Slovakia (2007) | Niue (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky kraj, Bratislavsky kraj, Kosicky kraj, Nitriansky kraj, Presovsky kraj, Trenciansky kraj, Trnavsky kraj, Zilinsky kraj | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 35 (2007) | 1 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | about twice the size of New Hampshire | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2002), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 10.65 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $25.63 billion
expenditures: $27.02 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | 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 |
Alofi |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 64 km |
Constitution | 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 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
Country name | conventional long form: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 9.48 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $28.95 billion (2006 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | 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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $235 million in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
Economy - overview | 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. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 24.93 billion kWh (2005) | 2.79 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 11.27 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 8.005 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 29.89 billion kWh (2005) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 29.611 (2006), 31.018 (2005), 32.257 (2004), 36.773 (2003), 45.327 (2002) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.162 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% |
Exports | 77,660 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004) | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | 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) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 31.6% services: 64.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2006 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 48 40 N, 19 30 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
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 | one of world's largest coral islands |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 20.9% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market; consumer of ecstasy | - |
Imports | 138,200 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 41.1%, intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%, chemicals 9.8%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003) | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | Germany 23.6%, Czech Republic 18.2%, Russia 11%, Hungary 6%, Austria 5.5%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.4% (2006) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.8% (2006 est.) | NA% |
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 | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2006 est.) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,830 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
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); Special Court (judges elected by a council of judges and appointed by president) | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 2.658 million (2006 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction 9%, services 55.9% (2003) | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
Land boundaries | total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.23%
permanent crops: 2.67% other: 68.1% (2005) |
arable land: 19.23%
permanent crops: 7.69% other: 73.08% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census) | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | 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 | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 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 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held in March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.95 years
male: 71 years female: 79.11 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2001 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Europe, south of Poland | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | 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) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Ozbrojene Sily Slovenskej Republiky): Land Forces (Pozemne Sily), Air Forces (Vzdusne Sily) (2005) | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.87% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons |
Natural resources | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 6,769 km; oil 416 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | NA |
Population | 5,447,502 (July 2007 est.) | 2,145 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (2002) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.147% (2007 est.) | 0.01% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | 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) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census) | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.167 million (2006) | 376 (1991) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.893 million (2006) | 0 (1991) |
Television broadcast stations | 80 (national broadcasting 6, regional 7, local 67) (2004) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.33 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.2% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 172 km (on Danube River) (2005) | none |