Compare Sri Lanka (2008) - Slovakia (2003)

Compare Sri Lanka (2008) z Slovakia (2003)

	Sri Lanka (2008)	Slovakia (2003)

Administrative divisions	8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western note: in October 2006, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending	8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky
Age structure	0-14 years: 24.3% (male 2,596,295/female 2,495,949) 15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,947,310/female 7,259,271) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 765,507/female 861,983) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 17.8% (male 495,316; female 471,823) 15-64 years: 70.5% (male 1,903,335; female 1,924,065) 65 years and over: 11.7% (male 238,912; female 396,582) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products	rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish	grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products
Airports	18 (2007)	37 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 14 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)	total: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 9 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007)	total: 17 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2002)
Area	total: 65,610 sq km land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km	total: 48,845 sq km land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than West Virginia	about twice the size of New Hampshire
Background	The first Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty established a Tamil kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. The coastal areas of the island were controlled by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century. The island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006 and the government regained control of the Eastern Province in 2007. In January 2008, the government officially withdrew from the ceasefire, and has begun engaging the LTTE in the northern portion of the country.	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. Slovakia was invited to join NATO and the EU in 2002.
Birth rate	17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	10.1 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget	revenues: $5.379 billion expenditures: $7.611 billion (2007 est.)	revenues: $5.2 billion expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999)
Capital	name: Colombo geographic coordinates: 6 56 N, 79 51 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital)	Bratislava
Climate	tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)	temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Coastline	1,340 km	0 km (landlocked)
Constitution	adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978	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: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka conventional short form: Sri Lanka local long form: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu local short form: Shri Lamka/Ilankai former: Serendib, Ceylon	conventional long form: Slovak Republic conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko
Currency	-	Slovak koruna (SKK)
Death rate	6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external	$13.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.)	$9.6 billion (2002 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert O. BLAKE, Jr. embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345	chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald WEISER embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338 FAX: [421] (2) 5441-5148
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard GOONETILLEKE chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Rastislav KACER chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438
Disputes - international	none	small boundary changes made with Poland in 2003; Hungary has yet to amend status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, who protest the law
Economic aid - recipient	$1.189 billion (2005)	ODA $113 million (2000),; $92 million EU structural adjustment funds (2000 est.)
Economy - overview	In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies, export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment. Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already enormous civil service. The government has halted privatizations. Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception of a recession in 2001. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. Government spending and reconstruction drove growth to more than 7% in 2006 but reduced agriculture output probably slowed growth to about 6 percent in 2007. Government spending and lose monetary policy drove inflation to 16% in 2007. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2006, plantation crops made up only about 15% of exports (compared with more than 90% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% of them in the Middle East. They send home more than $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for an independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy.	Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government has made excellent progress in 2001-03 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in 2001-03, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003, remains the economy's Achilles heel. The government faces other strong challenges in 2004, especially the cutting of budget and current account deficits, the containment of inflation, and the strengthening of the health care system.
Electricity - consumption	7.072 billion kWh (2005)	24.41 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	5.141 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	1.381 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	8.411 billion kWh (2005)	30.29 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	-	fossil fuel: 30.3% hydro: 16% nuclear: 53.6% other: 0% (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m	lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m
Environment - current issues	deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo	air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation	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, Desertification, 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	Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)	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	Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 110.78 (2007), 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003)	koruny per US dollar - 45.33 (2002), 48.35 (2001), 46.04 (2000), 41.36 (1999), 35.23 (1998)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds the largely ceremonial title of prime minister head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSA 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3%	chief of state: President Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Pavol RUSKO (since 24 September 2003) 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%; Mikulas DZURINDA reelected prime minister October 2002 note: government coalition - SDKU, SMK, KDH, ANO
Exports	691.5 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish	machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999)
Exports - partners	US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7%, Germany 4.3% (2006)	Germany 30.1%, Czech Republic 16.4%, Austria 10.7%, Italy 7.2%, Poland 5.7%, Hungary 4.6% (2002)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels	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 - $67.34 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 16.3% industry: 27% services: 56.6% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 4.5% industry: 34.1% services: 61.4% (2000)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $12,400 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	6% (2007 est.)	4.4% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates	7 00 N, 81 00 E	48 40 N, 19 30 E
