Denmark (2006) | Slovakia (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 boroughs* (amtskommuner, singular - amtskommune); Arhus, Bornholm, Frederiksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavn (Copenhagen)*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: as a result of an extensive 2005 local government reform, with 2006 being a transition year, 275 municipalities will be merged to 99 by 1 January 2007, and the 14 counties will be reorganized into five regions |
8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.7% (male 523,257/female 496,697)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,815,240/female 1,787,406) 65 years and over: 15.2% (male 355,656/female 472,405) (2006 est.) |
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 | barley, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets; pork, dairy products; fish | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products |
Airports | 92 (2006) | 35 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
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: 64
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 61 (2006) |
total:
17 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
total:
48,845 sq km land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts | about twice the size of New Hampshire |
Background | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the general political and economic integration of Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973. However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues concerning certain justice and home affairs. | 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 | 11.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $144 billion
expenditures: $135 billion; including capital expenditures of $4.6 billion (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$5.2 billion expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
Capital | name: Copenhagen
geographic coordinates: 55 40 N, 12 35 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 |
Bratislava |
Climate | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 7,314 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 5 June 1849 adoption of original constitution; a major overhaul of 5 June 1953 allowed for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state | 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: Kingdom of Denmark
conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
conventional long form:
Slovak Republic conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
Currency | - | Slovak koruna (SKK) |
Death rate | 10.36 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.25 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $352.9 billion (30 June 2005) | $10.3 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James P. CAIN
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 33 41 71 00 FAX: [45] 35 43 02 23 |
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 Friis Arne PETERSEN
chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York |
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 | Iceland disputes the Faroe Islands' fisheries median line; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm; Faroese continue to study proposals for full independence; uncontested sovereignty dispute with Canada over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland | Gabcikovo/Nagymaros Dam dispute with Hungary is before the ICJ |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $2 billion (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $421.9 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, a stable currency, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and enjoys a comfortable balance of payments surplus. Government objectives include streamlining the bureaucracy and further privatization of state assets. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark has decided not to join 12 other EU members in the euro. Nonetheless, the Danish krone remains pegged to the euro. Economic growth gained momentum in 2004 and the upturn accelerated through 2005. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish people enjoy living standards topped by no other nation. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees. | 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 | 31.68 billion kWh (2003) | 21.471 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 15.6 billion kWh (2003) | 930 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 7 billion kWh (2003) | 1.4 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 43.32 billion kWh (2003) | 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: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
lowest point:
Bodrok River 94 m highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides | 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-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, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali | 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 | Danish kroner per US dollar - 5.9969 (2005), 5.9911 (2004), 6.5877 (2003), 7.8947 (2002), 8.3228 (2001) | 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: Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968)
head of government: Prime Minister Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN (since 27 November 2001) cabinet: Council of State appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch |
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 | 332,100 bbl/day (2001) | $12 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills | machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999) |
Exports - partners | Germany 17.5%, Sweden 13.2%, UK 8.8%, US 6.4%, France 5.5%, Netherlands 5.3%, Norway 5.1% (2005) | EU 59.7% (Germany 27.8%, Austria 8%, Italy 8.9%), Czech Republic 18.1% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden | 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: 1.8%
industry: 24.6% services: 73.5% (2005 est.) |
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 | 3.2% (2005 est.) | 2.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 56 00 N, 10 00 E | 48 40 N, 19 30 E |
Geography - note | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen | 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%: 2%
highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
lowest 10%:
5.1% highest 10%: 18.2% (1992) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe |
Imports | 195,000 bbl/day (2001) | $12.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Germany 20.5%, Sweden 13.8%, Norway 6.6%, Netherlands 6.6%, UK 6%, China 4.7%, France 4.2%, Italy 4.1% (2005) | EU 51.4% (Germany 26%, Italy 7.1%), Czech Republic 16.6%, Russia 11.9% (1999) |
Independence | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.6% (2005 est.) | 9.3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | iron, steel, nonferrous metals, chemicals, food processing, machinery and transportation equipment, textiles and clothing, electronics, construction, furniture and other wood products, shipbuilding and refurbishment, windmills, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment | 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 | total: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
8.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2005 est.) | 12.2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | 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 | 4,490 sq km (2003) | 800 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) | 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 | 2.9 million (2005 est.) | 3 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 3%
industry: 21% services: 76% (2004 est.) |
industry 29.3%, agriculture 8.9%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8.2%, services 45.6% (1994) |
Land boundaries | total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km |
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: 52.59%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 47.22% (2005) |
arable land:
31% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 41% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Slovak (official), Hungarian |
Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | 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 People's Assembly or Folketinget (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held February 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 29%, Social Democrats 25.9%, Danish People's Party 13.2%, Conservative Party 10.3%, Social Liberal Party 9.2%, Socialist People's Party 6%, Unity List 3.4%; seats by party - Liberal Party 52, Social Democrats 47, Danish People's Party 24, Conservative Party 18, Social Liberal Party 17, Socialist People's Party 11, Unity List 6; note - does not include the 2 seats from Greenland and the 2 seats from the Faroe Islands |
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: 77.79 years
male: 75.49 years female: 80.22 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
73.97 years male: 69.95 years female: 78.2 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaelland and Fyn) | Central Europe, south of Poland |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 293 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,986,735 GRT/9,936,431 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 63, chemical tanker 48, container 86, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 2, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 23, refrigerated cargo 7, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 4 foreign-owned: 25 (Canada 1, Germany 13, Greece 5, Greenland 1, Norway 3, Sweden 1, UK 1) registered in other countries: 409 (Antigua and Barbuda 14, Bahamas 59, Belgium 4, Cayman Islands 5, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Estonia 2, France 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Gibraltar 1, Hong Kong 6, Isle of Man 53, North Korea 1, Liberia 8, Lithuania 10, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Mexico 2, Netherlands 9, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 32, Panama 34, Portugal 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 14, Singapore 52, South Africa 1, Spain 1, Sweden 4, UK 46, US 24, Vanuatu 6, Venezuela 3, Vietnam 1) (2006) |
total:
3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,041 GRT/19,517 DWT ships by type: cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Defense Command: Army Operational Command, Admiral Danish Fleet, Tactical Air Command (2006) | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Civil Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3,271.6 million (2003) | $380 million (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2004) | 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 | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June (1849) is generally viewed as the National Day | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
Nationality | noun: Dane(s)
adjective: Danish |
noun:
Slovak(s) adjective: Slovak |
Natural hazards | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel and sand | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land |
Net migration rate | 2.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 12 km; gas 3,931 km; oil 626 km; oil/gas/water 2 km (2006) | petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democrats (was Christian People's Party) [Bodil KORNBEK]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership]; Social Democratic Party [Helle THORNING-SCHMIDT]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Soren BALD, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Villy SOEVNDAL] | 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 | NA | 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 | 5,450,661 (July 2006 est.) | 5,414,937 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.33% (2006 est.) | 0.13% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bratislava, Komarno |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.12 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,673 km
standard gauge: 2,673 km 1.435-m gauge (601 km electrified) (2005) |
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 | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslim 2% | Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: country code - 45; 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and UK; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997) |
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 | 3.35 million (2005) | 1,934,558 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5.469 million (2005) | 736,662 (April 1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) | 38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low and flat to gently rolling plains | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south |
Total fertility rate | 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.25 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (2005 est.) | 17% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 400 km (2001) | 172 km (all on the Danube) |