SLOVAKIA

Slovak Republic
Slovenska Republika

CAPITAL: Bratislava

FLAG: Horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with a crest of a white double cross on three blue mountains.

ANTHEM: Nad Tatru sa blyska (Over Tatra it lightens).

MONETARY UNIT: The currency of the Slovak Republic is the Slovak koruna (sk) consisting of 100 hellers, which replaced the Czechoslovak Koruna (kcs) on 8 February 1993. There are coins of 10, 20, and 50 hellers and 1, 2, 5, and 10 korun, and notes of 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 korun. sk1 = $0.03333 (or $1 = sk30) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; May Day, 1 May; Anniversary of Liberation, 8 May; Day of the Slav Apostles, 5 July; Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising, 29 August; Reconciliation Day, 1 November; Christmas, 24–26 December. Movable holiday is Easter Monday.

TIME: 1 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Slovakia is a landlocked country located in Eastern Europe. Comparatively, it is about twice the size of the state of New Hampshire with a total area of 48,845 sq km (18,859 sq mi). Slovakia shares boundaries with Poland on the n, Ukraine on the e, Hungary on the s, and Austria and the Czech Republic on the w, and has a total boundary length of 1,355 km (842 mi). Slovakia's capital city, Bratislava, is located on the southwestern border of the country.

TOPOGRAPHY

The topography of Slovakia features rugged mountains in the central and northern part of the country, and lowlands in the south. The High Tatras (Tatry) mountains along the Polish border are interspersed between many lakes and deep valleys. The highest peak in the country, Gerlachovsy, is found in the High Tatras with an elevation of 2,655 m (8,711 ft). Bratislava is situated in Slovakia's only substantial region of plains, where the Danube River forms part of the border with Hungary.

CLIMATE

Slovakia's climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. In July the mean temperature is 21°c (70°f). January's mean temperature is -1°c (30°f). Rainfall averages roughly 49 cm (19.3 in) a year and can exceed 200 cm (80 in) annually in the High Tatras.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Some original steppe grassland areas can be found in the south-western lowland region, where marsh grasses and reeds are also abundant. While oak is a primary tree found in the lowlands, beech, spruce, pine, and mountain maple are found on mountain slopes. Alpine meadows include carnations, glacial gentians, and edelweiss. The High Tatras support the growth of many types of moss, lichens, and fungi. Mammals found in the country include fox, rabbits, and wild pig. A wide variety of birds inhabit the valleys of Slovakia. Carp, pike, and trout are found in the country's rivers, lakes, and streams. As of 2002, there were at least 85 species of mammals, 199 species of birds, and over 3,100 species of plants throughout the country.

ENVIRONMENT

Like the Czech Republic, Slovakia has had its air contaminated by sulfur dioxide emissions resulting from the use of lignite as an energy source by the former Czechoslovakia, which once had the highest levels of sulfur dioxide emissions in Europe. Slovakia instituted a program to reduce pollution in the late 1980s. Air pollution by metallurgical plants endangers human health as well as the environment, and lung cancer is prevalent in areas with the highest pollution levels. Airborne emissions in the form of acid rain, combined with air pollution from Poland and the former German Democratic Republic, have damaged Slovakia's forests. Land erosion caused by agricultural and mining practices is also a significant problem.

There are 13 Ramsar wetland sites in the country and 2 natural UNESCO World Heritage sites. According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), threatened species included 7 types of mammals, 11 species of birds, 1 type of reptiles, 8 species of fish, 6 types of mollusks, 13 species of other invertebrates, and 2 species of plants. Threatened species include the Danube salmon, marsh snail, and false ringlet butterfly.

POPULATION

The population of Slovakia in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 5,382,000, which placed it at number 109 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 12% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 18% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 94 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be stagnant at 0.0%, a rate the government viewed as too low. The projected population for the year 2025 was 5,237,000. The overall population density was 110 per sq km (284 per sq mi), with the highest density concentrated in the river valleys.

The UN estimated that 56% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 0.57%. The capital city, Bratislava, had a population of 425,000 in that year. Košice had a population of 242,066.

MIGRATION

Slovakia receives about 400 refugees every year. In April 1999 Slovakia granted temporary protection to 90 refugees from Kosovo. Of these, 70 left Slovakia in July 1999 and returned home. In 2004, Slovakia had 409 refugees, and maintained higher numbers of asylum seekers, including 2,916 from India, China, Russia, and Armenia. In 2005, the net migration rate was an estimated 0.3 migrants per 1,000 population.

ETHNIC GROUPS

The population is about 85.8% Slovak according to the latest census (2001). Hungarians, heavily concentrated in southern border areas, total 10.6%. While the census reported that Roma make up about 1.6% of the populace, unofficial estimates place the number at about 7%. Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, Poles, and various other groups account for the remainder.

LANGUAGES

Slovak is the official language, spoken by about 83.8% of the population. It belongs to the western Slavic group and is written in the Roman alphabet. There are only slight differences between Slovak and Czech, and the two are mutually intelligible. Slovak lacks the ě, ů, and ř in Czech but adds ä, l', ô, and ŕ. As in Czech, q, w, and x are found only in foreign words. A minority language like Hungarian may be used for official business if its speakers make up at least 20% of the population on the local level.

RELIGIONS

The Slovak Republic has been a strongly Catholic region, even during the period of communist repression of religion from 1944–89. According to the 2001 census, about 69% of the population were Roman Catholics. About 7% of the population were Augsburg Lutheran, 4% were Byzantine Catholics, 2% were members of the Reformed Christian Church, and 1% were Orthodox. Other registered groups include Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, Brethren Church members, Seventh-Day Adventists, Apostolic Church members, Evangelical Methodists, and members of the Christian Corps in Slovakia and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. There are small communities of Muslims and Jews. About 12% of the population claimed no religious affiliation.

There are about 30 unregistered groups in the country, including: Hare Krishnas, Shambaola Slovakia, Shri Chinmoy, Zazen International Slovakia, Zen Centermyo Sahn Sah, the Church of Scientology, the Baha'i Faith, the Society of Friends of Jesus Christ (Quaker), Nazarenes, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon).

The constitution provides for freedom of religion and this right is generally respected in practice. While there is no specific state religion, the government signed an international treaty with the Vatican in 2001 which creates a special relationship between the state and the Roman Catholic Church. Though the government has signed special agreements with at least 11 other religious groups within the country, these agreements are subject to national law, while the Vatican agreement is governed by international law, making the latter more difficult to amend. The government offers subsidies to registered religious groups based on the number of clergy within the organization. Since the Catholic Church is the predominant religion, this church receives the largest amount of money.

TRANSPORTATION

There were some 3,662 km (2,277 mi) of broad, standard and narrow gauge railroads in 2004, primarily consisting of the Bratislava-Koice route. Of that total, standard gauge railways predominated at 3,512 km (2,184 mi), followed by 100 km (62 mi) of broad gauge.

The road system totaled 42,970 km (26,727 mi) in 2002, of which 37,698 km (23,448 mi) were paved, including 302 km (188 mi) of expressways. In 2003, there were 1,356,185 passenger cars and 161,559 commercial vehicles registered for use.

As an inland country, Slovakia relies on the Danube, 172 km (45 mi), for transportation of goods. Bratislava and Komárno are the major ports on the Danube, which connects with the European waterway system to Rotterdam and the Black Sea. In 2005, Slovakia's merchant fleet was comprised of 24 ships of 1,000 GRT or more, totaling 41,891 GRT.

Slovakia had an estimated 34 airports in 2004. As of 2005 a total of 17 had paved runways, and there was also a single heliport. Air service in Slovakia is conducted primarily through M.R. Stefanik Airport at Bratislava. In 2003, about 208,000 passengers were carried on scheduled domestic and international airline flights.

HISTORY

The first known peoples of the territory of present-day Slovakia were Celts, who lived in the region about 50 bc. The Celts were pushed out by Slavs, who moved in from the east at the beginning of the modern era. A Frankish merchant named Samo formed the first unified state in the region in the mid-7th century. The Moravia Empire appeared in the 9th century, incorporating parts of present-day Slovakia. Although the first Christian missionaries active in the area were Orthodox (including the monks Cyril and Methodius, who introduced an alphabet of their own invention—still called Cyrillic—in which to write the Slavic languages), it was the Roman church that eventually established dominance. At the end of the 9th century the Magyars (Hungarians) began to move into Slovakia, incorporating the territory into their own. For many centuries the Hungarians treated the Slovaks as subject people, so it was not until the 13th century, when Hungary had been ravished by Tatar invasions, that the territory began to develop. Some contact with the Czechs, who speak a closely related language, began in the early 15th century, as refugees from the Hussite religious wars in Bohemia moved east.

After the Turkish victory at Mohacs in 1526 the Kingdom of Hungary was divided into three parts; so-called "Royal Hungary," which included Slovakia, was passed to the rule of the Hapsburg dynasty. Bratislava became the Hapsburg capital until the end of the 17th century, when the Turks were driven from Hungarian territory, and the Hungarian capital moved to Budapest. Although there was some religious spillover of Protestantism from the west, Slovakia was solidly in control of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, establishing the long tradition of strong church influence in the region.

In the late 18th century the attempt of the Hapsburg rulers, especially Josef II (1765–1790), to germanify the empire led to a rise in Hungarian nationalism, which in turn stimulated a rise in Slovak national self-consciousness. During the 1848 Revolution a program, "Demands of the Slovak Nation," was formulated, which called for the use of Slovak in schools, courts, and other settings, and demanded creation of a Slovak assembly. These demands were rejected, and the Hungarians continued their efforts to suppress Slovak nationalism. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire was formed in 1867, the Hungarians began a program of intense Magyarification. In the absence of a Slovak intellectual elite, nationalistic ideals were largely maintained by the local clergy.

When World War I began the Slovaks joined with the Czechs and other suppressed nationalities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in pushing for their own state. Czech and Slovak immigrants in America were united in their efforts to prod the United States to recognize a postwar combined Czech and Slovak state. The Czechs declared independence on 28 October 1918, and the Slovaks seceded from Hungary two days later, to create the Czecho-Slovak Republic.

The relationship between the two parts of the new state was never firmly fixed. The Czech lands were more developed economically, and Czech politicians dominated the political debate. Although they were supported by a portion of Slovak society, there remained a large constituency of Slovak nationalists, most of them in Jozef Tiso's People's Party, who wanted complete independence.

Attempts to deal with Slovak separatist sentiments occupied a good deal of legislative time during the first Czechoslovak Republic, particularly since economic development continued to favor the Czech lands over the Slovak.

In 1938 Adolph Hitler demanded that the Sudeten German area, in the Czech part of the country, be ceded to Germany. Representatives of Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom met in Munich, without participation by Czechoslovakia, and decided that in order to achieve "peace in our time" Germany could occupy the Sudetenland, which it did in October 1938. Slovak nationalists argued that once the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia had begun, they too should secede, particularly because both Poland and Hungary also took advantage of the situation to seize parts of Slovakia. When Hitler's forces seized Prague in March 1939, a separate Slovak state was declared, which immediately fell under Nazi domination. Although nominally independent, the Slovakia of President Tiso was never more than a Nazi puppet.

During the war Slovak leaders like Stefan Osusky and Juraj Slavik cooperated with E. Benes' Czechoslovak government-in-exile, headquartered in London. There was also a small group of Slovak communists who took refuge in Moscow. In December 1943 a Slovak National Council was formed in opposition to the Tiso government, with both democratic and communist members. They began an uprising in Banska Bystrica in August 1944, which failed because of lack of support by both the West and the Soviet Union. When the war ended, the Slovak National Council took control of the country. Soviet attempts to use Slovak nationalism as a tool of control failed in the 1946 elections, when noncommunist parties received 63% of the vote. The communists switched their tactics to encouraging civil disorder and arresting people accused of participation in the wartime Slovak government. Tiso himself was executed in 1947.

Elsewhere in Czechoslovakia, the communists had been the largest vote getters in the 1946 elections, but in 1948 it seemed that they might lose. Rather than risk the election, they organized a Soviet-backed coup, forcing President Benes to accept a government headed by Klement Gottwald, a communist. Benes resigned in June 1948, leaving the presidency open for Gottwald, while A. Zapotocky became prime minister.

Once Czechoslovakia became a People's Republic, and a faithful ally of the Soviet Union, a wave of purges and arrests rolled over the country, from 1949 to 1954. In 1952 a number of high officials, including Foreign Minister V. Clementis and R. Slansky, head of the Czech Communist Party, were hanged for "Tito-ism" and "national deviation."

Gottwald died in March 1953, a few days after Stalin, setting off the slow erosion of communist control. Zapotocky succeeded to the presidency, while A. Novotny became head of the party; neither had Gottwald's authority, and so clung even more tightly to the Stalinist methods, which, after Nikita Khrushchev's secret denunciation of Stalin in 1956, had begun to be discredited even in the USSR. Novotny became president upon Zapotocky's death in 1957, holding Czechoslovakia in a tight grip until well into the 1960s.

Khrushchev's liberalization in the USSR encouraged liberals within the Czechoslovak party to try to emulate Moscow. Past abuses of the party, including the hanging of Slansky and Clementis, were repudiated, and Novotny was eventually forced to fire many of his most conservative allies, including Karol Bacilek, head of the Slovak Communist Party, and Viliam Siroky, premier for more than a decade. Slovaks detested both men because of their submission to Prague's continued policies of centralization, which in practice subordinated Slovak interests to those of the Czechs.

Alexander Dubček, the new head of the Slovak Communist Party, attacked Novotny at a meeting in late 1967, accusing him of undermining economic reform and ignoring Slovak demands for greater self-government. Two months later, in January 1968, the presidency was separated from the party chairmanship, and Dubček was named head of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, the first Slovak ever to hold the post.

Novotny resigned in March 1968, and Czechoslovakia embarked on a radical liberalization, which Dubček termed "socialism with a human face." The leaders of the other eastern bloc nations and the Soviet leaders viewed these developments with alarm. Delegations went back and forth from Moscow during the "Prague Spring" of 1968, warning of "counter-revolution." By July the neighbors' alarm had grown; at a meeting in Warsaw they issued a warning to Czechoslovakia against leaving the socialist camp. Although Dubček himself traveled to Moscow twice, in July and early August, to reassure Soviet party leader Brezhnev, the Soviets remained unconvinced.

Finally, on the night of 20–21 August 1968, military units from all the Warsaw Pact nations except Romania invaded Czechoslovakia, to "save it from counter-revolution." Dubček and other officials were arrested, and the country was placed under Soviet control. Difficulties in finding local officials willing to act as Soviet puppets caused the Soviets to play on Czech and Slovak antagonisms. On 31 December 1968 the country was made into a federative state, comprised of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic, each with its own legislature and government. In April Gustav Husak, once a reformer, but now viewing harmony with the USSR as the highest priority, was named head of the Czech Communist Party. A purge of liberals followed, and in May 1970 a new Soviet-Czechoslovak friendship treaty was signed; in June Dubček was expelled from the party.

Between 1970 and 1975 nearly one-third of the party was dismissed, as Husak consolidated power, re-establishing the priority of the federal government over its constituent parts and, in May 1975, reuniting the titles of party head and republic president.

Once again it was liberalization in the USSR which set off political change in Czechoslovakia. Husak ignored Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's calls for perestroika and glasnost until 1987, when he reluctantly endorsed the general concept of Party reform, but delayed implementation until 1991. Aging and in ill health, Husak announced his retirement in December 1987, declaring that Milos Jakes would take his post; Jakes had been a life-long compromiser and accommodator who was unable to control dissenting factions within his party, which were now using the radical changes in the Soviet Union as weapons against one another.

Enthusiasm for political change was not as great in Slovakia as it was in the Czech west, where in November 1989 people had begun to gather on Prague's Wenceslas Square, demanding free elections. The so-called "velvet revolution" ended on 24 November, when Jakes and all his government resigned. Novotny resigned his presidency soon after.

Alexander Dubček was brought out of exile and put forward as a potential replacement, but the hostility of Czech intellectuals and activists, who felt that they had to drag unwilling Slovaks into the new era, made it impossible to choose a Slovak as president. The choice fell instead on Vaclav Havel, a Czech playwright and dissident, who was named president by acclamation on 29 December 1989, while Dubček was named leader of the National Assembly.

Dismantling the apparatus of a Soviet-style state began immediately, but economic change came more slowly, in part because elections were not scheduled until June 1990. The old struggle between Czechs and Slovaks intensified, as Slovaks grew increasingly to resist the programs of economic and political change being proposed in Prague. Slovak demands led to an almost immediate renaming of the country, as the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic.

In the June elections the Slovaks voted overwhelmingly for Public Against Violence, the Slovak partner of the Czech Civic Forum, which meant that economic transformation was begun. Again there was much greater enthusiasm for returning to private ownership in the west than there was in the east, intensifying Slovak separatism. In December 1990 the country's Federal Assembly attempted to defuse the problem by increasing the roles of the Czech and Slovak regional governments, but it also gave President Havel extraordinary powers, to head off attempts at Slovak secession. The nationalists found an articulate and persuasive voice for growing separatist sentiments in Vladimir Meciar, the Slovak premier.

During a visit to Bratislava in March 1991, President Havel was jeered by thousands of Slovaks, making obvious the degree of Slovak discontent. Meciar was replaced in April 1991, by Jan Carnogursky, but the easing of tensions was only temporary, since Carnogursky, too, favored an independent Slovakia.

By June 1992 matters had reached a legislative impasse, so new federal elections were called. Slovakia chose to hold elections for its National Council at the same time. In July the new Slovak legislature issued a declaration of sovereignty and adopted a new constitution as an independent state, to take effect 1 January 1993. Throughout 1991 and 1992 a struggle followed, with the Federal Assembly and president on one side, trying to devise ways of increasing the strength of the federal state, and the Czech and Slovak National Councils, or legislatures, on the other, seeking to shore up their own autonomy at the expense of the central authorities. Although polls indicated that most Slovaks continued to favor some form of union with the Czechs, the absence of any national figure able or willing to articulate what form that union might take, left the field to the separatists and the charismatic Meciar.

In the federal election the vote split along national and regional lines, with the Czechs voting for right-of-center, reformist candidates, especially Vaclav Klaus's Civic Democratic Party, while the Slovaks voted for leftist and nationalist parties, especially Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (MDS). Although the federal government and President Havel continued to try to hold the state together, Czech Prime Minister Klaus made it clear that the Czechs would offer no financial incentives or assistance to induce the Slovaks to remain in the union. Increasingly the republics began to behave as though they were already separate so that, for example, by the end of 1992, 25.2% of Czech industry had been privatized, while only 5.3% of Slovak industry had. By the end of 1992 it was obvious that separation was inevitable. The two prime ministers, Klaus and Meciar, agreed to the so-called "velvet divorce," which took effect 1 January 1993. Czechs and Slovaks alike have objected that this move was never put to a popular referendum.

The new constitution created a 150-seat National Assembly, which elects the head of state, the president. Despite the strong showing of his party, Prime Minister Meciar was unable to get his first candidate through, and so put up Michal Kovac, a Dubček supporter and former finance minister in Slovakia, who had served as the last chairman of Czechoslovakia's federal parliament.

The Meciar government rejected the moves toward political and economic liberalization which the Czechs were pursuing, attempting instead to retain a socialist-style government, with strong central control. Swift economic decline, especially relative to the Czech's obviously growing prosperity, combined with Meciar's own erratic and autocratic manner, caused him to lose a vote of no-confidence in March 1994.

