Slovakia (2008) | Ecuador (2001) | |
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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 | 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe |
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:
35.8% (male 2,398,801; female 2,320,537) 15-64 years: 59.81% (male 3,900,193; female 3,984,797) 65 years and over: 4.39% (male 269,372; female 310,278) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp |
Airports | 35 (2007) | 180 (2000 est.) |
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:
59 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 19 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
total:
121 914 to 1,523 m: 32 under 914 m: 89 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
total:
283,560 sq km land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
Area - comparative | about twice the size of New Hampshire | slightly smaller than Nevada |
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. | The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. |
Birth rate | 10.65 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 25.99 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $33.07 billion
expenditures: $35.13 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
planned $5.1 billion (not including revenue from potential privatizations) expenditures: $5.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
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 |
Quito |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,237 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 | 10 August 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
conventional long form:
Republic of Ecuador conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 9.48 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.44 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $36.66 billion (30 June 2007) | $15 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Vincent OBSITNIK
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Gwen C. CLARE embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 562-890 FAX: [593] (2) 502-052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ivonne A-BAKI chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
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 has implemented the strict Schengen border rules | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $235 million in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004) | $695.7 million (1995) |
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 2001-07 despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 18% in 2003-04, dropped to 8.6% in 2007 but remains the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004 and will be the second of the new EU member states to adopt the euro in 2009 if it continues to meet euro adoption criteria in 2008. Despite its 2006 pre-election promises to loosen fiscal policy and reverse the previous DZURINDA government's pro-market reforms, FICO's cabinet has thus far been careful to keep a lid on spending in order to meet euro adoption criteria. The FICO government is pursuing a state-interventionist economic policy, however, and has pushed to regulate energy and food prices. | Ecuador has substantial oil resources and rich agricultural areas. Because the country exports primary products such as oil, bananas, and shrimp, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. Ecuador joined the World Trade Organization in 1996, but has failed to comply with many of its accession commitments. In recent years, growth has been uneven due to ill-conceived fiscal stabilization measures. The aftermath of El Nino and depressed oil market of 1997-98 drove Ecuador's economy into a free-fall in 1999. The beginning of 1999 saw the banking sector collapse, which helped precipitate an unprecedented default on external loans later that year. Continued economic instability drove a 70% depreciation of the currency throughout 1999, which eventually forced a desperate government to "dollarize" the currency regime in 2000. The move stabilized the currency, but did not stave off the ouster of the government. The new president, Gustavo NOBOA has yet to complete negotiations for a long sought IMF accord. He will find it difficult to push through the reforms necessary to make "dollarization" work in the long run. |
Electricity - consumption | 24.93 billion kWh (2005) | 9.386 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 11.27 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 8.005 billion kWh (2005) | 25 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 29.89 billion kWh (2005) | 10.065 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
29.51% hydro: 70.49% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Chimborazo 6,267 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes |
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:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 24.919 (2007), 29.611 (2006), 31.018 (2005), 32.257 (2004), 36.773 (2003) | sucres per US dollar - 25,000 (January 2001), 24,988.4 (2000), 11,786.8 (1999), 5,446.6 (1998), 3,988.3 (1997), 3,189.5 (1996)
note: on 7 January 2000, the government passed a decree "dollarizing" the economy; on 13 March 2000, the National Congress approved a new exchange system whereby the US dollar is adopted as the main legal tender in Ecuador for all purposes; on 20 March 2000, the Central Bank of Ecuador started to exchange sucres for US dollars at a fixed rate of 25,000 sucres per US dollar; since 30 April 2000, all transactions are denominated in US dollars |
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:
President Gustavo NOBOA Bejarano (since 22 January 2000) selected president following coup that deposed President MAHUAD; Vice President Pedro PINTO Rubianes (since 28 January 2000) elected by National Congress from a slate of candidates submitted by President NABOA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Gustavo NOBOA Bejarano (since 22 January 2000) selected president following coup that deposed President MAHUAD; Vice President Pedro PINTO Rubianes (since 28 January 2000) elected by National Congress from a slate of candidates submitted by President NABOA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term (no reelection); election last held 31 May 1998; runoff election held 12 July 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: results of the last election prior to the coup were: Jamil MAHUAD elected president; percent of vote - 51% note: a military-indigenous coup toppled democratically elected President Jamil MAHAUD on 21 January 2000; the military quickly handed power over to Vice President Gustavo NOBOA on 22 January; National Congress then elected a new vice president from a slate of candidates submitted by NOBOA; the new administration is scheduled to complete the remainder of MAHAUD's term, due to expire in January 2003 |
Exports | 77,660 bbl/day (2004) | $5.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004) | petroleum, bananas, shrimp, coffee, cocoa, cut flowers, fish |
