growth in cellular services
domestic: analog system is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; 3 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,000 (1997) | 1.167 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 4.893 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1998) | 80 (national broadcasting 6, regional 7, local 67) (2004) |
Terrain | volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | 5.32 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.33 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (1996 est.) | 10.2% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | 172 km (on Danube River) (2005) |