Kovac was elected for a five-year term by the National Parliament on 8 February 1993; on 12 December 1994 he appointed Meciar prime minister. Meciar's party (MDS), which won 35% of the vote in the 1994 elections, formed a ruling government with the Slovak National Party and the Association of Slovak Workers. However, Meciar again was slow to implement economic reforms, and his attempts to consolidate his power via undemocratic legislation were rebuffed in 1996 by President Kovac. The MDS-led coalition government managed to remain in power until the September 1998 elections. During the MDS era, opportunities to privatize state-owned property were used to reward political loyalty, and election laws were changed in a way that favored the MDS. Much of the legislation introduced by the Meciar government was found to be unconstitutional.

Under the new election laws, the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDC) was formed by five small political groups in 1997. Mikulas Dzurinda was its leader. Elections held in September 1998 saw the SDC gain 26.33% of the vote. On 30 October 1998, SDC formed a coalition government with Dzurinda as prime minister.

In January 1999, parliament passed a new law allowing for the direct election of the president. Presidential elections were held on 15 and 29 May, and in the second round, Rudolf Schuster of the small centrist Party of Civic Understanding (SOP) was elected with 57.2% of the vote over Meciar (42.8%). The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found the elections to be free and fair. In July 1999, a law was passed improving the status of minority languages. In February 2001, parliament amended the constitution as a step toward gaining membership in the EU and NATO. Among the 85 amendments bringing the 1992 constitution in line with EU judiciary and financial standards were the creation of an ombudsman as a public protector of human rights, and an initiative to have the government support the aspirations of ethnic Slovaks living abroad to preserve their national identity and culture.

Parliamentary elections were held on 20 and 21 September 2002, and although Meciar's HZDS party won the most seats in the 150-member National Council (36), three core center-right parties formed a coalition without left-wing parties that had previously hampered it. Dzurinda continued in office as prime minister.

At a NATO summit in Prague held in November 2002, Slovakia was formally invited to join the organization, and in December, it was one of 10 new countries invited to join the EU. In the spring of 2004, it became member of both these organizations. Also, in April 2004, a new president was elected, Ivan Gasparovic. Although in the first voting round Gasparovic received less votes than his main contestant—Meciar—he managed to rally the support of the other presidential candidates in the second round, taking 59.9% of the vote. In May 2005, Slovakia ratified the EU constitution.

GOVERNMENT

The constitution that the Slovak National Assembly adopted in July 1992 calls for a unicameral legislature of 150 members (the National Council of the Slovak Republic). Voting is by party slate, with proportional seat allotment affecting the gains of the winner. Thus, in the 1994 election, Meciar's party gained 61 of the 150 seats, with only 35% of the popular vote. In the 2002 election, Meciar's party gained 36 seats in the National Council, with 19.5% of the vote. The government is formed by the leading party, or coalition of parties, and the prime minister is head of the government. A coalition of center-right parties formed the government in 2002. Head of state is the president, who, after 1999, was directly elected by popular vote for a five-year term. A cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. Rudolf Schuster was Slovakia's first directly elected president; Ivan Gasparovic was elected president in 2004, defeating Meciar in the second round of voting. The next presidential election was to be held April 2009.

POLITICAL PARTIES

There were 18 parties contesting the 150 seats of the National Council in the 1994 election, but only 7 or 8 were considered to be serious contenders, because of the necessity of receiving 5% of the total vote in order to take a seat. In 2002, there were 7 parties that won seats in the National Council. The single most popular party in 1994 was the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), which won 35% of the vote. By 2002, HZDS won just 19.5% of the vote and 36 seats; although it won the most votes it was unable to form a government. Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda headed a coalition consisting of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) with 15.1% of the vote and 28 seats; the Party of the Hungarian Coalition (SMK) with 11.2% of the vote and 20 seats; the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) with 8.3% of the vote and 15 seats; and the Alliance of a New Citizen (ANO) with 8% of the vote and 15 seats. Also winning seats in parliament were the populist Smer Party (Party Direction—Third Way) with 13.5% of the vote and 25 seats, and the Slovak Communist Party with 6.3% of the vote and 11 seats. The next legislative elections were to be held September 2006.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Slovakia is currently divided into 79 districts and 8 regions (kraje ), and each region has a parliament and governor. In February 2001, in an effort to speed up Slovakia's EU accession process, the parliament implemented a series of constitutional changes aimed at decentralizing the country's power structure. Thus, the state audit office, the judiciary, and the minorities gain in independence and authority. In January 2002, Slovakia was divided into eight Upper-Tier Territorial Units—self-governing entities, named after their principal city. These changes responded to one of EU's key requirements for increased decentralization and flexibility of the administrative apparatus.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The judicial system consists of a republic-level Supreme Court as the highest court of appeal; 8 regional courts seated in regional capitals; and 55 local courts seated in some district capitals. The courts have begun to form specialized sections, including commercial, civil, and criminal branches.

The 13-member Constitutional Court reviews the constitutionality of laws as well as the constitutional questions of lower level courts and national and local government bodies. Until 2002, parliament nominated and the president appointed the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court judges, and parliament chose all other judges based on the recommendations from the Ministry of Justice. In 2002, however, parliament passed legislation creating a Judicial Council, composed of judges, law professors, and other legal experts, to nominate judges. All judges except those of the Constitutional Court are now appointed by the president from a list proposed by the 18-member Council. The president still appoints the Constitutional Court judges from a slate of candidates nominated by parliament.

The constitution declares the independence of the judiciary from the other branches of government. Judges are appointed for life, but Constitutional Court judges serve seven-year terms. There is also a military court system, and appeals may be taken to the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. Defendants in criminal cases have the right to free legal counsel and are guaranteed a fair and open public trial.

ARMED FORCES

In 2005 the total active armed forces of Slovakia numbered 20,195, with estimated reserves numbering 20,000. The Army had 12,860 active personnel, armed with 271 main battle tanks, 291 reconnaissance vehicles, 404 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 120 armored personnel carriers, and 374 artillery pieces. Air Force personnel totaled 5,160, equipped with 71 combat capable aircraft and 19 attack helicopters. As of 2005, there were 4,700 members in paramilitary units, including border police, guard troops, civil defense troops, and railway defense troops. Slovak armed forces in 2005 were deployed to eight countries or regions as part of NATO, European Union or UN missions. The defense budget for 2005 was $828 million.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Slovakia is a member of the United Nations, which it joined in 1993 when Czechoslovakia agreed to split into two parts. Slovakia serves on several nonregional specialized agencies, such as the FAO, UNESCO, UNIDO, the World Bank, ILO, and the WHO. The country is also a member of the Council of Europe, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the OECD, OSCE, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, and the WTO. Slovakia became an official member of NATO and the European Union in 2004. The country has observer status in the OAS and is an affiliate member of the Western European Union.

The government has actively participated in US- and NATO-led military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The country also participates in a joint Czech-Slovak peacekeeping force in Kosovo and supports UN missions and operations in Sierra Leone (est. 1999) and Cyprus (est. 1964).

Slovakia serves on the Australia Group, the Zangger Committee, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the Nuclear Energy Agency, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (London Group), and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In environmental cooperation, is part of the Antarctic Treaty, the Basel Convention, Conventions on Biological Diversity and Air Pollution, Ramsar, CITES, the Kyoto Protocol, the Montréal Protocol, MARPOL, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the UN Conventions on the Law of the Sea, Climate Change, and Desertification

ECONOMY

Slovakia is continuing the difficult transformation from a centrally controlled economy to a market-oriented economy with some measure of success. Sustained GDP growth, although slowed after 1998, has been achieved, and inflation has moderated to single digits. While privatization has been carried out at an uneven pace, macroeconomic performance has improved steadily with 4.8% growth in 1994 and an average annual GDP growth rate of 6.66% 1995 to 1997. In 1998, however, the effects of the Russian financial crisis slowed investment and demand, reducing annual GDP growth to 4.4% in 1998, and to 1.9% in 1999. The pace of growth accelerated slowly from 2000 to 2002, from 2.2% to 3.3% to 4.4%, respectively. Average annual inflation after independence fell from 13.4% to 5.8% in 1996, but then hit double digits again in 2000, at 12%. In 2000 the government implemented austerity measures that helped to bring inflation down to 7.3% in 2001 and 3.1% in 2002. Unemployment remains a serious concern, at 19.8% in 2001 and 17.2% in 2002. The per capita GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, at $8,300 in 1998, had reached $11,500 (CIA est.) in 2001.

The progress made by the Dzurinda government between 2001 and 2004 has been remarkable. In 2004, Slovakia joined NATO and the EU, most of the major privatizations have been completed, massive foreign investment has been attracted to the country, and the economic expansion has been significant (despite the general European slowdown). In 2004, the GDP growth rate was 5.5%, up from 4.5% in 2003; for 2005, it was expected to stabilize at 5.3%. Inflation was on the upsurge in 2003, reaching 8.6%, but by 2004 it decreased to 7.5%, and was expected to decrease even further in 2005, to 2.9%. Unemployment was reduced steadily since 2001, but at 14.3% in 2004 it was still very high, and negatively influenced the economic performance of Slovakia. Other factors that affect the healthiness of the economy are corruption and poor living conditions for the population.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Slovakia's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $85.1 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $15,700. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 5.1%. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 2.8%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 3.6% of GDP, industry 29.7%, and services 66.7%.

According to the World Bank, in 2003 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled $425 million or about $79 per capita and accounted for approximately 1.3% of GDP. Foreign aid receipts amounted to $160 million or about $30 per capita and accounted for approximately 0.5% of the gross national income (GNI).

The World Bank reports that in 2003 household consumption in Slovakia totaled $18.15 billion or about $3,368 per capita based on a GDP of $32.7 billion, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of 4.1%. In 2001 it was estimated that approximately 26% of household consumption was spent on food, 16% on fuel, 5% on health care, and 12% on education.

LABOR

As of 2005, there was an estimated 2.62 million people in Slovakia's workforce. As of 2003, agriculture accounted for 5.8%, with 29.3% in industry, 9% in construction, and 55.9% in the services sector. Unemployment was estimated at 11.5% in 2005.

Unions are freely allowed to organize in Slovakia as well as engage in collective bargaining. Strikes are legal only if they meet certain stringent requirements. About 45% of the workforce was unionized in 2002.

Children may not work until the age of 15. After age 16, minors may work without restrictions as to hours or condition of work. These provisions are effectively enforced by the government. The minimum wage was $105 per month in 2002. The standard workweek was 42.5 hours, although under collective bargaining agreements, many workweeks are 40 hours. The government sets minimum occupational health and safety standards and it effectively monitors them.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture engaged 9% of the economically active population in 2000. The total cultivated area in 2003 was 1,564,000 hectares (3,865,000 acres), or 33% of the land area. Agriculture accounted for about 4% of GDP in 2003.

Barley and hops are important agricultural exports; fruit, wine, and seed oil are also produced for export. Important crops in Slovakia in 2004 (in thousands of tons) included: wheat, 1,764; barley, 916; corn, 862; potatoes, 382; rye, 124; and sugar beets, 1,599. In 2003, 22,615 tractors and 3,748 combines were in use.

During 1980–90, agricultural production grew by an average of 1.6% annually. During 1990–2000, agriculture increased by an annual average of 1.2%. Cereal production in 1999 was only 71% of the average during 1989–91. In 2004, cereal production was 6.9% higher than during 1999–2001.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Some 874,000 hectares (2,160,000 acres) of land are meadows and pastures, representing 18.2% of the total land area. In 2005, there were some 1,300,000 pigs, 580,000 head of cattle, 316,000 sheep, 9,000 horses, and 5,600,000 chickens. Meat production was estimated at 314,000 tons in 2005, with pork accounting for 44%; beef, 14%; turkey, 23%; chicken, 14%; and others, 5%. Milk production was 1,153,000 tons in 2005. Due to the concern over bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), in July 1996 Slovakia banned selected imports and transit of cattle and sheep, and beef and mutton imports and transits coming from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, France, and Switzerland.

FISHING

Fishing is only a minor source of the domestic food supply. Production comes mostly from mountain streams and stocked ponds. Some of the rivers and ponds near Bratislava are polluted with chemicals and petrochemical seepings, impairing the growth of fish stocks regionally. The total catch in 2003 was 2,527 tons, with common carp and rainbow trout the dominant species.

FORESTRY

About 45% of Slovakia is under forest cover. Forests have been severely damaged by acid rain from coal-fired power stations. Roundwood production in 2004 was 7,240,000 cu m (255.6 million cu ft). Slovakian forest product exports include paper, wood, and furniture. In 2004, wood pulp production amounted to 520,000 tons; paper and paperboard, 798,000 tons; and wood-based panels, 508,000 cu m (17.9 million cu ft). Slovakia's trade surplus in forestry products was nearly $331.8 million in 2004.

MINING

Metal and metal products, particularly aluminum and steel, comprised Slovakia's leading industries in 2002, each of which was heavily dependent upon imports of raw materials. Gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel, and chemicals were other top industries. Industrial mineral production in 2002 included: dolomite, 1.357 million tons, down from 1.471 million tons in 2001; lime (hydrated and quicklime), 911,000 tons; magnesite concentrate, 930,000 metric tons, down from 961,000 metric tons in 2001; crude gypsum and anhydrite, 121,700 metric tons; salt, 97,400 metric tons; barite concentrate, 25,820 metric tons, up from 14,450 metric tons in 2001; bentonite, 66,128 metric tons; kaolin, 24,600 metric tons; perlite, 18,630 metric tons, up from 14,910 metric tons in 2001; and zeolites, 15,000 metric tons. The Košice magnesite mines were put on care-and-maintenance. Also produced in 2002 were arsenic, diatomite, feldspar, illite, iron ore, refractory clays, nitrogen, sand and gravel, sodium compounds, limestone and other calcareous stones, crushed stone, sulfur, sulfuric acid, and talc. No zinc, lead, gold, silver, or copper was mined in 2002. Other mineral resources included antimony ore, mercury, brick soils, ceramic materials, and stonesalt. All mining companies were government owned.

ENERGY AND POWER

Total electric power production in 2002 amounted to 30.486 billion kWh, of which 26.9% was from fossil fuels, 17.1% from hydropower, and 55.9% from nuclear power. By 2001 nuclear power accounted for 54% of production, thanks to two new reactors that had come on line between 1998 and 2000, reducing Slovakia's dependence on fossil fuels and allowing it to become a net exporter of electricity. Consumption of electricity in 2002 was 24.196 billion kWh. As of 2002, total installed capacity was 7,417,000 kW. Slovenske elektrarne (SE) is Slovakia's main power producer, accounting for 91% of the country's generating capacity.

Coal mining produced some 3,752,000 short tons of lignite in 2002, from reserves estimated at 190 million tons in 2001. In 2002, Slovakia imported 6,076,000 short tons of coal, of which 5,103,000 short tons consisted of hard coal.

As of 1 January 2004, Slovakia had crude oil reserves of 9 million barrels, natural gas reserves of 0.53 trillion cu ft., and a crude oil refining capacity of 115,000 barrels per day. Production of oil in 2003 was estimated at 3,500 barrels per day. Natural gas output in 2002 was estimated at 7.5 billion cu ft. Domestic demand for oil averaged 81,000 barrels per day in 2003. Natural gas consumption in 2002, was estimated at 270 billion cu ft. In 2002, natural gas was used by 80% of all Slovak households.

INDUSTRY

Major industries include heavy engineering, armaments, iron and steel production, nonferrous metals, and chemicals. In 2000, industry accounted for 34% of Slovakia's GDP, and the industrial growth rate was estimated at 4% in 2001. Foreign firms such as Volkswagen, US Steel, and Whirlpool are major investors in Slovak industry. Although privatization was ongoing in 2002 (including the Slovak Gas Company and oil-pipeline operator Transpetrol), and the country was attracting more foreign investment, many firms untouched by foreign investment were in trouble. Nonetheless, many Slovakian enterprises were restructuring and modernizing their equipment and methods. Slovakia produced 182,003 automobiles in 2001, and 264 heavy trucks in 2000. The country had one oil refinery in 2002, with a capacity of 115,000 barrels per day.

By 2004, the industrial sector had suffered a series of setbacks. Its representation in the total economic output had decreased to 30.1%, it employed only 29.3% of the labor force, and the industrial production growth rate was only 5.1%—as opposed to the 5.5% GDP growth rate. Agriculture made up 3.5% of the GDP and employed 5.8% of the working population; services came in first with 66.4% and 55.9% respectively; 9% of the workforce was employed by the construction sector. Major industries in 2004 were: 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; and, rubber products.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Slovak Academy of Sciences, founded in 1953, has departments of exact and technical sciences and of natural sciences and chemistry, and 36 affiliated research institutes. The Council of Scientific Societies, headquartered in Bratislava, coordinates the activities of 16 societies concerned with specific scientific and technical fields. Natural history exhibits are displayed in the Slovak National Museum in Bratislava, the Central Slovak Museum in Banská Bstrica, and the Museum of Eastern Slovakia in Košice. The Slovak Mining Museum, founded in 1900, is located in Banská Stiavnica. Eight universities offer scientific and technical degrees. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 40% of university enrollment.

In 2002, research and development (R&D) expenditures totaled $407.279 million, or 0.59% of GDP. Of that amount, 53.6% came from the business sector, followed by government sources at 44.1%. Foreign sources accounted for 2.1% and higher education 0.1%. In that same year, there were 1,707 scientists and engineers, and 564 technicians per one million people that were engaged in R&D. High technology exports in 2002 totaled $386 million, or 3% of the country's manufactured exports.

DOMESTIC TRADE

Bratislav is the primary commercial center of the country. Other major centers include Košice, Trencin, Zilina, and Poprad. Nitra is a primary distribution center for agricultural products.

Retail trade is currently undergoing rapid privatization along with other sectors of the economy. As of 2002, about 98% of all retail establishments were privatized. Most establishments are small, family-owned shops specializing in one type of product, such as groceries, flowers, books, clothing, music, etc. However, the trend is slowly moving towards larger Western-style stores and hypermarkets that offer a wider variety of products under one roof. Wholesalers tend to be directly involved in the retailing of their products as well. A few franchise firms have recently made their way into the country.

Retail shops are generally open from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday. New chain stores are open seven days a week from about 7 am to 8 pm. Grocery stores often operate from 6 am to 7 pm. Many stores will open for half a day on Saturdays, but most businesses and shops are closed on Sundays.

FOREIGN TRADE

The Czech Republic, which used to account for as much as one-third of Slovakia's foreign trade, has dropped behind Germany as Slovakia's leading trade partner. Trade with the former Soviet Union has declined in importance and has increasingly been replaced by trade with the OECD, whose members buy over 90% of all Slovak exports.

In the Far East, China has emerged as the top trading partner, with imports and exports between the two nations increasing by almost 300% in 1995.

In 2004, exports totaled $29.2 billion (FOB—Free on Board), and were only slightly surpassed by imports at $29.7 billion (FOB).

Vehicles (25.9%), machinery and electrical equipment (21.3%), base metals (14.6%), chemicals and minerals (10.1%), and plastics (5.4%) topped the list for Slovakia's export commodities. Slovakia's main export partners were Germany (which received 34.4% of total exports), the Czech Republic (14.7%), Austria (8.2%), Italy (5.8%), Poland (5.3%), the United States (4.5%), and Hungary (4.3%). The imports were distributed among the following categories: machinery and transport equipment (41.1%), intermediate manufactured goods (19.3%), fuels (12.3%), chemicals (9.8%), and miscellaneous manufactured goods (10.2%). Most of the imports came from Germany (26.1%), the Czech Republic (21.3%), Russia (9.1%), Austria (6.6%), Poland (4.9%), and Italy (4.9%).

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

A decline in foreign trade in 2001 caused the central bank to revise its forecast of the current account deficit up from 4% to 5.7% of GDP.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported that in 2001 the purchasing power parity of Slovakia's exports was $12.9 billion while imports totaled $15.4 billion resulting in a trade deficit of $2.5 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that in 2000 Slovakia had exports of goods totaling $11.9 billion and imports totaling $12.8 billion. The services credit totaled $2.2 billion and debit $1.81 billion.