Geography - note	strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes	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 (2002)
Highways	-	total: 42,717 km paved: 37,036 km (including 296 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,681 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 39.7% (FY03/04)	lowest 10%: 5.1% highest 10%: 18.2% (1992)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market
Imports	82,390 bbl/day (2004)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment	machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999)
Imports - partners	India 19.5%, China 10.4%, Singapore 8.7%, Iran 5.6%, Malaysia 5%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4% (2006)	Germany 24.8%, Czech Republic 16%, Russia 13.5%, Austria 7%, Italy 6.4%, France 4% (2002)
Independence	4 February 1948 (from UK)	1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Industrial production growth rate	6.4% (2007 est.)	4.4% (2002 est.)
Industries	processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining	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: 19.45 deaths/1,000 live births male: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 8.55 deaths/1,000 live births male: 9.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	15.6% (2007 est.)	3.3% (2002 est.)
International organization participation	ADB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	6 (2000)
Irrigated land	7,430 sq km (2003)	1,740 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president	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	7.67 million (2007 est.)	3 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 34.3% industry: 25.3% services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 est.)	industry 29.3%, agriculture 8.9%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8.2%, services 45.6% (1994)
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: 13.96% permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005)	arable land: 30.74% permanent crops: 2.64% other: 66.62% (1998 est.)
Languages	Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population	Slovak (official), Hungarian
Legal system	a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Kandyan, and Jaffna Tamil law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	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 Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of an open-list, proportional representation system by electoral district to serve six-year terms) elections: last held on 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1	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 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, SMER 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 78 (SDKU 28, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 15), opposition 72 (HZDS 36, SMER 25, KSS 11) (as of February 2003, 12 deputies had split from HZDS and formed an independent faction)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 74.8 years male: 72.81 years female: 76.88 years (2007 est.)	total population: 74.43 years male: 70.44 years female: 78.64 years (2003 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.7% male: 92.3% female: 89.1% (2001 census)	definition: NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Location	Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India	Central Europe, south of Poland
Map references	Asia	Europe
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	none (landlocked)
Merchant marine	total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 162,280 GRT/227,478 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 18, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 6 (Germany 6) registered in other countries: 3 (Panama 3) (2007)	total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 11,574 GRT/16,330 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1 (2002 est.)
Military branches	Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006)	Army (Ground Forces), Air and Air Defense Forces, Home Guards (Territorial Defense Forces), Civil Defense Force, Railway Armed Forces (subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation, Post, and Telecommunications)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$406 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.6% (2006)	1.89% (2002)
Military manpower - availability	-	males age 15-49: 1,484,950 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	-	males age 15-49: 1,135,612 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age	-	18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	-	males: 44,287 (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 4 February (1948)	Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)
Nationality	noun: Sri Lankan(s) adjective: Sri Lankan	noun: Slovak(s) adjective: Slovak
Natural hazards	occasional cyclones and tornadoes	NA
Natural resources	limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower	brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land
Net migration rate	-1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines	-	gas 6,769 km; oil 449 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders	All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [G.PONNAMBALAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP [Tissa VITHARANA]; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Ellawala METHANANDA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]	Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Democratic Party or DS [Ludovit KANIK]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; New Citizens Alliance or ANO [Pavol RUSKO]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [Jozef SEVC]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Jan SLOTA]
Political pressure groups and leaders	Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) or "Karuna group" [Vinayagamurthi MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting LTTE)	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	20,926,315 note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2007 est.)	5,430,033 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	22% (2002 est.)	NA%
Population growth rate	0.982% (2007 est.)	0.14% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Bratislava, Komarno
Radio broadcast stations	AM 15, FM 52, shortwave 4 (2007)	AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998)
Railways	total: 1,449 km broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2006)	total: 3,668 km broad gauge: 106 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,511 km 1.435-m gauge (1,567 km electrified) narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (2002)
Religions	Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)	Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.957 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.888 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: telephone services have improved significantly and are available in most parts of the country domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and 2 fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems and mobile cellular subscribership is increasing; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density is about 50 per 100 inhabitants international: country code - 94; the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, Australia, Middle East, Europe, US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)	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	2.742 million (2007)	1,934,558 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular	7.983 million (2007)	736,662 (April 1999)
Television broadcast stations	14 (2006)	38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior	rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south
Total fertility rate	2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)	1.25 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate	6.3% (2007 est.)	17.2% (2002 est.)
Waterways	160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006)	172 km (all on the Danube)

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