Exports - partners | Germany 23.5%, Czech Republic 13.8%, Italy 6.5%, Poland 6.2%, Hungary 6.1%, Austria 6.1%, France 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2006) | US 37%, Colombia 5%, Italy 5%, Chile 5%, Peru 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $37.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 32.8% services: 63.8% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
14% industry: 36% services: 50% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.8% (2007 est.) | 0.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 48 40 N, 19 30 E | 2 00 S, 77 30 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 | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
43,197 km paved: 8,165 km unpaved: 35,032 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 20.9% (1996) |
lowest 10%:
2.2% highest 10%: 33.8% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market; consumer of ecstasy | significant transit country for cocaine and derivatives of coca originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; important money-laundering hub; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents |
Imports | 138,200 bbl/day (2004) | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
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) | machinery and equipment, raw materials, fuels; consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Germany 23%, Czech Republic 18.1%, Russia 11.2%, Hungary 6.1%, Austria 5.6%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.4% (2006) | US 30%, Colombia 13%, Venezuela 6%, Japan 5%, Venezuela 6%, Mexico 3% (1998) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 12% (2007 est.) | 2.4% (1997 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 | petroleum, food processing, textiles, metal work, paper products, wood products, chemicals, plastics, fishing, lumber |
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.) |
34.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2007 est.) | 96% (2000 est.) |
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, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | CAN, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 13 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,830 sq km (2003) | 5,560 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); Special Court (judges elected by a council of judges and appointed by president) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court) |
Labor force | 2.661 million (2007 est.) | 4.2 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction 9%, services 55.9% (2003) | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
total:
2,010 km border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.23%
permanent crops: 2.67% other: 68.1% (2005) |
arable land:
6% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 56% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census) | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) |
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 | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 National Congress or Congreso Nacional (121 seats; 79 members are popularly elected at-large nationally to serve four-year terms; 42 members are popularly elected by province - two per province - for four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 May 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DP 32, PSC 27, PRE 24, ID 18, P-NP 9, FRA 5, PCE 3, MPD 2, CFP 1; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.95 years
male: 71 years female: 79.11 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
71.33 years male: 68.52 years female: 74.28 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2001 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.1% male: 92% female: 88.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, south of Poland | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru |
Map references | Europe | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
claims continental shelf between mainland and Galapagos Islands territorial sea: 200 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) |
total:
30 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 233,312 GRT/385,784 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 22, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Ozbrojene Sily Slovenskej Republiky): Land Forces (Pozemne Sily), Air Forces (Vzdusne Sily) (2005) | Army (Ejercito Ecuatoriano), Navy (Armada Ecuatoriana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Ecuatoriana), National Police (Policia Nacional) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $720 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.87% (2005 est.) | 3.4% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
3,382,567 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,280,899 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
132,978 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) |
Nationality | noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
noun:
Ecuadorian(s) adjective: Ecuadorian |
Natural hazards | NA | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 6,769 km; oil 416 km (2007) | crude oil 800 km; petroleum products 1,358 km |
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 [Pal CSAKY]; 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] | Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos]; Ecuadorian Conservative Party or PCE [Sixto DURAN Ballen]; Independent National Movement or MIN [leader NA]; Pachakutik-New Country or P-NP [Rafael PANDAM]; Popular Democracy or DP [Ramiro RIVERA]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [leader NA]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Jaime NEBOT Saadi, president] |
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 | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Antonio VARGAS]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS] |
Population | 5,447,502 (July 2007 est.) | 13,183,978 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (2002) | 50% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.147% (2007 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, San Lorenzo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 392, FM 27, shortwave 29 (1998) |
Radios | - | 4.15 million (1997) |
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) |
total:
965 km narrow gauge: 965 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic 95% |
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.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters |
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 |
general assessment:
NA domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.167 million (2006) | 899,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.893 million (2006) | 160,061 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 80 (national broadcasting 6, regional 7, local 67) (2004) | 15 (including one station on the Galapagos Islands) (1997) |
Terrain | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) |
Total fertility rate | 1.33 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.6% (2007 est.) | 13%; note - widespread underemployment (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 172 km (on Danube River) (2005) | 1,500 km |