Exports of goods and services totaled $31.5 billion in 2004, up from $25.1 billion in 2003. Imports grew from $25.5 billion in 2003, to $32.6 billion in 2004. Although Slovakia has managed to keep a fine balance between imports and exports, the resource balance was on a negative upsurge, growing from -$407 million in 2003, to -$1.2 billion in 2004. A similar trend was registered for the current account balance, which deteriorated from -$278 million in 2003, to -$1.4 billion in 2004. The national reserves (including gold) were $12.1 billion in 2003, covering approximately

six months of imports; by 2004, they decreased to $11.7 billion, covering only four months of imports.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

Four years after the Soviet system relinquished control over the eastern bloc, Slovakia formed a National Bank. In January 1992 the banking system of Czechoslovakia was split. From that point on the National Bank of Slovakia was charged with the responsibility of circulating currency and regulating the banking sector. At the end of 2002, there were 23 commercial banks operating in the Slovak Republic, including the Investment and Development Bank (1992); People's Bank (1992); Postal Bank Inc. (1991); Industrial Bank, Inc. (1992); First Commercial Bank Inc. (1993); Slovak Credit Bank (1993); Slovak Agricultural Bank (1991); and the General Credit Bank (1990). Twelve of the 23 commercial banks were partly or wholly foreign-owned. In addition, two branches and 10 representative offices of foreign banks had been established. In 2000, plans called for the privatization of the three largest banks, Vseobecna Uverova Banka (VUB), Slovenska Sporitelna, and Investicna a Rozvoyova Banka (IRB) by the end of the year. The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $4.7 billion. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $13.9 billion. The money market rate, the rate at which financial institutions lend to one another in the short term, was 7.76%.

The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSE) opened on 8 July 1990 and acts as a share holding company formed by all Slovakian financial institutions, banks and savings banks, and companies authorized to trade securities. Brokers and other mediators are not permitted in the trading system. The volume of stocks traded on the BSE, however, remained low until 1996. In 2001, there were 844 companies listed on the BSE, with a trading value of $966 million (up 141% from 2000) and total market capitalization of $665 million (down 10.3% from 2000). As of 2004, a total of 258 companies were listed on the BSE, which had a market capitalization of $4.410 Billion. The Bratislava Option and Futures Exchange opened in 1994.

INSURANCE

The pre-World War II insurance companies and institutions of the former Czechoslovakia after 1945 were reorganized, merged, nationalized and centralized. Since 1952, the insurance industry has been administered by the State Insurance Office, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, and two enterprises conducted insurance activities, the Czech and the Slovak Insurance Enterprises of the State. In 1997, at least 20 insurance companies were doing business in Slovakia. Nonetheless, the Slovak Insurance Company remains the only company authorized to write the compulsory third-party automobile liability insurance. Lawyers, architects and dentists are also required to carry liability insurance. There are no restrictions on foreign ownership of companies. In 2003, the value of all direct insurance premiums written totaled $1.140 billion, of which nonlife premiums accounted for $676 million. In that same year, the top nonlife and life insurer was Allianz Poistovna, which had gross written nonlife premiums

totaling $369.8 million, and gross written life insurance premiums of $141.9 million.

PUBLIC FINANCE

Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Slovak government has implemented several measures to compensate for the large loss of fiscal transfers it received from the Federation, which were equivalent to between Sk20–25 billion in 1992. The Slovak government's initial budget was balanced at the beginning of 1992, with revenues and expenditures equivalent to Sk159 billion. Since that time, however, Slovakia's budget has fallen into deficit. Privatization efforts have been successful, attracting a large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI).

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Slovakia's central government took in revenues of approximately $21.4 billion and had expenditures of $23.1 billion. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$1.6 billion. Public debt in 2005 amounted to 16.9% of GDP. Total external debt was $25.81 billion.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that in 2003, the most recent year for which it had data, central government revenues were Sk422.55 billion and expenditures were Sk461.99 billion. The value of revenues was us$11 million and expenditures us$12 million, based on an exchange rate for 2003 of us$1 = Sk36.773 as reported by the IMF. Government outlays by function were as follows: general public services, 20.6%; defense, 4.7%; public order and safety, 5.0%; economic affairs, 10.2%; environmental protection, 0.7%; housing and community amenities, 0.8%; health, 20.3%; recreation, culture, and religion, 1.2%; education, 3.4%; and social protection, 33.2%.

TAXATION

The principal taxes are corporate income tax, personal income tax, and value-added tax. Individuals are liable for tax on all sources of worldwide income. Corporate income tax is levied on joint stock companies, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships. In 2005, the corporate tax rate for resident companies was 19%. Capital gains were also taxed at 19%. Dividends paid out of after-tax profits are not taxed. Interest income from loans or bands are taxed at the corporate rate, as is income from royalties. Other taxes include a road tax, excise duties, import duties, and taxes on property.

As of 2005, individual income was taxed according at a flat 19% rate. Dividends paid to individuals is not taxed. Income from interest and capital are included in total income.

The principle indirect tax is Slovakia's value-added tax (VAT). As of 2005, the standard rate was 19% and was applied to most transactions. However, exports are zero-rated, and financial, broadcasting, insurance and educational services are exempt.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

As a WTO member, Slovakia uses the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature. Goods imported into Slovakia are liable to three kinds of charges: customs duties, value-added tax (VAT) of 10% or 19%, and an excise tax. A 3% import surcharge was eliminated on 1 January 2001. However, Slovakia imposes surcharges on approximately 80% of its imports. Slovakia is also a member of the Central European Free Trade Area (CEFTA) along with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Prior to the defeat of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, Slovakia experienced difficulty attracting foreign investment due to perceived political uncertainty and vacillations in its privatization policy. The government has introduced tax incentives to attract more capital from abroad.

Annual foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow was $220 million in 1997 and rose to $648 million in 1998. Affected by the Russian financial crisis, FDI inflow fell to $390 million in 1999, but then recovered sharply in 2000 to reach a peak of over $2 billion. FDI inflow to Slovakia in 2001 was $1.5 billion. The Netherlands has been the single largest investor.

At the end of the first three quarters in 2004, cumulative foreign investment had risen to $11.4 billion. Most of the capital inflow was generated through privatization sales, but since 2003 significant greenfield investments have been made. In 2004, Hyundai invested $1.5 billion in its first European assembly plant; Ford constructed a $400 million gearbox production plant in the same year. Most of the investments went to industrial manufacturing (38.2%), the banking sector (22.7%), retail and wholesale (11.7%), and to the production and distribution of gas and electricity (11.0%). The biggest investing countries were Germany (with 22.7% of total investments), the Netherlands (16%), and Austria (14.3%).

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The government in the early 1990s slowed economic reforms due to the social burden imposed by the transformation to a market economy. Measures included stimulation of demand through price subsidies and public spending. Slovakia's most successful structural reform has been privatization. The first stage of largescale privatization included 751 companies, and a second stage, which involved 650 medium- and large-scale enterprises, was implemented in late 1993.

However, the Meciar government was slow to implement the $1.5 billion privatization program after he regained power in 1994 and the country continued to rely heavily on foreign aid. Western investors cheered his defeat and replacement by reformer Mikulas Dzurinda in 1998. The Dzurinda government quickly earned praise for its implementation of reforms. The renewed liberalization measures, combined with a new attitude toward Slovakia's Roma (Gypsy) population, caused the EU to place Slovakia back on its list of candidate members. In December 2002, Slovakia was officially invited to join the EU, and accession took place in May 2004.

Slovakia's foreign debt at the beginning of 2002 was about $11 billion, approximately 55% of gross domestic product (GDP). The current account deficit was high, largely due to a shortfall in foreign trade. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has been relatively small in recent years, although FDI in 2000 alone was greater than cumulative investment received by Slovakia in the preceding 10 years. Although growth was strong and inflation relatively low in the early 2000s, the unemployment rate remained high. By 2002, the main banks and utilities had been privatized; but further corporate restructuring and labor market reform, improved banking supervision, and strengthening state administration and the judicial system remained structural reforms to be implemented.

A strong economic expansion followed in 2003 and 2004, with GDP growth rates of 4.5% and 5.5% respectively. In 2004, Slovakia joined NATO and the EU, which greatly improved the stability of the political and economic climate. In addition, an investment friendly environment was created, which led to a dramatic increase in the inflow of foreign capital. In 2005, Slovakia was considered by the World Bank the world's top performer in improving its business climate over the last year; in the same year it was deemed one of the top 20 countries in the world for ease of doing business. As of 2006, Slovakia was able to boast a highly skilled and relatively low-cost labor force, an attractive tax system (19% flat tax), a liberal labor code, and a favorable geographic location.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Slovakia's social security system was first introduced in 1906. The current program was implemented in 2004. Old age, disability and survivor's pensions are funded by employee and employer contributions as well as government subsidies. Retirement is set at age 62 for both men and women. The first laws covering sickness benefits were instituted in 1888. A family allowance system provides benefits for all residents funded totally by the government. There are also sickness and maternity benefits, a workers' compensation program, and unemployment benefits.

Women and men are equal under the law, enjoying the same property, inheritance, and other rights, however discrimination persists. Women on the average earn 30% less than men. Despite legal safeguards, the small number of women in private and public leadership roles is evidence of continuing cultural barriers to full equality. The Coordinating Committee for Women's Affairs has not been successful at protecting women against violence, health risks, or economic disadvantages. Domestic abuse and sexual violence against women remains an extensive and underreported problem.

Roma minorities suffer from high levels of unemployment and housing discrimination. Attacks against Roma and other minorities by skinhead extremists were reported. Human rights were generally well respected, but some democratic freedoms were not respected. These include the intimidation of political opponents and interference with the media. There were also reports of police abuse of Roma.

HEALTH

Since 1995 general public health services have been organized into a system of state health institutes. However, primary health care services, formerly operated by the state, are now separate from the public health sector and reimbursed through a compulsory insurance program. As of 2004 there were 77 polyclinics in the country; Slovakia had 84 hospitals, 23 specialized institutes, and 1 maternity facility. As of 2004, there were an estimated 325 physicians, 731 nurses, 44 dentists, 48 pharmacists, and 7 midwives per 100,000 people. Total health care expenditure was estimated at 6.5% of GDP.

Life expectancy in 2005 was 74.50 years and infant mortality was 7.41 per 1,000 live births. As of 2002, the crude birth rate and overall mortality rate were estimated at, respectively, 10.1 and 9.2 per 1,000 people. A Slovakian woman living through her childbearing years had an average of 1.3 children. A large proportion of Slovakian women (74%) used some form of contraception. Immunization rates for children up to one year old were impressively high: tuberculosis, 90%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 98%; polio, 98%; and measles, 98%.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 0.10 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 200 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. There were an estimated 100 deaths from AIDS in 2003.

HOUSING

In 1992, the Slovak Association of Towns and Villages, comprised of some 2,000 towns, was engaged in recovering all housing units from former state administration authorities. As of 2001, there were about 1,884,846 dwelling units nationwide. Most of these were detached houses. About 88% of all dwellings were permanently occupied. About 11% of all dwellings were unoccupied. Of the permanently occupied units, the average number of rooms per unit was 3.2; nearly 73% of all dwellings had 3 rooms or more. The average number of people per dwelling was also 3.21. About 76.3% of all dwellings had central heating and 92.8% had a separate bathroom or shower facility. About 28,507 units were considered unsuitable for habitation.

EDUCATION

Slovakia has an estimated adult literacy rate of 99%. Education is compulsory for nine years, approximately up to the age of 15. This basic schooling is accomplished in two stages of four years and five years. At the secondary level, there are a variety of general, vocational, professional, and art school programs to choose from. Most secondary programs last about four years.

In 2001, about 82% of children between the ages of three and five were enrolled in some type of preschool program. Primary school enrollment in 2003 was estimated at about 86% of age-eligible students. The same year, secondary school enrollment was about 88% of age-eligible students. It is estimated that about 99% of all students complete their primary education. The student-to-teacher ratio for primary school was at about 18:1 in 2003; the ratio for secondary school was about 13:1.

Slovakia has 13 universities, with the oldest being Cornenius (Komensky) University in Bratislava—founded in 1919. The Pavel Josef Afarík University, founded in 1959, is in Košice. In 2003, it was estimated that about 34% of the tertiary age population were enrolled in tertiary education programs. The adult literacy rate for 2004 was estimated at about 99%.

As of 2003, public expenditure on education was estimated at 4.4% of GDP, or 13.8% of total government expenditures.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The most important library in Slovakia is the Slovak National Library (4.4 million volumes), founded in 1863 and located at Martin. The State Scientific Library in Banská Bstrica (1926) holds almost two million volumes, and the Comenius University in Bratislava has the country's largest university collection of 2.2 million volumes. In total there are over 450 libraries in universities and other higher-educational institutions and about 2,600 public library branches nationwide.

The Slovak National Gallery (1948), the Slovak National Museum (1924), the Natural History Museum (1948), and the History Museum (1924), are all in Bratislava. The administrators of the Slovak National Museum also sponsor the branch museums of the Museum of Archaeology, the Museum of Ethnography, the Museum of Music, the Museum of Puppetry and Toys, and the Museum of Jewish Culture. The State Gallery of Art is in Banská Bstrica. There are dozens of regional museums throughout the country.

MEDIA

In 2003, there were an estimated 241 mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 7,000 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there were approximately 684 mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

There are three government boards appointed by a majority vote of parliament to supervise radio and television broadcasting: The Slovak Television Council and the Slovak Radio Council establish broadcasting policy for state-owned television and radio. The Slovak Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting issues broadcast licenses for nongovernment groups and administers advertising laws and other regulations. The privately owned TV Markiza has the widest broadcast audience. In 2005, there were at two other commercial television stations and at least four commercial radios stations. The public broadcaster, Slovak TV and Radio, sponsored two national television networks and five national radio networks. In 2003, there were an estimated 965 radios and 409 television sets for every 1,000 people. About 127.3 of every 1,000 people were cable subscribers. Also in 2003, there were 180.4 personal computers for every 1,000 people and 256 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet. There were 63 secure Internet servers in the country in 2004.

In 2002, there were 14 major daily newspapers, including (with average circulation figures): Novy Cas (New Time, 230,000), Pravda (Truth, 165,000), Praca (Labor, 80,000), and SMENA (a youth journal, 80,000). The daily sports newspaper Sport had a circulation of 85,000 in 2002. The two major Hungarian newspapers are the daily Uj Szo (New Word, 42,000) and the weekly Szabad Ujsag (Free Journal, 40,000). There are also a number of government bulletins and small circulation publications printed by and for minority language groups.

ORGANIZATIONS

The Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry is located in Bratislava. There are professional associations for a number of occupations, including teaching and a number of medical professions.

The Slovak Academy of Sciences promotes public interest, education, and research in various scientific fields. Cultural and educational associations include the Organization of Slovak Writers. The Slovak Medical Association promotes research and education on health issues and works to establish common policies and standards in healthcare. There are several other associations dedicated to research and education for specific fields of medicine and particular diseases and conditions.

National youth organizations include the Association of Slovak Students, Civic Democratic Youth, YMCA/YWCA, and Slovak Scouting. There are several sports associations promoting amateur competition in a variety of pastimes, such as Frisbee, aikido, badminton, baseball, figure skating, floorball, and track and field; many sports associations are affiliated with international groups as well. There are national chapters of the Paralympic Committee and the Special Olympics, as well as a national Olympic Committee.

Kiwanis and Lion's Clubs have programs in the country. Women's organizations include the Alliance of Women in Slovakia. Greenpeace, Habitat for Humanity, and the Red Cross have national chapters.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Slovakia's outdoor tourist attractions include mountains (the most famous being the High and Low Tatras), forests, cave formations, and over 1,000 mineral and hot springs. In addition, tourists can visit ancient castles, monuments, chateaux, museums, and galleries. Slovakia is also home to many health spas. Horse racing is a national pastime. Golf, skiing, mountaineering, and rafting are popular sports among tourists. All visitors are required to have valid passports, onward/return tickets and sufficient funds for their stay. Visas are required for nationals of 154 countries including China, Australia, and India.

In 2003, about 1.4 million tourists arrived in Slovakia. There were 35,853 hotel rooms that year with 90,773 beds and an occupancy rate of 38%. The average length of stay was three nights.

According to 2005 US Department of State estimates, the cost of staying in Bratislava was $272 per day. Estimated daily travel costs elsewhere in the country averaged $157.

FAMOUS SLOVAKS

Ján Kollár (1793–1852), writer, poet, Slavist, and archaeologist, was a Slovak patriot who championed the Slav struggle against foreign oppression. Ludovít Stúr (1815–56) is the founder of the Slovak literary language and modern Slovak literature. Founder of scientific Slavic studies was Pavel Josef Safačrík (1795–1861), whose Slavonic Antiquities had great scholarly influence. Andrej Hlinka (1864–1938) led the Slovak Catholic autonomist movement. The greatest Slovak poet, Pavel Hviezdoslav (1849–1921), translated foreign poetry, refined the language, and contributed to Slovak awakening. The Robin Hood of the Slovaks, Juraj Jánošík (1688–1713), fought the Hungarians. Milan Rastislav Stefánik (1880–1919), military leader, astronomer, and ally of Tomáš Masaryk, represented the Slovaks in their struggle for liberty. Alexander Dubček (1921–92) was first secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party (1968–69). His attempt to increase civil liberties led to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact in 1968. In 1989 he was elected the Federal Assembly's first speaker.

DEPENDENCIES

Slovakia has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Frucht, Richard (ed.). Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2005.

Kirschbaum, Stanislav J. Historical Dictionary of Slovakia. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 1998.

——. A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival. 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005.

Labour Market and Social Policies in the Slovak Republic. Paris: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1996.

McElrath, Karen (ed.). HIV and AIDS: A Global View. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Mikus, Joseph A. Slovakia: A Political and Constitutional History: With Documents. Bratislava: Slovak Academy Press, 1995.

Reuvid, Jonathan. Doing Business with Slovakia. Sterling, Va.: Kogan Page, 2004.

Slovakia and the Slovaks: A Concise Encyclopedia. Edited by Milan Strhan and David P. Daniel. Bratislava: Encyclopedical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Science, Goldpress Publishers, 1994.

SLOVAKIA

Slovak Republic

Slovenska Republika

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

The Slovak Republic is a land-locked nation in the eastern portion of Central Europe, with access to the Black Sea via the Danube River. Its neighbors are the Czech Republic to the northwest, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, and Austria to the west. The country's total area is 48,845 square kilometers (18,859 square miles). Much of its northern and central terrain is composed of striking mountains, similar to the American Rockies. Terrain in southern Slovakia consists of plains in the west and rolling hills. Slovakia is about the size of South Carolina, and it does not border a sea. The capital, Bratislava, is located near the country's western border and is not far from Vienna, Austria. Other major cities include Košice in the east and Banská Bystrica in the center of the country.

POPULATION.

The population of Slovakia was estimated to be 5,407,956 in July 2000, an increase of 3.25 percent over the 1980 population of approximately 4,996,000. The birth rate stood at 10 per 1,000 in 2000, and the death rate was 9.29 per 1,000, resulting in a growth rate of .12 percent for 2000. Following this trend, the population for 2010 is projected at 5,473,203. The population has become increasingly urbanized, with 56.7 percent of Slovaks living in cities in 1999, up from 49.2 percent in 1980 and 32.8 percent in 1960.

Several ethnic groups make up the population. About 85.7 percent of the people are Slovak, and 10.6 percent are ethnic Hungarians. Although the census data registers 1.6 percent of the population as Romany (Gypsy), this figure is believed to be an underrepresentation, with some experts estimating as many as 500,000 Romany living in Slovakia. There are also small numbers of Czechs, Moravians, Silesians, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, and Poles. Approximately 60 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, about 10 percent is atheist, 8 percent is Protestant, 4 percent is Orthodox, and 17.5 percent list their religion as "other."

OVERVIEW OF ECONOMY

The nation that is now known as Slovakia was part of the Hungarian portion of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of World War I in 1918. It then became a part of the new nation of Czechoslovakia. During the 1930s, Czechoslovakia was an industrial powerhouse in Europe. After World War II, Czechoslovakia fell under the political and economic influence of the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovak economic performance began to stagnate under communist rule, which mandated state ownership of enterprises, state-led central planning of economic activities, and artificial price controls . In 1968, after some Czechoslovak leaders attempted to introduce some political, cultural, and economic liberalization , the country was invaded by the Warsaw Pact troops of neighboring communist countries under the direction of the Soviet Union. This intervention put a stop to liberalization and introduced a period of "normalization" in which the government attempted to increase production of consumer goods in exchange for political compliance by the people. In spite of these efforts, the economy continued to decline, culminating in an economic crisis by the late 1980s that sparked more popular protests.

By late 1989, the more liberal policies of the Soviet Union toward Eastern Europe, as well as the weakening of communist governments in neighboring East Germany, Hungary, and Poland, made it harder for the Czechoslovak communists to retain power. In November and December of 1989, the communist government stepped down. Free elections for parliament were held in 1990, and Václav Havel was elected president. The government quickly embarked on a series of economic reforms aimed to reorient the economy towards free market principles. These reforms included economic restructuring and the elimination of government price controls. In addition, the government began the process of privatization .

From 1990 to 1992, these reforms were more popular in what is now the Czech Republic, which had a larger industrial base, than in what is now Slovakia, where several factories that had produced arms during the Cold War had been shut down. Under the country's federal structure, which gave each republic a measure of independent powers, the 1992 elections resulted in a governmental deadlock, and the newly-elected prime ministers of the Czech and Slovak republics began to negotiate the separation of Czechoslovakia into 2 independent states. The Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic became separate sovereign states on January 1, 1993.

Compared to the pre-1993 economic reforms in Czechoslovakia, the economic reforms that took place in Slovakia between 1993 and 1998 occurred at a slower pace. While the country registered continued growth in GDP during this time, international investment did not reach desired levels. In 1998, a more reformist government was elected and began to accelerate the pace of economic reforms. For example, as part of the privatization process, property was now being sold to qualified individuals at regular prices, putting a halt to the previous government's attempts to sell off property to unqualified friends of government officials at artificially low prices. Reforms also improved conditions for foreign investment in Slovakia, paving the way for increased employment and for future accession to the European Union.

Slovakia's strongest economic sectors are industry and services. Its primary industrial products include iron and steel, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, manufactured goods, plastics, chemicals, and armaments. The country's primary agricultural products are wheat, potatoes, barley, sugar beets, and grapes for wine-making. The Slovak Republic's primary mineral products include copper, iron, lead, lignite, manganese, and zinc. The vast majority of the country's energy is imported from outside sources, although there is some hydroelectric and nuclear power.

The Slovak Republic has applied for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and is a prospective member of the European Union (EU). Its largest trading partners are the EU and the Czech Republic. It has received some aid, in the form of grants and loans, from international organizations such as the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank. Slovakia's external debt for 1999 was US$10.6 billion. Organized crime has been a negative factor in the development of the economy, as occasional violence between organized crime factions, such as car bombings, have deterred potential foreign investors. These gangs, composed of Slovaks and immigrants from the former Soviet Union, have in some cases also extorted payments from some small business owners.

POLITICS, GOVERNMENT, AND TAXATION

Slovakia is a parliamentary democracy with a directly-elected president. A unicameral (one-house) National Council of 150 members is elected via a proportional system in which voters indicate a preference for parties rather than for specific candidates. Each party that receives at least 5 percent of the vote is assigned a number of seats in parliament according to the percentage of ballots it receives. Terms are for 4 years. Judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, elected by the National Council and a Constitutional Court appointed by the president from nominees approved by the National Council.

Although the president was initially elected by the parliament, the office of president has been chosen by direct election since 1999. The 1st president to be chosen by direct election, Rudolf Schuster, was elected in 1999 for a 5-year term. He succeeded Michal Kovac, who served as the 1st president after being elected by the parliament in 1993.

The 1st elections in the independent Republic of Slovakia took place in 1994. At that time, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) emerged as a clear victor, as it had in 1992. This party, which is a weak supporter of free-market reforms, formed a governing coalition with the xenophobic (anti-foreign involvement) Slovak Nationalists (SNS) and the Slovak Workers (ZRS). In spite of a very slight victory for the HZDS in the 1998 elections, the party's inability to form a governing coalition gave power to a broad-based coalition that included the free-market reformist Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK). Other significant political parties include the Slovak Communist Party (KSS) and the reformist Democratic Union (DU). There is also a new, centrist party called Smer (Direction).

The government has played a significant role in the economy during the process of changing from a centrally planned communist system to a market-based system. The HZDS-SNS government in power from 1994 to 1998 not only slowed economic reforms but also did some damage to the privatization process by selling direct shares of state industries instead of distributing shares through a voucher process (in which all citizens obtained vouchers to purchase shares in formerly state-run industries), as had been initiated under the Czechoslovak state. It had originally been intended that these sales would take place via public auction, but the HZDS-SNS government made the transfers independently of public discussion or knowledge. There have been allegations that the transfer of many of these enterprises occurred under dubious circumstances, especially between 1996 and 1998.

In spite of these setbacks, the economy is currently dominated by private activity, and the vast majority of economic activity originates in the private sector . The reformist government that took power in 1998 has actively attempted to implement numerous reforms at a rapid pace, with the goal of having Slovakia enter the European Union in the near future.

The Slovak Republic adopted the Commercial Code that was initially formulated in 1991 under the Czechoslovak state. It outlines legal protections for private property and business activities for both Slovaks and foreign persons. Government reforms have also stabilized the Slovak currency and made it convertible to other currencies on the world market. The government has effectively reoriented trade towards Western partners in an attempt to integrate with EU markets.

The government obtains revenue through several different forms of taxes. There is a progressive personal income tax with 7 rates that ranges from 12 to 42 percent. The corporate income tax is 29 percent, although tax holidays or specific tax breaks for some businesses are offered as part of an effort to attract foreign investment. Other taxes include property taxes, road taxes for business vehicles, inheritance tax, and fees for administrative services. There is also a value-added tax on goods; excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and some fuels; customs duties ; and real-property transfer taxes. The court system enforces the commercial code, but as it is often overloaded, plaintiffs may experience significant delays. The military has little or no role in controlling economic development, except for the armaments industry.

INFRASTRUCTURE, POWER, AND COMMUNICATIONS

Given the former communist emphasis on public goods, Slovakia inherited an extensive network of public transportation, in the form of bus and train routes, from Czechoslovakia. Even some of the most remote locations may be reached by bus. One of the most significant changes of the post-communist era has been an increase in independent auto ownership. There are 17,710 kilometers (11,005 miles) of highways, including 288 kilometers (179 miles) of expressway, with only 177 kilometers (110 miles) remaining unpaved. A large-scale improvement is planned for the highway system with a cross-country expressway slated for construction. Continued improvements are planned for the railway system in order to bring it more in line with EU standards. The country now has 3,660 kilometers (2,274 miles) of railways.

There are 18 airports in the country. The largest public airports are in Bratislava and in Košice, the second-largest city. Many visitors also enter Slovakia via the Vienna airport, which is only 25 miles away from Bratislava. The 172 kilometers (107 miles) of waterway are provided by the Danube River, which gives Slovakia access to the Black Sea via ports in Austria, Hungary, the former Yugoslavia, and Romania. The 2 port cities are Bratislava and Komárno, both of which host shipping companies.

Electricity production stands at 20 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), and the country relies on a 220-volt power system. Most electricity is generated by nuclear power (56 percent), followed by imported fossil fuels (24 percent) and hydroelectric power (20 percent). One of the 2 nuclear plants was being upgraded as of 2000, and the construction of an additional hydroelectric power plant on the Danube has been delayed by a dispute with Hungary.

Slovakia's communications infrastructure is rapidly modernizing. In 2000, Slovak Telecom, the former state-owned communications monopoly , was largely privatized, and access to telephone service is easier. The increased entry of private telecommunications providers and the growing popularity of mobile telephones now provide more competition in this industry. There are 87 mobile phones per 1,000 people in the Slovak Republic, compared to 50 per 1,000 in neighboring Poland, and there are 2 providers of cellular phone service and 5 large Internet service providers. Internet cafes are readily available, which make up for the fact that relatively few Slovak households contain computers (65.1 per 1000 people in Slovakia, compared to 97.3 per 1,000 in the Czech Republic and 457 per 1,000 in the United States). Slovakia also lags behind the Czech Republic in the proportion of radios and televisions but is on a rough par with Poland in these categories.

ECONOMIC SECTORS

Since the 1990s, Slovakia has experienced a drastic production shift away from the industrial sector and towards the services sector. In 1998, the proportion of contributions to GDP from services, industry, and agriculture were 62 percent, 33 percent, and 5 percent, respectively. This change has not merely resulted from the 1993 separation of Czechoslovakia, since the Czech Republic has been experiencing similar dramatic shifts. Rather, it is a side effect of the transformation from the central planning of the communist system to a market-based system. The communist system created several large monopoly industries in specific sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and machine production. Once privatized, only some of these industries have been competitive in a free-market environment. While the service sector was given a low priority under the communist system, the free-market environment has demonstrated a strong demand for growth in this sector.

GDP showed generally continuous growth during the 1st decade of the transition. However, some irregularities in the privatization process were among the factors that prevented Slovakia from attaining levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) comparable to that of its neighbors. A restructuring of the government and economic policies in 1998 has brought renewed investor interest in Slovakia. The most famous Slovak industry to survive the transition process is the VSŽ Steel company in Košice, now a partnership with U.S. Steel. Volkswagen also set up operations in Slovakia in the late 1990s.

Under the communist system in Czechoslovakia, Slovakia produced 80 percent of the state's armaments, many of which were exported to eastern-bloc allies. With the end of the Cold War, these factories were shut down. This sector had at one time contributed 5 percent of total industrial production and 12 percent of exports, employing 80,000 people. The closing of the factories was highly unpopular in Slovakia, and played a contributing role to the eventual breakup of the Czechoslovak state. Some Slovak arms production has now been resumed.

The sectors that are projected to have particular growth potential are pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, information technology, equipment and equipment services, business services, and tourism.

AGRICULTURE

The agricultural sector is the smallest in the Slovak economy, making up approximately 5 percent of the GDP, although some sources argue that this proportion is higher. According to 1994 figures, the agricultural sector employs 8.9 percent of the labor force , or 295,480 people. More than one-third of Slovakia's territory is cultivated, and the primary agricultural products are sugar beets, potatoes, wheat, barley, fruit, forest products, corn, pigs, cattle, poultry, and sheep. Grapes for wine production are grown in some hilly areas, and tobacco is cultivated in valleys. Animal products, including oils, represent over 80 percent of all agricultural receipts.

Under the communist economic system, much of Slovakia's agriculture, particularly on the plains, was collectivized, meaning that small private farms were taken by the government in order to create state-owned cooperatives. Under this setup, individuals who lived in a village would be employed by the nearby collective farm. After the collapse of communism in 1989, these cooperatives were transferred to private owners, often by the direct sale of the farm as a unit, though some lands were also restored to their former owners. The government has embarked upon a long-term agricultural policy in an effort to modernize this sector for the world market.

Food consumption has diversified with the introduction of the free market system , and food items that are not produced domestically, such as tropical fruits, are easily imported. These items were more difficult for individuals to obtain under the communist economic system.

INDUSTRY

Industry is a large but declining sector of the economy of Slovakia. According to 1998 data, industrial production made up 33 percent of the country's GDP and employed 37 percent of the labor force, or 1,238,360 people, in 1994. Slovakia is experiencing a long-term decline of industrial production as fewer unnecessary products are being produced under capitalism as were produced under communism. There has also been a reduction of heavy and light industry and a move toward services. In the first decade of the free-market economy, employment in the industrial sector shrank, with the most significant job losses in the areas of construction, machinery and equipment, metals and fabricated metal products, and mining and quarrying. The only increase came in the area of textile production. In spite of this decline, industry continues to produce a significant portion of exports from Slovakia to other countries.

While the majority of large and medium-sized enterprises have been privatized, some companies remained in government hands until as late as 1999 and 2000. Some of these companies had significant debts, making their privatization politically unpopular because of potential job losses. Other companies were initially categorized as strategic enterprises and were left out of the first efforts of privatization. In 1998, Slovak Telecom and SPP, the Slovak gas company, were privatized.

MANUFACTURING.

Many of the remaining manufacturing plants that were privatized after communism included outdated equipment. Thus, foreign direct investment has been extremely important in determining which industries survive the transition to a market economy. Foreign investment was particularly helpful in the areas of transport machines, auto production, and steel production. The most sizable investments were made by the German company Volkswagen and by U.S. Steel, which purchased the large East Slovakia VSŽ Steel plant in the late 1990s. Automobiles and steel are among Slovakia's most successful exports. Chemical production has recently averaged approximately 18 percent of total industrial output and includes chemical fibers and plastics. Other important sectors are the production of textiles, clothing, and leather products such as footwear, fuel and power production, and construction.

The late 1990s saw some decreases in the production of manufactured products, as well as in chemicals, while exports of crude materials remained at steady levels. According to employment figures for 1999, employment trends in various manufacturing sectors varied widely. There have been significant declines in employment in the areas of basic metals and fabricated metal products, machinery and equipment, and construction. The following manufacturing areas registered positive increases between 1998 and 1999: textiles, electrical and optical equipment, pulp and paper products, leather products, and transport equipment.

MINING.

Approximately 4.6 million tons of coal are mined in Slovakia each year. Other significant minerals include iron, copper, lead, manganese, zinc, mercury, and lignite. Employment in the mining sector declined during the 1990s.

CONSTRUCTION.

Construction levels initially increased dramatically after 1989, and building materials represent over 3 percent of industrial output. However, at the end of the 1990s, construction began to experience some fluctuations in employment.

SERVICES

As part of the general transformation of the economy in the transition from a communist to a capitalist system, the service sector in Slovakia has experienced sizable growth while the industrial and agricultural sectors have declined. In 1998, the services sector accounted for 62 percent of total GDP, and, as of 1994, it employed 54 percent of the labor force, or 1,786,160 workers. Significant increases in employment in the late 1990s were located in the service sector, in the areas of wholesale and retail trade, repairs, and hotels and restaurants.

FINANCE, BANKING, AND INSURANCE.

As insurance was not provided under the communist system, there was significant growth in this area during the 1990s. Financial services and consulting companies experienced similar growth. Although foreign companies initiated growth in this sector, they now have some domestic competitors. An increasing number of commercial banks are under private and/or foreign ownership.

RETAIL.

The retail portion of the service sector has undergone dramatic changes since 1989. Under the communist economic system, retail was limited to state-owned shops where product shortages were common and the displays unattractive. In an effort to promote full employment , these stores maintained a complicated point-of-purchase system that required several steps with different clerks at each level (selecting the product, paying for it, and receiving it). Retail stores were privatized as part of the process that took place under the Czechoslovak state before 1993. The current retail sector consists of privatized, restructured stores as well as completely new stores that have adopted capitalist marketing methods. Among the most popular products for consumer consumption are automobiles and foreign-produced appliances, such as televisions, VCRs, and stereos. The repair sector is also growing.

TOURISM.

Tourism has increased significantly since 1989, and it is targeted as a primary sector of growth. Slovakia's chief urban attractions are its largest cities, the capital city of Bratislava and Košice. The country's best known feature is the striking High Tatra mountains, comparable to the American Rockies, which offer numerous opportunities for outdoor tourism such as skiing, hiking, mountain climbing, and cave exploration. Visitors are also attracted by the region's historic spas and castles. Slovakia hopes to make a bid to be a site for a future Winter Olympics.

The number of tourists visiting Slovakia steadily increased after 1989, with the majority of visitors coming from Western Europe and neighboring countries. The dramatic increase in tourism has led to an increased need for tourist services, particularly hotels, and hotel accommodation income increased from 1.1 billion korunas in 1993 to 1.8 billion korunas in 1995. In 2000, some 2.8 million tourists spent US$431 million in Slovakia. Unlike the situation under the communist system, which featured a state-run, monopolistic tourist bureau, the majority of tourist facilities have now been privatized.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Since it became an independent state in 1993, Slovakia has had a trade deficit , meaning that it imports more than it exports. The former Czechoslovak state also consistently registered a negative trade balance between 1975 and its separation into the Czech and Slovak Republics. In 1999, it exported US$11.2 billion worth of goods and services while importing US$10.1 billion.

Slovakia's primary industrial exports are various manufactured goods, among them metal products and wood products, such as paper, as well as machinery and transport equipment. In 1998, these categories comprised 43 percent and 37 percent of all commodity exports, respectively. Other significant exported commodities were chemicals, which made up 9 percent, and raw materials, which amounted to 4 percent. Of the EU countries, Germany and Austria are the primary consumers of Slovak exports (at 29 and 7 percent of exports, respectively), but the Czech Republic (with 20 percent) also consumes a significant volume of Slovak products.

Some 40 percent of all of Slovakia's imports for 1998 were classified as machinery and transport equipment. Other imports included intermediate and miscellaneous manufactured goods, which comprised 28 percent of imports, chemicals (11 percent), and fuels (11 percent), although increasing fuel demand makes this a rapidly-growing import sector. The primary sources of imports from EU countries are Germany (26 percent) and Italy (6 percent), with the Czech Republic (18 percent) and Russia (10 percent) also serving as important importers.

In the early 1990s, the Czechoslovak state made a concentrated effort to shift trade away from the former Soviet Union and former Soviet Bloc countries and to the European Union and the United States. In contrast to the previous Slovakian government, the government elected in 1998 began to actively encourage this shift in an effort to improve the country's chances for entry into the European Union. Trading patterns now show increased volume in trade with the European Union and the United States and decreased volume with other eastern European countries and the former Soviet Union. As one result of this shift, trade with the Czech Republic has been in decline, in spite of a favorable customs union between the 2 countries. The Czech Republic made up 39 percent of Slovakia's foreign trade turnover in 1993, but, by 1999, it was about half that (18 percent). Both countries have instead been registering increased trade with the European Union, which now accounts for approximately 56 percent of Slovakia's foreign trade.

MONEY

Since 1995, the Slovakian koruna has been generally convertible to other currencies on the world market for trading purposes. In January 2000, it was being exchanged at the rate of 42.059 korunas to the U.S. dollar, up from 29.713 in 1995. The Slovak National Bank serves as the country's central bank and sets monetary policy . It is designed to be autonomous from political structures. In spite of the bank's generally responsible policies to curb inflation , the currency has been in a slow state of decline for several years. As a result, imported products are becoming increasingly harder for Slovaks to afford. In addition to the central bank, there are 2 agencies to assist banks and companies through the bankruptcy process.

The privatization of banks in Slovakia has been a complicated process, and the state retained shares in the 3 strongest banks as of 1999. In that year, the government began a program to reduce the amount of state ownership in the banking sector (a holdover from the communist system) and to increase the amount of private ownership of banking. This restructuring is understood as a crucial step in the transition to a market economic system. There is also a growing amount of foreign investment and ownership in the banking sector. This process corresponds with the country's efforts to prepare for future integration into the financial structures of the European Union.

The Bratislava Stock Exchange is the seat of much of the securities trading in the Slovak Republic. There is also an electronic exchange market called the RM-system, also for the trade of securities. A database of all listed companies is maintained by the Center of Securities of the Slovak Republic, a joint-stock company.

POVERTY AND WEALTH

In 1998, GDP per capita was US$3,822 in Slovakia, as compared to $5,142 in the Czech Republic, US$2,900 in Poland, and US$23,200 in the United States. Four decades of communist rule in Czechoslovakia (1948 to 1989) had a strong and enduring effect on the distribution of incomes in Slovakia. Under communism, wages were artificially kept at similar levels, so professionals such as doctors earned wages similar to those of factory or construction workers. Because property had belonged to the state and housing was distributed through state channels, those individuals who obtained large homes often did so through political means, such as good standing with the Communist Party.

By 2000, with the privatization of property, home ownership is increasingly becoming a privilege of financial success. However, the Slovakian government that administered the privatization process throughout most of the 1990s did so in a non-transparent (secretive) way, making it clear that political affiliation mattered for the acquisition of property at reduced rates. Such instances of corruption have allowed a few individuals to improve their economic standing through dubious means.

Although the social structure is rapidly moving toward a hierarchical class system, as of the late 1990s, income distribution and consumption in Slovakia remained more equalized than in the United States. In the United

States, the richest 20 percent of people earn and consume 46 percent of available wealth, as compared with Slovakia, where the richest 20 percent earn and consume only 31 percent of available wealth. In the United States, the poorest 20 percent earn and consume only 5 percent of available wealth, but in the Slovakia, the poorest 20 percent earn and consume nearly 12 percent.

Under the communist system, higher education and health care were freely provided by the state. Slovakia has been implementing reforms that require individuals to pay for these services. These reforms have been difficult for average individuals because institutions such as a comprehensive student loan system or health insurance have not yet been fully developed. The state does provide a social security system and some social assistance.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Slovakia's labor force is 3.32 million. Because the previous communist system required women to work outside the home, many are now choosing to remain at home when they have children, in contrast to trends in the United States. In 1999 and early 2000, the rate of unemployment, which registers those actively looking for work, reached

nearly 20 percent. It now appears to be declining, with unemployment for late 2000 at 16-17 percent. Many experts believe that high levels of unemployment are difficult to avoid in the ongoing transition period. The government has focused its energies on improving foreign investment and business possibilities in an effort to promote new jobs, and unemployment benefits are available, as well as progressive provisions for paid maternity leave.

Unemployment is at the lowest level in the capital of Bratislava, where wages are at the highest level in the country, and in the eastern region of Košice. In 1994, the majority of those employed, 53.8 percent, worked in the service sector. Industry employed 37.3 percent of the workforce, and the remaining 8.9 percent worked in agriculture. Given the importance of foreign investment in the economy, those workers who speak English and German have an advantage in the labor market.

There is an active confederation of trade unions, with the largest single union being the Engineering and Metal Union. The majority of all workers are union members. Slovakia has instituted a system of laws that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, language, religion, faith, and political views. However, discrimination against the hiring of Romany people (Gypsies) persists in practice.

COUNTRY HISTORY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

500 A.D. First Slavonic tribes appear in region.

830-900. Period of the Great Moravian Empire.

863. Christianity enters the region, brought by the monks Cyril and Methodius.

907. The Moravian Empire is overthrown by the Hungarians (Magyars), leading to rule by various Hungarian kings.

1526. The defeat of Hungarians by the Turks in a battle moves the administrative seat of Hungary northward, to what is now Slovakia. This situation lasts until the late 1600s.

MID-1800s. Increasing Slovak national identity is particularly centered around language.

1867. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is divided into 2 parts. The Slovaks remain under the rule of the Hungarians, based in Budapest, while the Czechs are under Hapsburg rule.

1918. The Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrates at the end of World War I and Czechoslovakia becomes an independent nation.

1938. Adolf Hitler's Germany is given a piece of Czechoslovakia by the Munich Agreement.

1939. Germany attacks Czechoslovakia at the start of World War II. Czechoslovakia is dissolved and Slovakia becomes a puppet state allied with Hitler's Germany. Many Jews perish in camps during the war.

1944. Approximately 60,000 Slovak troops engage in the Slovak National Uprising against German rule, a resistance that is put down by the Nazis.

1948. The Communist Party takes over Czechoslovakia's parliament. A communist political and economic system dominates for the next 4 decades.

1968. The Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc nations invade Czechoslovakia to counter reform attempts during the "Prague Spring" of Premier Alexander Dub ek.

1970s. Strict repression and control of the population by the Communist Party.

1977. Some political dissidents, emboldened by principles of human rights, begin to visibly resist the communist leadership.

1980s. Worsening economic conditions lead to increasing numbers of protests against communism.

1990. The first post-communist parliamentary elections are held in Czechoslovakia, and the new government embarks on a series of reforms to replace the communist economic system with a capitalist system.

1992. The second post-communist elections result in a leadership stalemate between the Czech and Slovak republics under the federal Czechoslovak state.

1993. The Republic of Slovakia is constituted on January 1. In February, it establishes a separate Slovakian currency.

2000. Slovakia is invited to begin accession talks with the European Union, of which it is already an associate member.

FUTURE TRENDS

Slovakia has come a long way since its founding in 1993 and its first decade of transition from a communist to a capitalist economic system. It is a member of several international organizations, including the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is also an associate member of the European Union. It aspires to become a member of NATO and is working to update its military infrastructure for this purpose. The government's primary focus in recent years has been the preparation of legislative and regulatory structures for future EU membership, for which it has made a formal application.

In spite of the enormous changes that Slovakia has successfully undergone in its first few years of independence, and particularly since 1998, more remains to be done. Some areas for improvement include: some restructuring of the enterprise sector after the negative results of corrupt "insider" privatization by the first Slovak government, increased foreign investment, a reduction of high unemployment levels, and further reforms of legislation to incorporate EU standards. Although the Slovak economy faces many difficulties, the EU has responded favorably to the economic reforms initiated by the reformist government. Whether the country is able to complete its reform process and attain membership in the EU will depend largely upon the fate of the reformist government in the next elections.

DEPENDENCIES

Slovakia has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Elections in Slovakia." <http://www.electionworld.org/election/slovakia.htm>. Accessed January 2001.

Foreign Trade Support Fund. <http://www.fpzo.sk/indexlEuk.htm>.Accessed August 2001.

International Monetary Fund. International Financial Statistics Yearbook. Washington: The International Monetary Fund, 1999.

Kirschbaum, Stanislav. A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1995.

Ministry of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic. <http://www.mpsr.sk/english>. Accessed August 2001.

National Bank of Slovakia. <http://www.nbs.sk/mena/bezmin/indexa.htm>. Accessed August 2001.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD Interim Economic Assessment, Slovak Republic, 2000. Paris: OECD, May 2000.

Ratjar, Jozef. "Customs Union between the Czech and SlovakRepublics." Doing Business.CZ. <http://www.doingbusiness.cz/article.asp?ArticleID=40>. Accessed January 2001.

Slovakia.org: The Guide to the Slovak Republic. <http://www.slovakia.org>. Accessed January 2001.

Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. <http://www.statistics.sk/webdata/english/index2_a.htm>. Accessed August 2001.

Stroschein, Sherrill. "Slovakia." In Nations in Transit 1997: Civil Society, Democracy and Markets in East Central Europe and the Newly Independent States, edited by Motyl and Shor Karatnycky. New York: Freedom House/Transaction Publishers, 1997.

United Nations Development Program. Human Development Report 2000. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook 2000. <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html>. Accessed August 2001.

U.S. Department of State. Background Notes: Slovakia. <http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/slovakia_9908_bgn.html>. Accessed January 2001.

U.S. Department of State. FY 2001 Country Commercial Guide: Slovakia. <http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/business/com_guides/2001/europe/index.html>. Accessed January 2001.

—Sherrill Stroschein

CAPITAL:

Bratislava.

MONETARY UNIT:

Slovenská koruna (Sk). One koruna equals 100 hellers. There are coins of 10, 20, and 50 hellers, and 1, 2, 5, and 10 korunas. There are notes of 20, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 5,000 korunas. The koruna came into being with the division of Czechoslovakia into the Czech and Slovak Republics in 1993 and is now valued at a different rate than the Czech currency.

CHIEF EXPORTS:

Machinery and transport equipment, intermediate manufactured goods, chemicals, raw materials.

CHIEF IMPORTS:

Machinery and transport equipment, intermediate manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:

US$45.9 billion (purchasing power parity, 1999 est.).

BALANCE OF TRADE:

Exports: US$10.1 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.). Imports: US$11.2 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.).

Slovakia

PROFILE
PEOPLE
HISTORY
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
ECONOMY
NATIONAL SECURITY
FOREIGN RELATIONS
U.S.-SLOVAKIA RELATIONS
TRAVEL

Compiled from the January 2008 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:

The Slovak Republic

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 48,845 sq. km. (about twice the size of New Hampshire).

Land boundaries: (total) 1,524 km. Austria 91 km.; Czech Republic 215 km.; Hungary 677 km.; Poland 444 km.; Ukraine 97 km.

Cities: Capital—Bratislava.

Terrain: Landlocked with high mountains in the north, low mountains in the center, hills to the west, Danube River basin in the south.

Climate: Temperate; average temperature in January 26.5°F; in July 68°F; Annual precipitation 24”-40”.

Elevation: Lowest point, Bodrog River 94 m. Highest point, Gerlachovsky 2,655 m.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Slovak(s).

Population: (May 2001 census*) 5,379,455. Bratislava (428,672), Kosice (236,093), Zilina (156,361), Nitra (163,540), Presov (161,782), Banska Bstrica (111984)

Annual population growth rate: (2001 est.) 0.13%.

Ethnic groups: (2001) Slovaks 85.8%, Hungarians 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Czechs 0.8%, Ruthenians 0.4%, Ukranians 0.2%, other 1.4%. Unofficial estimates place the Roma population between 6%-10%.

Religions: (2001) Roman Catholic 69%, Protestant 9%, Greek Catholic 4%, Orthodox 0.9%, other 0.6%, unknown 3.5%, 13% report no affiliation.

Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian, Ruthenian, Romany, and Ukrainian.

Education: Literacy—99%.

Health: Life expectancy (2001)—78 yrs. females; 70 yrs. males.

Work force: (2.1 million in 2001) Industry, construction, commerce—61%; financial, commercial, health services—18%; government and education—15%; agriculture—6%.

Government

Type: Parliamentary democracy.

Independence: The Slovak Republic was established January 1, 1993 (former Czechoslovak Republic established 1918).

Constitution: Signed September 3, 1992.

Government branches: Executive—president (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative—National Council of the Slovak Republic (150 seats). Judicial—Supreme Court, Constitutional Court.

Political parties: Distribution of the 150 parliamentary seats is SMER (Direction) 50 seats; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) 31 seats; Slovak National Party (SNS) 20 seats; Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) 20 seats; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) 15 seats; Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH) 14 seats. Other parties include Alliance of New Citizens; Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS); Freedom Forum (SF); People's Union (LU).

Suffrage: Universal at 18 years.

Political subdivisions: Eight administrative regions, 79 districts.

Economy

GDP: (2006) $55.2 billion.

GDP growth rate: (2006) 8.3%.

Nominal GDP per capita: (2006) $18,200 (CIA World Factbook), $17,600 (International Monetary Fund).

Unemployment: (May 2007) 8.3%.

Natural resources: Antimony, mercury, iron, copper, lead, zinc, magnesite, limestone, lignite, uranium (not yet in production).

Agriculture: Products—grains, potatoes, poultry, cattle, hogs, sugar, beets, hops, fruit, forest products.

Industry: Types—iron and steel, chemicals, automobiles, light industry, food processing, back-office support, engineering, building materials.

Trade: (2006) Exports—$41.5 billion: vehicles, iron and steel, machinery and energy equipment, plastics, fiber optics. Imports (2006)—$44.6 billion: mineral fuels and oils, machinery, audio/video equipment, vehicles. 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%.

Foreign investment: (1989-2006, OECD data) Cumulative—$17.3 billion, FDI inflow $4.2 billion in 2006 (highest-ever FDI inflows). Sources of direct foreign investment—Netherlands 19.5%, Germany 18.2%, Austria14.8%, Italy 12.4%, Hungary 6.1%, U.K. 5.3%, Czech Republic 4.1%, Republic of Korea 3.6%, U.S. 3.3% (9th largest investor)**, Cyprus 2.7%. Sectors of direct foreign investment—industrial production, financial services, energy production and distribution, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and telecommunications.

*Figures are based on immediate city's (not region) permanent resident population.

**Government of Slovakia official statistic. A recent U.S. Embassy survey found that, taking into account investments of U.S. subsidiaries in Europe, U.S. investment is more than 15% of the total.

PEOPLE

The majority of the 5.4 million inhabitants of the Slovak Republic are Slovak (85.8%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (9.7%) and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of Slovakia. Other ethnic groups include Roma, Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Poles. The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (69%) practice Roman Catholicism; the second-largest group is Protestants (9%). About 3, 000 Jews remain of the estimated pre-WWII population of 120,000. The official state language is Slovak, and Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern region.

Despite its modern European economy and society, Slovakia has a significant rural element. About 45% of Slovaks live in villages of less than 5,000 people, and 14% in villages of less than 1,000.

HISTORY

Slovak history can find its roots in the Great Moravian Empire, founded in the early ninth century. The territory of Great Moravia included all of present western and central Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and parts of neighboring Poland, Hungary, and Germany. Saint Cyril and Methodius, known for the creation of a Cyrillic alphabet, came to Great Moravia in the early tenth century as missionaries to spread Christianity upon the invitation of the king. The empire collapsed after only eighty years as a result of the political intrigues and external pressures from invading forces. Slovaks then became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Bratislava became the Hungarian capital for nearly two and a half centuries when the Turks overran Hungary in the early 16th century.

Revolutions inspired by nationalism swept through Central Europe in 1848, which led to the codification of the Slovak language by Ludovit Stur in 1846 and later the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867. As language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian, which came to be known as Magyarization, grew stricter, Slovak nationalism grew stronger. Slovak intellectuals cultivated closer cultural ties with the Czechs, who were themselves ruled by the Austrians. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian State after WWI, the concept of a single Czecho-Slovakian unified state came to fruition. Tomas Masaryk signed the Pittsburgh Agreement, declaring the intent of the Czech and Slovaks to found a new state in May 1918, and a year later become Czechoslovakia's first president.

After the 1938 Munich agreement that forced Czechoslovakia to cede territory to Germany, Slovakia declared its autonomy. Slovakia became a Nazi puppet state led by the Catholic priest Jozef Tiso. During this period, approximately 70,000 Slovak Jews were sent to concentration camps to perish in the Holocaust. Roma, while persecuted under the Tiso regime, were not deported by the Slovak Hlinka guards. An undetermined number of Roma were deported from the southern part of Slovakia when it was occupied by Hungary in 1944. The Slovak National Uprising, a resistance movement against the fascist Slovak state, occurred in 1944 with the participation of Slovaks, Russians, Jews, and some allied forces but was put down by Nazi forces.

At the conclusion of WWII, the reunified Czechoslovakia was considered within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. The communist party, supported by the U.S.S.R., took over political power in February 1948 and began to centralize power. The next four decades were characterized by strict communist rule, interrupted only briefly during the Prague Spring of 1968. The Slovak born Communist leader Alexander Dubcek presided over a thawing of communist power and proposed political, social, and economic reforms in his effort to make “socialism with a human face” a reality. Concern among other Warsaw Pact governments that Dubcek had gone too far prompted an invasion and Dubcek's removal from his position.

The 1970s were characterized by the development of a dissident movement. On January 1, 1977 more than 250 human rights activists signed a manifesto called Charter 77, which criticized the government for failing to meet its human rights obligation. The so-called “Candle Demonstration,” which took place in Bratislava in March 1988, was the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. The Demonstration, organized by Roman Catholic groups asking for religious freedom in Czechoslovakia, was brutally suppressed by the police.

On November 17, 1989, a series of public protests, known as the “Velvet Revolution,” began and led to the downfall of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Dissident groups, such as Charter 77 in the Czech Republic and Public Against Violence in Slovakia,

united to form a transitional government and assist with the first democratic elections since 1948. Several new parties emerged to fill the political spectrum.

After the 1992 elections, Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), based on its appeal on fairness to Slovak demands for autonomy, emerged as the leading party in Slovakia. In June 1992, the Slovak parliament voted to declare sovereignty and the federation dissolved peacefully on January 1, 1993. Meciar's party—the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS)—ruled Slovakia the first 5 years as an independent state. His authoritarian style as Prime Minister created international concerns about the democratic development of Slovakia. In the 1998 elections, Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) received about 27% of the vote, but went into the opposition, unable to find coalition partners.

A reform-oriented coalition formed a government led by Mikulas Dzur-inda, the chairman of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU). The first Dzurinda government made political and economic reforms that enabled Slovakia to enter the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), close virtually all chapters in European Union (EU) negotiations, and make the country a strong candidate for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) accession. However, the popularity of the governing parties declined sharply, and several new parties gained relatively high levels of support in public opinion polls.

In the September 2002 parliamentary election, a last-minute surge in support for the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) gave Dzurinda a mandate for a second term. He formed a government with three other center-right parties: the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), Christian Democrats (KDH), and Alliance of New Citizens (ANO). The main priorities of the coalition were ensuring a strong Slovak performance within NATO and the EU, fighting corruption, attracting foreign investment, and reforming social services, such as the health care system. Following a summer 2003 parliamentary shake-up, the government lost its narrow parliamentary majority and controlled only 69 of the 150 seats; however, the coalition was relatively stable because of the parties' similar political philosophies and conflicts between opposition parties.

Slovakia officially became a member of NATO on March 29, 2004 and joined the EU on May 1, 2004. The government strongly supported Slo-vakia's NATO and EU accession and continued the democratic and free market-oriented reforms begun by the first Dzurinda government.

Parliamentary elections were held June 17, 2006. Robert Fico became Prime Minister, leading a coalition of SMER (Direction), the Slovak National Party (SNS), and the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS).

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic. Delegates are elected for 4-year terms on the basis of proportional representation. The Slovak political scene supports a wide spectrum of political parties, including several social democratic parties and the nationalistic Slovak National Party.

In January 1999, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment allowing for direct election of the president. Kosice Mayor Rudolf Schuster was elected president in a May 1999 run-off with former Prime Minister Meciar and took office on June 15, 1999. On April 17, 2004, Ivan Gaspa-rovic, a former Meciar deputy, was elected president; he was inaugurated on June 15, 2004. Virtually all executive powers of government belong to the prime minister, but the president does serve as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, can grant pardons, and has the right to return legislation to Parliament. Parliament, however, can override this veto with a simple majority of the 150 members of Parliament.

The country's highest appellate forum is the Supreme Court; below that are regional, district, and military courts. In certain cases the law provides for decisions of tribunals of judges to be attended by lay judges from the citizenry. Slovakia also has a special Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by Parliament.

In 2002, Parliament passed legislation that created a Judicial Council. This 18-member council, composed of judges, law professors, and other legal experts, is now responsible for the nomination of judges. All judges, except those of the Constitutional Court, are appointed by the president from a list proposed by the Judicial Council. The Council also is responsible for appointing Disciplinary Senates in cases of judicial misconduct.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 2/1/2008

President: Ivan GASPAROVIC

Prime Minister: Robert FICO

Dep. Prime Min.: Robert KALINAK

Dep. Prime Min.: Jan MIKOLAJ

Dep. Prime Min. for European Affairs, Human Rights, & Minorities: Dusan CAPLOVIC

Dep. Prime Min. for Legislation: Stefan HARABIN

Min. of Agriculture: Zdenka KRAMPLOVA

Min. of Construction & Regional Development: Marian JANUSEK

Min. of Culture: Marek MADARIC

Min. of Defense: Frantisek KASICKY

Min. of Economy: Lubomir JAHNATEK

Min. of Education: Jan MIKOLAJ

Min. of Environment: Jaroslav IZAK

Min. of Finance: Jan POCIATEK

Min. of Foreign Affairs: Jan KUBIS

Min. of Health: Ivan VALENTOVIC

Min. of Interior: Robert KALINAK

Min. of Justice: Stefan HARABIN

Min. of Labor, Social Affairs, & Family: Viera TOMANOVA

Min. of Transportation, Post, &Telecommunications: LubomirVAZNY

Governor, Central Bank of Slovakia: Ivan SRAMKO

Ambassador to the US: Rastislav KACER

Permanent Representative to the UN, NewYork: Peter BURIAN

The Slovak Republic has an embassy in the United States, located at 3523 International Court, NW, Washington, DC, 20008.

Slovakia maintains a permanent mission to the United Nations in New York and 11 honorary consulates in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Denver, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. Slovakia opened consulates general in New York in September 2003 and in Los Angeles in April 2005.

ECONOMY

Since the establishment of the Slovak Republic in January 1993, Slovakia has continued the difficult transformation from a centrally-planned to a modern market-oriented economy. This reform slowed in the 1994-98 period due to the crony capitalism and irresponsible fiscal policies of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's government. While economic growth and other fundamentals improved steadily during Meciar's term, public and private debt and trade deficits soared, and privatization, often tarnished by corrupt insider deals, progressed only in fits and starts. Real annual GDP growth peaked at 6.5% in 1995 but declined to 1.3% in 1999. Much of the growth in the Meciar era, however, was attributable to high government spending and over-borrowing rather than productive economic activity.

The pace of economic reforms picked up during the second administration of Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, which oversaw the simplification of the tax system, reforms of the labor code and pension systems, and a large number of privatizations. The economy grew 8.3% in 2006 (the highest economic growth among OECD members and third highest growth in Central Europe), more than 9% in the first six months of 2007, and was predicted to continue at this pace through the remainder of 2007.

Slovakia entered into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in November 2005, and is currently on target to join the Euro Zone on January 1, 2009 by meeting or coming close to meeting the Maastricht Criteria. Headline consumer price inflation dropped from 26% in 1993 to 4.5% in 2006, and fell below 2.4% in the first months of 2007, supported by falling world energy prices and exchange rate appreciation. The current account deficit, including the cost of the second pension pillar, reached 3.3% in 2006, but the general government deficit for 2007 is forecast at 2.9%. Government debt was 33%ofGDPin2006.

The exchange rate has remained within the 15% fluctuation bands around the central ERM2 rate, but the central parity rate of the Slovak koruna against the Euro was revalued by 8.5% to SKK 35.4424 in March 2007 in view of significant inflows of foreign direct investment followed by the progressive acceleration of economic growth and substantial appreciation of the estimated equilibrium real exchange rate.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovakia has increased dramatically. Cheap and skilled labor force, low taxes, a 19% flat tax for corporations and individuals, no dividend taxes, a relatively liberal labor code and a favorable geographical location are Slovakia's main advantages for foreign investors. Major pillars of sound economic reforms remain untouched even after the 2006 elections. FDI inflow grew more than 600% from 2000 and cumulatively reached an all-time high of $17.3 billion in 2006, or around $18,000 per capita by the end of 2006. The total inflow of FDI in 2006 was $1.31 billion.

Germany is Slovakia's largest trading partner, purchasing 23.52% of Slovakia's exports and supplying 20.48% of its imports in 2006. Other major partners include the Czech Republic (13.9% imports and 12.3% exports), Italy (6.48% and 4.52%), Russia (1.64% and 11.24%), and Austria (5.98% and 3.37%). Slovakia imports nearly all of its oil and gas from Russia and its export markets are primarily OECD and EU countries. More than 85.1% of its trade is with EU members and with OECD countries (89.7%). Slovakia's exports to the United States made up 3.16% of its overall exports in 2006 ($1,319.2 million), while imports from the U.S. account for 1.25% of its total purchases abroad ($559.1 million).

NATIONAL SECURITY

The armed forces of the Slovak Republic number about 18,000 uniformed personnel and are made up of Land Forces, Air Forces (which includes air defense forces) and a Joint Training and Doctrine Command. Land forces consist of two mechanized infantry brigades, one with two mech battalions (BMP-1), a tank battalion (T-72), and a combined artillery battalion. The other brigade has three mech battalions (BMP-2). Each maneuver brigade is or is planned to be task organized with combat support units, such as an artillery battalion, an engineer battalion, a logistics support battalion, and an air defense battery. Other land forces include a separate NBC battalion, engineer battalion, ISTAR company, signal battalion and command support battalion. Air and Air Defense Forces are comprised of a fighter wing of MiG-29s, a wing of Mi-24 attack and Mi-17 utility helicopters, and a SAM brigade. Military police are under the command of the Ministry of Defense and a special operations regiment falls under the Land Forces Command. The armed forces are among the most respected national institutions according to national opinion polls.

Slovakia's ambitious roadmap for defense reform is the Force 2015 Long-Term Plan, which strikes a well-reasoned balance between requirements and resources and envisions a professionalized, combat-capable force of 18,000 uniformed personnel. Slovakia has about 530 personnel deployed to coalition and NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as UN-led peace support operations (PSOs) worldwide. Defense spending was 1.6% of GDP in 2006.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Slovakia officially became a member of the NATO on March 29, 2004 and joined the EU in May 2004. Slovakia has been an active participant in U.S. and NATO-led military actions and a partner in the war on terrorism. A military engineering brigade on the ground in Iraq from August 2003 departed in February 2007. A 57-man military engineering brigade is present at Kadahar airbase in Afghanistan, and the Slovak Parliament approved in December 2007 an increase in Slovakia's commitment to ISAF that will bring the total deployment to 115 in 2008. Slovakia participates in a joint Czech-Slovak peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Slovakia is a member of the United Nations and participates in its specialized agencies. It is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the OECD. It also is part of the Visegrad Four (Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland), a forum for discussing areas of common concern. Upon the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Slovakia and the Czech Republic entered into a customs union, which facilitates a relatively free flow of goods and services. On December 21, 2007, Slovakia joined the Schengen zone. Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries. There are 35 embassies and 26 honorary consulates in Bratislava.

U.S.-SLOVAKIA RELATIONS

The fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and the subsequent split of the two republics on January 1, 1993, allowed for renewed cooperation between the United States and Slovakia. The election of a pro-Western, reformist government in late 1998 further boosted close ties between the countries. The United States delivered more than $200 million after 1990 to support the rebuilding of a healthy democracy and market economy in Slovakia, primarily through programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Slovakia and the United States retain strong diplomatic ties and cooperate in the military and law enforcement areas. The U.S. Department of Defense programs have contributed significantly to Slovak military reforms.

Millions of Americans have their roots in Slovakia, and many retain strong cultural and familial ties to the Slovak Republic. President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the original Czechoslovak state on October 28, 1918, and President Wilson's Fourteen Points were the basis for the union of the Czechs and Slovaks. Tomas Masaryk, the father of the Czechoslovak state and its first president, visited the United States during World War I and used the U.S. Constitution as a model for the first Czechoslovak Constitution.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

Last Updated: 2/19/2008

BRATISLAVA (E) Hviezdoslavovo Sq. 5, APO/FPO Unit 5840 Box xxxx, APO/AE 09736-xxxx, +421-2-5443-3338, Fax +421-2-5441-5148, INMARSAT Tel Unclass 683-142-116; Stu III, 683-142-117, Workweek: M-F, 8:00-16:30, Website: http://slovakia.usembassy.gov.

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

December 17, 2007

Country Description: The Slovak Republic is a rapidly developing European nation. Tourist facilities are not as developed as those found in Western Europe, particularly outside the major cities, and some goods and services taken for granted in other European countries are occasionally unavailable.

Entry Requirements: A passport is required. A visa is not required for stays for tourism or business up to 90 days within six months of the date of first entry into the Slovak Republic.All foreigners seeking entry into the Slovak Republic must carry proof of a medical insurance policy contracted for payment of all costs for hospitalization and medical treatment in the Slovak Republic. Border police have the right to request evidence of finances sufficient to pay for the proposed stay in the Slovak Republic in the amount of $50 per person per day. Current information can be found on the Slovak Embassy's web site at www.slovakembassy-us.org.

All persons in Slovakia over the age of 15 must carry official identification at all times. American citizens staying overnight in Slovakia must register with the local Border and Aliens Police within three working days. Persons staying hotels are registered automatically.

Note: On December 21, 2007, Slovakia became a member of a group of countries collectively known as “Schengen countries” or the “Schengen zone”. Americans may enter and remain within the entire Schengen zone without a visa for no more than 90 days in any six-month period. If an American has just spent 60 days in another Schengen country, for example, he or she would be permitted to enter Slovakia only for the remaining 30 days. It is not possible to extend a tourist stay beyond 90 days in the Schengen zone. Once an American has used his/her 90 days, he/she cannot reenter Slovakia until he/she has spent at least three months outside the Schengen zone.

Although European Union regulations require that non-EU visitors obtain a stamp in their passport upon initial entry to a Schengen country, many borders are not staffed with officers carrying out this function. If an American citizen wishes to ensure that his or her entry is properly documented, it may be necessary to request a stamp at an official point of entry. Under local law, travelers with-out a stamp in their passport may be questioned and asked to document the length of their stay in Schengen countries, and could face possible fines or other repercussions if unable to do so.

Persons wishing to remain in Slovakia longer than 90 days or arriving for purposes other than tourism or business travel may apply for temporary residency and/or work permits shortly after arrival in Slovakia. However, it is strongly recommended that such persons review the requirements and begin preparing their applications prior to travel, as many documents required of U.S. citizens are more easily obtained in the United States. For example, U.S. citizens must submit a certificate not older than 90 days showing the result of a fingerprint records check by the FBI. As authorities in Slovakia cannot take fingerprints for this purpose, it is extremely difficult to obtain this certificate after arrival in Slovakia. In addition, Slovakia requires all documents (birth certificates, etc) intended for official use in Slovakia to be authenticated (e.g. to have an apostille).

Safety and Security: Taking photographs of security/military installations (for example, military bases, government buildings, nuclear power plants, etc.) is prohibited. Violation of this law may result in confiscation of the film, a reprimand or fine, or even expulsion from the country. Serious cases may be reported to and handled by local and/or military police.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's web site, where the current Worldwide Caution Travel Alert, Travel Warnings and other Travel Alerts can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S., or, for callers outside the U.S. and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays.

Crime: The Slovak Republic has a high rate of crime. Police forces suffer from a lack of manpower resources and equipment. Local police are not likely to speak English. Western visitors, especially short-term visitors such as tourist and students, are the primary foreign targets of street crime. The majority of street crime is non-violent and ranges from pick-pocketing (particularly in the summer) and purse and cellular telephone snatchings to mugging, armed robbery, shooting, drugging and robbing of unsuspecting victims at nightspots and bars. Most reported thefts occur at crowded tourist sites (such as Bratislava's Old Town area) or on public buses or trains. Thieves in the Slovak Republic often work in groups or pairs. In most cases, one thief distracts the victim another performs the robbery, and then hands off the stolen item to a nearby accomplice. Groups of street children are known to divert tourists' attention so that a member of their group can pickpocket the tourists while they are distracted. Do not leave personal items in unattended vehicles, even if locked.

Reports of racially motivated incidents against foreigners and minorities, particularly perpetrated by groups with a history of targeting persons of Roma, African, or Asian descent, have occurred in the Slovak Republic and are occurring with a greater frequency across most of Central and Eastern Europe. In addition to incidents of assault, persons of Roma, African, or Asian heritage may be subject to various types of harassment, such as verbal abuse.

Both indigenous and foreign organized crime groups are well-established in the Slovak Republic. They do not target U.S. or other foreign individuals and tend to co-exist peacefully in the tourist district so as not to scare away tourist dollars. Though not common, violent incidents sometimes do occur outside of Old Town Bratislava.

Information for Victims of Crime: The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy or Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, to contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Medical facilities are available in the Slovak Republic, although the quality and availability varies within the country. Ambulances are only a means of transportation to the hospital; they may not have life support stabilization equipment on board. Only a limited number of doctors speak English.Doctors and hospitals expect cash payment for health services unless the patient can present an insurance number from the Slovak National Insurance Company. Serious medical problems requiring hospitalization and/or medical evacuation to the United States can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more.

Medical prescriptions issued in the U.S. are not valid in the Slovak Republic. If needed, a local doctor must issue a prescription. Medicines are generally available locally, if not under the American name the doctor can be consulted for a substitute. The Ministry of Health of Slovak Republic administers the use of medicines and medicine brought to the Slovak Republic for personal use may become subject to comparison against the list of those authorized for use in the Slovak Republic.

Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747) or via the CDC's web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's (WHO) web site at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and whether it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning the Slovak Republic is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance.

Roads in the Slovak Republic typically are safe and well maintained. Four-lane highways exist in and around Bratislava. However, most roads outside of built-up areas are two lanes only, and aggressive drivers attempting to pass at unsafe speeds pose a serious hazard. Due to poor lighting and narrow, winding roads, nighttime driving outside of built-up areas is not recommended.

From November through March there is often heavy snowfall, which is not adequately cleared from many rural roads. Roads in the mountainous northern part of the country are particularly prone to hazardous conditions during winter months. Winter tires are recommended and chains are necessary in certain mountainous areas.

In the Slovak Republic, vehicles travel on the right side of the road. Headlights must be used at all times (day and night) from October 15 until March 15. The maximum legal speed on highways is 130 kilometers per hour (78 mph). On smaller roads the maximum speed in 90 kph (54 mph). The limit in towns is 60 kph (36 mph). Use of cellular phones while driving is strictly prohibited. Safety reflection vests and first aid kits are compulsory equipment of each vehicle.

Drivers must yield the right of way to all vehicles with flashing blue lights (police, ambulances, fire trucks, motorcades).Vehicles with yellow or orange lights usually means that traffic must slow down. Drivers must always be cautious, however, as many slowly moving vehicles, such as agricultural vehicles, are not well marked.

Driving under the influence of alcohol is strictly prohibited. The blood alcohol tolerance level is zero percent.

Penalties for drivers involved in car accidents involving injury of death are decided by a court of law. Penalties for minor offenses are not generally large, but foreigners are sometimes targeted for additional sums. Anyone suspecting this has occurred should ask for a written receipt and note the name and number of the traffic officer imposing the fine.

Gasoline is readily available, although many gas stations are closed on Sunday, especially in rural areas. Gas stations typically do not offer repair service; private mechanics must be found. Most gas stations accept credit cards, but mechanics less frequently accept them, so travelers should expect to pay for these services in cash.

A highway user decal must be purchased for travel on most major roads outside of Bratislava. The decal is valid for the calendar year in which it is purchased, and is available at gas stations, post offices and some newspaper kiosks. The cost is 1100 Sk (Slovak crowns) for all vehicles up to 3.5 tons. A short-term decal valid for 30 days may be purchased for 300 Sk and for 7 days for 150Sk.

Taxi companies provide generally reliable, safe, and economical services. Avoid independent cabs that do not prominently display a company name. Visitors should be alert to the potential for substantial overcharging by taxis, particularly in areas frequented by tourists. Radio-dispatched taxis are often much more reliable.

Buses, trolleys, and trams are mechanically safe, but there have been reports of thefts on city transportation and of harassment by the transport police. On public transportation it is obligatory to have a time-ticket validated after entering the vehicle (valid for 10, 20, 60 minutes), or a prepaid zone ticket (24-.48-.168-hour, 1-month, 3-month and 1-year). Children from 6 to 15 years of age pay reduced fares. Passengers who are traveling without a valid ticket will be fined by the ticker inspector. The ticket inspector has to have an identification card and must provide a ticket for the fine. More information is provided in English at http://www.imhd.sk/ba.

Inter-city travel is widely available by bus, train, or taxi and is generally safe (inquire about taxi fares in advance). There are regular international trains and buses which are mechanically safe. However, there is a danger of theft, even from locked compartments, particularly on international night trains serving Warsaw, Prague and Budapest. Taxi drivers with special permits may provide international taxi service. A motorcycle driver's license and helmet are required. Small motorcycles are not allowed on highways. All traffic regulations apply.

Tourists coming to the Slovak Republic are required to have an International Drivers' Permit. A U.S. driver's license alone is not sufficient to drive in Slovakia. The U.S. driver's license must be accompanied by an International Driver's Permit, obtainable in the United States from the American Automobile Association and the American Automobile Touring Alliance.

A Slovak Driver's License can be applied for at the Dopravny Inpsek-torat in the district of the applicant's place of residence in the Slovak Republic. Completion of the regular driving course and a written examination (in Slovak) are required for issuance of a Slovak driver's license. For specific information concerning Slovak driver's permit, vehicle inspection, road tax and mandatory insurance, contact the Slovak Embassy in Washington, DC.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service to the United States by carriers registered in the Slovak Republic, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed the Slovak Republic's Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards. For more information, travelers may visit the FAA's web site at www.faa.gov.

Special Circumstances: Slovak customs authorities enforce strict regulations concerning temporary importation into or export from the Slovak Republic of items such as firearms, antiquities, medications, business equipment, etc. It is advisable to contact the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Washington, D.C, or one of the Slovak consulates in the United States for specific information regarding customs requirements.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Slovak laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or traf-ficking in illegal drugs in Slovakia are strict and convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and heavy fines. Engaging in illicit sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, see the Office of Children's Issues website at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Registration and Embassy and Consulate Locations: Americans living in the Slovak Republic are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy of Consulate through the State Department's travel registration web site, https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the Slovak Republic. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The U.S. Embassy in Bratislava is located at Hviezdo-slavov 4, Bratislava telephone (421)(2)5443 0861; (421)(2) 5443 3338, fax (421)(2) 5441 8861; mailing address: U.S. Embassy, PO Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovak Republic; e-mail: cons@ueembassy.sk; web site: http://slovakia.usembassy.gov.

International Adoption

August 2006

The information in this section has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Disclaimer: The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and current understanding. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Please Note: Intercountry adoption in Slovakia can only take place if the adoptive parents' home country has ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. The United States has signed but not yet ratified this Convention. The Department of State and Department of Homeland Security are preparing the implementing regulations so that the United States can ratify the Convention in 2007. For additional information, please visit the flyer on U.S. efforts to implement the Adoption Convention at http://travel.state.gov/hagueinfo2004.html.

In the absence of the Hague Convention, only American prospective adoptive parents who are legal residents of Slovakia may adopt orphans under Slovak law.

Patterns of Immigration: Please review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

Adoption Authority:
Centrum Pre Medzinárodnoprávnu
Ochranu Detí a Mládeže
(Center for the International Legal Protection of Children and Youth)
župné nám. c. 6
P. O. Box 57
814 99 Bratislava
Tel: +4212/59330501
Tel 2: +4212/59330502
Fax: +4212/5933 0698
Open for walk-in public: 8:00 do 16:00, Wednesdays only
E-mail: cipc@employment.gov.sk

The Center for the International Legal Protection of Children and Youth (“the Center”) primarily communicates with the partnership centers in other member countries of the Hague Convention. It will respond to private calls only if the caller is a long-term resident of Slovakia.

Eligibility Requirements for Adoptive Parents: Slovak law sets no age limits for adoptive parents. The law does recommend, however, that the age difference between child and adoptive parents be “adequate.” U.S. Embassy officials have been told that the age difference should be at least 15 years, and no more than 40 years. Both couples and single persons may apply to adopt Slovak children.

Residency Requirements: Prospective adoptive parents (prospective adoptive parents) must, during the whole adoption procedure, have the status of long-term or permanent residents of Slovakia or another country that is party to the Hague Convention, and must be physically present in that country.

Time Frame: Prospective adoptive parents are required to reside with their adoptive child for 6 months to a year before an adoption is finalized. An adoption may take up to two years to complete.

Adoption Agencies and Attorneys: There are no government-approved adoption agencies; individual cases are handled directly by the Center and by the court. This means that an adoption cannot be mediated by any adoption agency. An application from a prospective adoptive parents residing in another Hague country must be filed directly with the Center or, if the prospective adoptive parents resides in Slovakia, with the local Office of Employment, Social Affairs and Family in the prospective adoptive parents' district of residence. A local attorney may be of assistance. A list of English speaking attorneys is available at www.sak.sk.

Court fees: If the case is processed under the Hague Convention, there are no fees. If the case is pursued by prospective parents who are residents of Slovakia, the maximum fee is 5000 Slovak crowns (SK). Administrative fees for translation of documents and authentication of documents can be charged, usually about $15 per page. Issuance of Birth Certificate and authentication: 600 SK; Issuance of passport to minor under 5 years of age: 250 SK; minor under 15 years of age: 400 SK; expedited issuance within 24 hours is 2000 SK.

If an attorney is hired, the fees for provided services are paid to the attorney directly and should be negotiated directly with the attorney.

Adoption Procedures: Slovak orphanages for children up to age 3 are administered by the Slovak Ministry of Health; orphanages for children of ages 3-18 are administered by the Ministry of Education.

Slovak law requires that the child reside from six months to one year with the prospective adoptive parents (prospective adoptive parents) before a court may issue a final adoption decree. The child would live with the prospective adoptive parents in a pre-adoption foster care situation. During this period the family would be observed by social workers representing the child. In Hague Convention adoptions, all documents should be prepared in accordance with requirements of the Central Authority of the prospective adoptive parents' country of residence. prospective adoptive parents residing in Slovakia should contact the Office of the Social Affairs, Employment and Family having jurisdiction over their place of residence. In their case, all documents must be from Slovakia. They will need proof of a sound financial situation as well as good physical and mental health. They will be required to obtain a home study and a psychological assessment. prospective adoptive parents who are not citizens of Slovakia will also be required to present a good-conduct statement from their country of origin,

Required Documents: Applications for adoption must be supported by the following basic documents:

• Home study from an accredited social agency in Slovakia
• Good conduct statement (police report from the country of the adoptive parent)
• Proof of financial situation
• Good health condition report
• Psychological assessment test

Slovak Embassy In The United States:
3523 International Court N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: 202-237-1054
Fax: 202-237-6438
Email: info@slovakembassy-us.org
http://www.slovakembassy-us.org

Consulate General of the Slovak Republic
801 Second Avenue, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: 212-286-8434 Fax: 212-286-8439
E-mail:
slovakconsulate_ny@verizon.net

U.S. Immigration Requirements: Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at http://travel.state.gov/family.

U.S. Embassy
Hviezdoslavovo nam. 4
811 02 Bratislava Slovakia
Tel: 011-421 2-5443 0861
Fax: 011-421 2-5441 8861
Email: cons@usembassy.sk
http://www.usembassy.sk

Additional Information: Specific questions about adoption in Slovakia may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava. Questions concerning the U.S. immigrant visa process for Slovak children should be directed to the U.S. Embassy in Pra-ggue, Czech Republic, via the web site provided above. General questions regarding intercountry adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

SLOVAKIA

Compiled from the January 2005 Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume. See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes.

Official Name:
The Slovak Republic

PROFILE

Geography

Area: 48, 845 sq. km. (about twice the size of New Hampshire).

Land boundaries: (total) 1,524 km. Austria 91 km.; Czech Republic 215 km.; Hungary 677 km.; Poland 444 km.; Ukraine 97 km.

Cities: Capital—Bratislava.

Terrain: Landlocked with high mountains in the north, low mountains in the center, hills to the west, Danube River basin in the south.

Climate: Temperate; average temperature in January 26.5°F; in July 68ºF. Annual precipitation 24"-40".

Elevation: Lowest point, Bodrok River 94 m. Highest point, Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m.

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective—Slovak(s).

Population: (May 2001 census*) 5,379,455. Bratislava (428,672), Kosice (236,093), Zilina (156,361), Nitra (163,540), Presov (161,782), Banska Bystrica (111,984).

Annual population growth rate: (2001 est.) 0.13%.

Ethnic groups: (2001) Slovaks 85.8%, Hungarians 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Czechs 0.8%, Ruthenians 0.4%, Ukranians 0.2%, other 1.4%. Unofficial estimates place the Roma population between 6%-10%.

Religions: (2001) Roman Catholic 69%, Protestant 9%, Greek Catholic 4%, Orthodox 0.9%, other 0.6%, unknown 3.5%, 13% report no affiliation.

Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian, Ruthenian, and Ukrainian.

Education: Literacy—99%.

Health: Life expectancy (2001)—78 yrs. females; 70 yrs. males.

Work force: (2.1 million in 2001) Industry, construction, commerce —61%; financial, commercial, health services—18%; government and education—15%; agriculture—6%.

Government

Type: Parliamentary republic.

Independence: The Slovak Republic was established January 1, 1993 (former Czechoslovak Republic established 1918).

Constitution: Signed September 3, 1992.

Branches: Executive—president (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative—National Council of the Slovak Republic (150 seats). Judicial—Supreme Court, Constitutional Court.

Political parties: 150 parliamentary seats: Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) 21 seats; Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) 20 seats; Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH) 15 seats; Alliance of New Citizens (ANO) 11 seats; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) 26 seats; SMER (Direction) 25 seats; Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) 11 seats; People's Union (LU) 11 seats; Free Forum (FF) 7 seats; three independent deputies.

Suffrage: Universal at 18 years.

Administrative subdivisions: Eight administrative regions, 79 districts.

Economy

GDP: (2003) $32.5 billion.

GDP growth rate: (2003) 4.2%, (Jan—Jun 2004) 5.4%.

Nominal GDP per capita: (2003) $6,049.

Unemployment: (Sept. 2004) 13.14%.

Natural resources: Antimony, mercury, iron, copper, lead, zinc, magnesite, limestone, lignite.

Agriculture: Products—milk, eggs, poultry, cattle, hogs, potatoes, oils, grains, vegetables.

Industry: Types—iron and steel, chemicals, automobiles, light industry, food processing, engineering, building materials.

Trade: (Jan—Aug 2004) Exports—$17.5 billion: vehicles, iron and steel, machinery and energy equipment, plastics, fiber optics. Imports—$18.2 billion: mineral fuels and oils, machinery, audio/video equipment, vehicles. Partners—Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Russia, Hungary, Italy, Poland.

Foreign investment: (1989—Jun 2004) Cumulative $11.2 billion. Sources of direct foreign investment—Germany 23.6%; Netherlands 16.3%; Austria 14.4%; Italy 7.9%, United States 4.1%.** Sectors of direct foreign investment (through Jun 2004)—industry 38%; banking and insurance 22.9%; wholesale and retail trade 11.8%; production of electricity, gas and water 11.1%; transportation and telecommunications 9.9%.

*Figures are based on immediate city's (not region) Permanent Resident Population.

**Government of Slovakia official statistic. A recent U.S. Embassy survey found that, taking into account investments of U.S. subsidiaries in Europe, U.S. investment is more than 15% of the total.

PEOPLE

The majority of the 5.4 million inhabitants of the Slovak Republic are Slovak (85.8%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (9.7%) and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of Slovakia. Other ethnic groups include Roma, Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Poles. The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (69%) practice Roman Catholicism; the second-largest group is Protestants (9%). About 2,300 Jews remain of the estimated pre-WWII population of 120,000. The official state language is Slovak, and Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern region.

Despite its modern European economy and society, Slovakia has a significant rural element. About 45% of Slovaks live in villages of less than 5,000 people, and 14% in villages of less than 1,000.

HISTORY

From the 11th until the early 20th century, present-day Slovakia was under Hungarian rule, either directly or as a part of the Habsburg Empire. Intellectuals seeking to revive the Slovak language and culture began the Slovak national revival in the 19th century. The formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 following World War I satisfied the common aspirations of Czechs and Slovaks for independence from the Habsburg Empire.

Although Czechoslovakia was the only east-central European country to remain a parliamentary democracy from 1918 to 1938, it was plagued with minority problems, the most important of which concerned the country's large German population. In 1938, the Allies concluded the Munich Agreement that forced Czechoslovakia to cede the predominantly German region known as Sudetenland to Germany. Then, in March 1939 Germany invaded what remained of Bohemia and Moravia and established a German protectorate. Slovakia had already declared its independence on March 14, 1939 and had become a Nazi German puppet state led by Jozef Tiso.

On August 29, 1944, 60,000 Slovak troops organized by the underground rose up against the Nazis and the Tiso regime in what became known as the Slovak National Uprising. Although ultimately unsuccessful, this act of resistance became an important historical landmark for the Slovaks. At the close of World War II, Soviet troops overran all of Slovakia, Moravia, and much of Bohemia.

Reunited after the war, the Czechs and Slovaks held elections in 1946. In Slovakia, the Democratic Party won the elections, but the Czechoslovak Communist Party won 38% of the total vote in Czechoslovakia and eventually seized power in February 1948. The next four decades were characterized by strict communist rule, interrupted only briefly in 1968 when Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak, became party leader. Dubcek proposed political, social, and economic reforms in his effort to make "socialism with a human face" a reality. Concern among other Warsaw Pact governments that Dubcek had gone too far led to the invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia on August 21, 1968, by Soviet, Hungarian, Bulgarian, East German, and Polish troops. Dubcek was removed as party leader and replaced by another Slovak, Gustav Husak, in April 1969.

The 1970s and 1980s became known as the period of "normalization," in which the apologists for the 1968 Soviet invasion prevented, as best they could, any opposition to their conservative regime. Political, social, and economic life stagnated. Because the center of the reform movement had been in Prague, normalization was less harshly felt in Slovakia. In fact, the Slovak Republic saw comparatively high economic growth in the 1970s and 1980s relative to the Czech Republic.

The 1970s were also characterized by the development of a dissident movement, especially in the Czech Republic. On January 1, 1977, more than 250 human rights activists signed a manifesto called Charter 77, which criticized the government for failing to meet its human rights obligations. On November 17, 1989, a series of public protests known as the "Velvet Revolution" began and led to the downfall of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. A transition government was formed in December 1989. In the days following the "Velvet Revolution," Charter 77 and other groups united to become the Civic Forum, an umbrella group championing bureaucratic reform and civil liberties. Its leader was the dissident playwright Vaclav Havel, who was elected President of Czechoslovakia in December 1989. Its Slovak counterpart, Public Against Violence, was based on the same ideals.

The first free elections in Czechoslovakia since 1948 took place in June 1990. In these elections, Civic Forum and Public Against Violence won landslide victories. Civic Forum and Public Against Violence found, however, that although they had successfully completed their primary objective—the overthrow of the communist regime—they were less effective as governing parties. In the 1992 elections, both Civic Forum and Public Against Violence were replaced by a spectrum of new parties.

In 1992, negotiations on the new federal Constitution deadlocked over the issue of Slovak autonomy. In the latter half of 1992, agreement was reached to peacefully divide Czechoslovakia. On January 1, 1993, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic were simultaneously and peacefully founded. Both states attained immediate recognition from the United States and their European neighbors.

In elections held in June 1992, Vaclav Klaus's Civic Democratic Party won in the Czech lands on a platform of economic reform, and Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) emerged as the leading party in Slovakia, basing its appeal on fairness to Slovak demands for autonomy. Meciar and Klaus negotiated the agreement to divide Czechoslovakia, and Meciar's party—the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS)—ruled Slovakia for most of its first 5 years as an independent state. Meciar's semi-authoritarian government seriously breached democratic norms and the rule of law until being ousted in the parliamentary elections of 1998 by a coalition led by Mikulas Dzurinda. The first Dzurinda government made political and economic reforms that enabled Slovakia to enter the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), close virtually all chapters in European Union (EU) negotiations, and make the country a strong candidate for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) accession. However, the popularity of the governing parties declined sharply, and several new parties gained relatively high levels of support in public opinion polls. Meciar remained the opposition leader, and HZDS continued to receive the support of 20% or more of the population during the first Dzurinda government.

In the September 2002 parliamentary election, a last minute surge in support for Prime Minister Dzurinda's Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU) gave him a mandate for a second term. He formed a government with three other center-right parties: the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK), Christian Democrats (KDH) and Alliance of New Citizens (ANO). Following a summer 2003 parliamentary shake-up, the government lost its narrow parliamentary majority and now controls only 67 of the 150 seats; however, the coalition is relatively stable because of the parties' similar political philosophies.

Slovakia officially became a member of NATO on March 29, 2004 and joined the EU on May 1, 2004. The government strongly supported Slovakia's NATO and EU accession and will continue the democratic and free market-oriented reforms begun by the first Dzurinda government.

The main priorities of the coalition are ensuring a strong Slovak performance within NATO and the EU, fighting corruption, attracting foreign investment, and reforming social services such as the health care system. Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, which received about 27% of the vote in 1998 (almost 900,000 votes) received only 19.5% (about 560,000 votes) in 2002 and again went into opposition, unable to find coalition partners. The HZDS is joined in opposition by Smer, the party of populist politician Robert Fico, and by the Communists, who obtained about 6% of the popular vote.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic. Delegates are elected for 4-year terms on the basis of proportional representation. The Slovak political scene supports a wide spectrum of political parties, including several social democratic parties and the nationalistic Slovak National Party (SNS) that is not represented in parliament, but the influence of leftist and nationalist parties has declined in the past several years.

In January 1999, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment allowing for direct election of the president. Kosice Mayor Rudolf Schuster was elected president in a May 1999 runoff with former Prime Minister Meciar and took office on June 15, 1999. On April 17, 2004, Ivan Gasparovic, a former Meciar deputy, was elected president; he was inaugurated on June 15, 2004. Virtually all executive powers of government belong to the prime minister, but the president does serve as commanderin-chief of the armed forces, can grant pardons, and has the right to return legislation to Parliament. Parliament, however, can override this veto with a simple majority of the 150 members of Parliament.

The country's highest appellate forum is the Supreme Court; below that are regional, district, and military courts. In certain cases the law provides for decisions of tribunals of judges to be attended by lay judges from the citizenry. Slovakia also has a special Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by Parliament.

In 2002, Parliament passed legislation that created a Judicial Council. This 18-member council, composed of judges, law professors, and other legal experts, is now responsible for the nomination of judges. All judges, except those of the Constitutional Court, are appointed by the president from a list proposed by the Judicial Council. The Council also is responsible for appointing Disciplinary Senates in cases of judicial misconduct.

Principal Government Officials

Last Updated: 1/18/05

President: Ivan GASPAROVIC
Prime Minister: Mikulas DZURINDA
Dep. Prime Min.: Pal CSAKY
Dep. Prime Min.: Ivan MIKLOS
Dep. Prime Min.: Pavol RUSKO
Min. of Agriculture: Zsolt SIMON
Min. of Construction & Regional Development: Laszlo GYUROVSKY
Min. of Culture: Rudolf CHMEL
Min. of Defense: Juraj LISKA
Min. of Economy: Pavol RUSKO
Min. of Education: Martin FRONC
Min. of Environment: Laszlo MIKLOS
Min. of Finance: Ivan MIKLOS
Min. of Foreign Affairs: Eduard KUKAN
Min. of Health: Rudolf ZAJAC
Min. of Interior: Vladimir PALKO
Min. of Justice: Daniel LIPSIC
Min. of Labor, Social Affairs, & Family: Ludovit KANIK
Min. of Transportation: Pavol PROKOPOVIC
Governor, Central Bank of Slovakia: Ivan SRAMKO
Ambassador to the US: Rastislav KACER
Permanent Representative to the UN, New York: Peter BURIAN

The Slovak Republic has an embassy in the United States, located at 3523 International Court, NW, Washington, DC, 20008.

Slovakia maintains a permanent mission to the United Nations in New York and 10 honorary consulates in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Denver, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. Slovakia opened a consulate general in New York in September 2003 and plans to open another in Los Angeles in late 2004.

ECONOMY

Since the establishment of the Slovak Republic in January 1993, Slovakia has continued the difficult transformation from a centrally planned economy to a modern market-oriented economy. This reform slowed in the 1994-98 period due to the crony capitalism and irresponsible fiscal policies of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's government. While economic growth and other fundamentals improved steadily during Meciar's term, public and private debt and trade deficits soared. Privatization, often tarnished by corrupt insider deals, progressed only in fits and starts. Real annual GDP growth peaked at 6.5% in 1995 but declined to 1.3% in 1999. Much of the growth in the Meciar era, however, was attributable to high government spending and over-borrowing rather than productive economic activity.

The economy grew 4.2% in 2003, the strongest growth in Central Europe, and is predicted to expand by more than 5% in 2004. Headline consumer price inflation dropped from 26% in 1993 to an average rate of 3.3% in 2002 but rose to 8.5% in 2003 as a result of increases in the subsidized prices of utilities ahead of Slovakia's 2004 entry into the European Union. Inflation is projected to be 7.5% in 2004, dropping to 3% in 2005.

After economic stabilization in 1999 and 2000, Slovakia had several years of record current account deficits (8.8% of GDP in 2001 and 8.2% of GDP in 2002). This figure shrank rapidly in 2003 to USD 330 million (or 0.9% of GDP). A significant drop in the trade deficit accounted for most of this improvement; in 2003, Slovakia's trade deficit fell 75% to USD 715 million, well below the most optimistic projections. Slovakia's total foreign debt stood at USD 18.3 billion in December 2003 (up USD 5.2 billion from 2002 largely because of developments in the cross rate of the Euro against the USD).

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovakia has increased dramatically. The Dzurinda government opened doors for foreign investors and introduced competitive incentives schemes, including a 19% flat income tax for corporations and individuals. Cumulative FDI has quintupled since the beginning of 2000 to USD 11.2 billion (June 2004). As of 2003, Slovakia has enjoyed per capita FDI of approximately $2,080.

In 2000, Slovakia became the thirtieth member of the OECD. More than 75% of its trade is with EU members, though Slovakia imports nearly all of its oil and gas from Russia. The country's export markets are primarily OECD and EU countries. Germany is Slovakia's largest trading partner, purchasing 30.5% of Slovakia's exports and supplying 24.8% of its imports in the first seven months of 2004. Other major partners include the Czech Republic (13.6% imports; 12.7% exports), Italy (6.2%; 6.4%), Russia (9.3%; 1.1%), and Austria (4.4%; 7.5%). The United States accounts for about 4% of total trade with Slovakia.

NATIONAL SECURITY

The armed forces of the Slovak Republic number about 28,000 uniformed personnel and are made up of Land Forces—two mechanized infantry brigades, one artillery brigade, and an immediate reaction battalion; Air and Air Defense Forces—comprised of one wing of fighters, one wing of attack and utility helicopters, and two SAM brigades; and miscellaneous General Staff-commanded forces—e.g., a special forces regiment. The armed forces are the most respected national institutions according to national opinion polls.

Slovakia's ambitious roadmap for defense reform is the well-regarded Force 2010 Long-Term Plan, which strikes a well-reasoned balance between requirements and resources and which envisions a professionalized, combat-capable force of 19,300 uniformed personnel by 2006. Slovakia has about 850 personnel deployed worldwide on NATO-nd UN-led peace support operations (PSOs), as well as highly-regarded military engineering units in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, Slovakia markedly increased its commitment to KFOR and SFOR in Kosovo and Bosnia in 2002. Defense spending, which rose to 1.9% of GDP in 2003, is slated to remain at that level for 2004. Slovakia used the MAP process to good effect in securing an invitation to join NATO at the Prague Summit in November 2002.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Slovakia officially became a member of the NATO on March 29, 2004 and joined the EU in May 2004. Slovakia has been an active participant in U.S.- and NATO-led military actions and a stalwart partner in the war on terrorism, with military engineering brigades on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Slovakia participates in a joint Czech-Slovak peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Slovakia is a member of the United Nations and participates in its specialized agencies. It is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the OECD. It also is part of the Visegrad Four (Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland), a forum for discussing areas of common concern. Upon the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993, Slovakia and the Czech Republic entered into a Customs Union, which facilitates a relatively free flow of goods and services. Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries. There are 35 embassies and 26 honorary consulates in Bratislava.

U.S.-SLOVAKIA RELATIONS

The fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and the sub-sequent split of the two republics on January 1, 1993, allowed for renewed cooperation between the United States and Slovakia. The election of a pro-Western, reformist government in late 1998 further boosted close ties between the countries. The United States delivered more than $200 million after 1990 to support the rebuilding of a healthy democracy and market economy in Slovakia, prima-rily through programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Slovakia and the United States retain strong diplomatic ties and cooperate in the military and law enforcement areas. The U.S. Department of Defense programs have contributed significantly to Slovak military reforms.

Millions of Americans have their roots in Slovakia, and many retain strong cultural and familial ties to the Slovak Republic. President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the original Czechoslovak state on October 28, 1918, and President Wilson's Fourteen Points were the basis for the union of the Czechs and Slovaks. Tomas Masaryk, the father of the Czechoslovak state and its first president, visited the United States during World War I and used the U.S. Constitution as a model for the first Czechoslovak Constitution.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials

BRATISLAVA (E) Address: 4 Hviezdoslavovo Namestie; Phone: +421-2-5443-3338; Fax: +421-2-5441-5148; INMARSAT Tel: Unclass 683-142-116; Stu III, 683-142-117; Workweek: M–F, 8:00-16:30; Website: www.usembassy.sk

TRAVEL

Consular Information Sheet

August 20, 2004

Country Description: The Slovak Republic is a rapidly developing European nation. Tourist facilities are not as developed as those found in Western Europe, particularly outside the major cities, and some goods and services taken for granted in other European countries are occasionally unavailable.

Entry/Exit Requirements: A passport is required. A visa is not required for stays for tourism or business up to 90 days within six months of the date of first entry into the Slovak Republic. For stays longer than 90 days, a visa must be obtained prior to entering the country at Slovak embassies or consulates abroad. Visas cannot be obtained at the border upon arrival. Travelers to the Slovak Republic can obtain entry information from the Embassy of the Slovak Republic at 3523 International Court N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008, telephone (202) 237-1054, fax: (202) 237-6438, email: info@slovakembassy-us.org, Internet http://www.slovakembassy-us.org.

All foreigners seeking entry into the Slovak Republic must carry proof of a medical insurance policy contracted for payment of all costs for hospitalization and medical treatment in the Slovak Republic. Border police have the right to request evidence of finances sufficient to pay for the proposed stay in the Slovak Republic in the amount of $50 per person per day.

In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many foreign governments have initiated procedures at entry/exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian if not present. Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure.

Safety and Security: Taking photo-graphs of security/military installations (for example, military bases, government buildings, nuclear power plants, etc.) is prohibited. Violation of this law may result in confiscation of the film, a reprimand or fine, or even expulsion from the country. Serious cases may be reported to and handled by local and/or military police.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Travel Warnings and Public Announcements can be found. Up to date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2328. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Crime: The Slovak Republic has a high rate of crime. Police forces suffer from a lack of manpower, resources and equipment. Local police are not likely to speak English. Western visitors, especially short-term visitors such as tourists and students, are the primary foreign targets of street crime. The majority of street crime is non-violent and ranges from pick-pocketing (particularly in the summer) and purse and cellular telephone snatchings to muggings, armed robbery, shooting, drugging and robbing of unsuspecting victims at nightspots and bars. Most reported thefts occur at crowded tourist sites or on public buses or trains. Thieves in the Slovak Republic often work in groups or pairs. In most cases, one thief distracts the victim while an accomplice performs the robbery. Groups of street children are known to divert tourists' attention so that a member of their group can pickpocket the tourists while they are distracted.

Do not leave personal items in unattended vehicles, even if locked.

Reports of racially motivated incidents against foreigners and persons of color, perpetrated by groups with a history of targeting persons of Roma, African or Asian descent, have occurred in the Slovak Republic. In addition to incidents of assault, persons of Roma, African or Asian heritage may be subject to various types of harassment, such as verbal abuse.

The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to the local police and the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are the victim of a crime while over-seas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate for assistance. The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, to contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed.

U.S. citizens can refer to the Department of State's pamphlet, A Safe Trip Abroad, for ways to promote a trouble-free journey. The pamphlet is available by mail from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, via the Internet at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/, or via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov.

Medical Facilities: Medical facilities are available in the Slovak Republic. However, a limited number of doctors speak English. Doctors and hospitals expect cash payment for health services unless the patient can present an insurance number from the Slovak National Insurance Company. Serious medical problems requiring hospitalization and/or medical evacuation to the United States can cost thousands of dollars or more.

Medical Insurance: The Department of State strongly urges Americans to consult with their medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether their policy applies overseas and if it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation. U.S. medical insurance plans seldom cover health costs incurred outside the United States unless supplemental coverage is purchased. Further, U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide payment for medical services outside the United States. However, many travel agents and private companies offer insurance plans that will cover health care expenses incurred overseas including emergency services such as medical evacuations.

When making a decision regarding health insurance, Americans should consider that many foreign doctors and hospitals require payment in cash prior to providing service and that a medical evacuation to the United States may cost well in excess of $50,000. Uninsured travelers who require medical care overseas often face extreme difficulties. When consulting with your insurer prior to your trip, ascertain whether payment will be made to the overseas health-care provider or if you will be reimbursed later for expenses you incur. Some insurance policies also include coverage for psychiatric treatment and for disposition of remains in the event of death. Useful information on medical emergencies abroad, including overseas insurance programs, is provided in the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs brochure, Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad, available via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov.

Other Health Information: Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's hotline for international travelers at 1-877-FYI-TRIP (1-877-394-8747); fax 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299), or via the CDC's Internet site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad consult the World Health Organization's website at http://www.who.int/en. Further health information for travelers is available at http://www.who.int/ith.

Traffic Safety and Road Conditions: While in a foreign country, U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. The information below concerning the Slovak Republic is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance:

Safety of Public Transportation: Fair
Urban Road Conditions/Maintenance: Good
Rural Road Conditions/Maintenance: Fair
Availability of Roadside Assistance: Poor

Roads in the Slovak Republic typically are safe and well maintained. Four-lane highways exist in and around Bratislava. However, most roads outside of built-up areas are two lanes only, and aggressive drivers attempting to pass at unsafe speeds pose a serious hazard. Due to poor lighting and narrow, winding roads, nighttime driving outside of built-up areas is not recommended.

From November through March there is often heavy snowfall, which is not adequately cleared from many rural roads. Roads in the mountainous northern part of the country are particularly prone to hazardous conditions during winter months. Winter tires and chains are recommended for travel to mountain and ski resorts. In the Slovak Republic, vehicles travel on the right side of the road. The maximum legal speed on highways is 130 kilometers per hour (78 mph). On smaller roads the maximum speed is 90 kph (54 mph). The limit in towns is 60 kph (36 mph). Use of cellular phones while driving is strictly prohibited.

Drivers must yield the right of way to all vehicles with flashing blue lights (police, ambulances, fire trucks, motorcades). Vehicles with yellow or orange lights usually mean that traffic must slow down. Drivers must always be cautious, however, as many slowly moving vehicles, such as agricultural vehicles, are not well marked.

Driving under the influence of alcohol is strictly prohibited. The blood alcohol tolerance level is zero percent.

Penalties for drivers involved in car accidents involving injury or death are decided by a court of law. Penalties for minor offenses are not generally large, but foreigners are sometimes targeted for additional sums. Anyone suspecting this has occurred should ask for a written receipt and note the name and number of the traffic officer imposing the fine.

Gasoline is readily available, although many gas stations are closed on Sunday, especially in rural areas. Gas stations typically do not offer repair service; private mechanics must be found. Most gas stations accept credit cards, but mechanics less frequently accept them, so travelers should expect to pay for these services in cash.

A highway user decal must be purchased for travel on most major roads outside of Bratislava. The decal is valid for the calendar year in which it is purchased, and is available at gas stations, post offices and some newspaper kiosks. The cost is 750 Sk (Slovak crowns) for all vehicles up to 3.5 tons. A short-term decal valid for 15 days may be purchased for 150 Sk.

Public Transportation: Taxi companies provide generally reliable, safe, and economical services. Avoid independent cabs that do not prominently display a company name. Visitors should be alert to the potential for substantial overcharging by taxis, particularly in areas frequented by tourists. Radio-dispatched taxis are often much more reliable.

Buses, trolleys, and trams are mechanically safe, but there have been reports of thefts on city transportation and of harassment by the transport police. On public transportation it is obligatory to have a time-ticket validated after entering the vehicle (valid for 10, 30, 60 minutes), or a prepaid zone ticket (24-, 48-, 72-, 168-hour, 1-, 3-month and 1-year). Children from 6 to 15 years of age pay reduced fares. Passengers who are traveling without a valid ticket will be fined by the ticket inspector. The ticket inspector has to have an identification card and must provide a ticket for the fine. More information is provided in English on http://www.imhd.sk.

Inter-city travel is widely available by bus, train, or taxi and is generally safe (inquire about taxi fares in advance). There are regular international trains and buses, which are mechanically safe. However, there is a danger of theft, even from locked compartments, on international night trains serving Warsaw, Prague, and Budapest. Taxi drivers with special permits may provide international taxi service.

Motorcycles: A motorcycle driver's license and helmet are required. Small motorcycles are not allowed on highways. All traffic regulations apply.

Driver's Licenses: Tourists coming to the Slovak Republic are required to have an International Drivers' Permit. A U.S. driver's license alone is not sufficient to drive in Slovakia. The U.S. driver's license must be accompanied by an International Driver's Permit, obtainable in the United States from the American Automobile Association and the American Automobile Touring Alliance.

A Slovak driver's License can be applied for at the Dopravny Inspektorat in the district of the applicant's place of residence in the Slovak Republic. Completion of the regular driving course and a written examination (in Slovak) are required for issuance of a Slovak driver's license.

For additional general information about road safety, including links to foreign government sites, see the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov/travel/abroad_roadsafety.html. For specific information concerning Slovak driver's permits, vehicle inspection, road tax and mandatory insurance, contact the Slovak Embassy in Washington, D.C. See also road safety from other sources in the Slovak Republic at http://www.zjazdnost.ssc.sk.

Aviation Safety Oversight: As there is no direct commercial air service between the U.S. and the Slovak Republic by local carriers at present, or economic authority to operate such service, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed the Slovak Republic's Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with international aviation safety standards. For further information, travelers may contact the Department of Transportation within the United States at 1-800-322-7873, or visit the FAA's Internet website at http://www.faa.gov/avr/iasa/index.cfm.

Customs Regulations: Slovak customs authorities may enforce strict regulations concerning temporary importation into or export from the Slovak Republic of items such as firearms, antiquities, medications, etc. It is advisable to contact the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Washington, D.C., or one of the Slovak consulates in the United States for specific information regarding customs requirements. In many countries around the world, counterfeit and pirated goods are widely available. Transactions involving such products are illegal and bringing them back to the United States may result in forfeitures and/or fines. A current list of those countries with serious problems in this regard can be found at http://www.ustr.gov/reports/2003/special301.htm. Slovak customs authorities encourage the use of an ATA (Air Transport Association) carnet for the temporary admission of professional equipment, commercial samples, and/or goods for exhibitions and fair purposes. ATA Carnet Headquarters, located at the U.S. Council for International Business, 1212 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036, issues and guarantees the ATA Carnet in the United States. For additional information call (212) 354-4480, send e-mail to atacarnet@uscib.org, or visit http://www.uscib.org/ for details.

Criminal Penalties: While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country's laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Slovak laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in the Slovak Republic are strict and convicted offenders can expect jail sentences and heavy fines.

Under the PROTECT Act of April 2003, it is a crime, prosecutable in the United States, for a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien, to engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country with a person under the age of 18, whether or not the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident alien intended to engage in such illicit sexual conduct prior to going abroad. For purposes of the PROTECT Act, illicit sexual conduct includes any commercial sex act in a foreign country with a person under the age of 18. The law defines a commercial sex act as any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by a person under the age of 18.

Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998, it is a crime to use the mail or any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, including the Internet, to transmit information about a minor under the age of 16 for criminal sexual purposes that include, among other things, the production of child pornography. This same law makes it a crime to use any facility of interstate or foreign commerce, including the Internet, to transport obscene materials to minors under the age of 16.

Children's Issues: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, please refer to our Inter-net site at http://travel.state.gov/family/index.html or telephone Overseas Citizen Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-317-472-2328.

Emergency Numbers: The following emergency numbers are valid throughout the Slovak Republic:

General: 112 (English and German speaking operators)
Police: 158
Ambulance:155
Fire:150

Registration/Embassy and Consulate Locations: Americans living or traveling in the Slovak Republic are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the Slovak Republic. Americans without inter-net access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.

The U.S. Embassy is located at Hviezdoslavovo nam. 4, Bratislava; telephone (421)(2) 5443 0861; (421)(2) 5443 3338, fax (421)(2) 5441 8861; mailing address: U.S. Embassy, P.O.Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava, Slovak Republic; e-mail: cons@usembassy.sk; web site: http://www.usembassy.sk.

International Adoption

January 2005

The information below has been edited from a report of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Overseas Citizens Services. For more information, please read the International Adoption section of this book and review current reports online at www.travel.state.gov/family

Disclaimer: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child in Slovakia and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Please Note: Slovakia ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in October 2001. The Government of Slovakia will approve international adoptions only when the prospective adopting parent(s) reside in countries that have ratified this Convention. Prospective parents who are legal residents of Slovakia may adopt orphans under Slovak law.

The United States has signed but not yet ratified the Adoption Convention. The State Department is preparing the implementing regulations so that the United States can become a full party to the Convention. Please visit our flyer on U.S. efforts to implement the Adoption Convention at http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption_hague.html.

Immigrant visas for Slovakian citizens, including adopted orphans, are issued by the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. Please visit their Web site at http://www.usembassy.cz/consular/imvisa.htm for more information.

Patterns of Immigration of Adopted Orphans to the U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans

Fiscal Year: Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2003: 2
FY 2002: 19
FY 2001: 24
FY 2000: 15
FY 1999: 3

Adoption Authority in Slovakia: The Slovakian government office that is responsible for international adoptions is: Centrum pre medzinárodnoprávnu ochranu detí a mládeze (Center for the international legal protection of children and youth); Špitálska 6; P.O. Box 57; 814 99 Bratislava, Slovakia; tel: 011 421 2 5975 2315; fax: 011 421 2 5296 2895; http://www.cipc.sk (information in Slovak and English)

The Center primarily communicates with the partnership centers in other member countries of the Hague Convention. It will respond to private calls only if the caller is a long-term resident of Slovakia.

Eligibility Requirements for Adoptive Parents: Slovak law sets no age limits for adoptive parents; the law merely recommends that the age difference between child and adoptive parents be "adequate". Embassy officials have been told that the age difference should be at least 15 years, and at the most, 40 years. Couples and single persons may apply for adoption.

Residential Requirements: Prospective adoptive parents must be resident in Slovakia to adopt.

Time Frame: Prospective adoptive parents are required to reside with their adoptive child for 6 months to a year before an adoption is finalized. An adoption may take up to two years to complete.

Adoption Agencies and Attorneys: There are no governmentapproved adoption agencies; individual cases are handled directly between the Center and the court that pronounces the adoption. A local attorney may be of assistance. A list of English speaking attorneys is available at http://www.sak.sk (Slovak Bar Association).

Court fees: If the case is processed under the Hague Convention, there are no fees. If the case is pursued by prospective parents who are residents of Slovakia, the maximum fee is 5000 Slovak crowns (SK).

Administrative fees for translation of documents and authentication of documents: Translation of documents such as the birth certificates of the prospective parents, marriage certificate, and divorce decrees (if applicable) is about 300 SK per page. These documents must be authenticated in the U.S. for use in Slovakia; fees vary by state.

Issuance of Birth Certificate and authentication: 600 SK

Issuance of passport to minor under 15 years of age: 250 SK; expedited issuance within 24 hours is 1000 SK.

If an attorney is hired, the fees for provided services are paid to the attorney directly and should be negotiated directly with the attorney.

Adoption Procedures: Slovak orphanages for children up to age 3 are administered by the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic; orphanages for children of ages 3-18 by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic. Foreign adoptive parents must, during the whole adoption procedure, have the status of long-term or permanent residents of Slovakia and be physically present in the country.

Slovak family law requires that the child reside from six months to one year with prospective adoptive parents before a court may issue a final adoption decree. During this period the family will be observed by social workers representing the child. Foreign adoptive parents are also required to present a good-conduct statement from their home country, proof of their financial situation and evidence of their own good health. They will also be required to pass psychological tests. Parents must submit these documents before a child is placed in their home. After the fostering period is over, the parents can petition the court to issue the final adoption decree.

Documents Required for Adoption in Slovakia: Applications foradoption must be supported by the following basic documents:

• a home study from an accredited social agency
• a good conduct statement (police report from the home country of the adoptive parent)
• proof of financial situation
• good health condition report
• psychological test (can be passed locally as well)

Authenticating U.S. Documents To Be Used Abroad: All U.S. documents submitted to the Slovakian government/court must be authenticated. Please visit our Web site at travel.state.gov for additional information about authentication procedures.

Slovakia Embassy and Consulates in the United States: 3523 International Court N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20008; Tel: 202-237-1054; Fax: 202-237-6438; Email: info@slovakembassy-us.org; http://www.slovakembassy-us.org/

Consulate General of the Slovak Republic; 801 Second Avenue, 12 th Floor; New York, NY 10017; Tel: 212-286-8434; Fax: 212-286-8439; Email: slovakconsulate_ny@verizon.net

Applying for a Visa for Your Child at the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic: Immigrant visas for Slovakian citizens, including adopted orphans, are issued by the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. Please visit their Web site at http://www.usembassy.cz/consular/imvisa.htm for more information.

U.S. Embassy in Slovakia: As soon as prospective adopting parents arrive in Slovakia, they should contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in order to register their presence in Slovakia. The Consulate Section is located at: Hviezdoslavovo nam. 4; 811 02 Bratislava; Slovakia; Tel: 011-421 2-5443 0861; Fax: 011-421 2-5441 8861; Email: cons@usembassy.sk; http://www.usembassy.sk/

Additional Information: Specific questions about adoption in Slovakia may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Slovakia. General questions regarding international adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4 th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-404-4747.

SLOVAKIA

The Slovak Republic

Major Cities:
Bratislava, Košice

Other Cities:
Banská Bystrica, Piešt'any

EDITOR'S NOTE

This chapter was adapted from the Department of State Post Report 1999 for Slovakia. Supplemental material has been added to increase coverage of minor cities, facts have been updated, and some material has been condensed. Readers are encouraged to visit the Department of State's web site at http://travel.state.gov/ for the most recent information available on travel to this country.

INTRODUCTION

Slovakia, the former Czechoslovakia's less glamorous partner, emerged disordered and fatigued after the "Velvet Revolution" of 1989.

The Great Moravian Empire, formed in 833, included all of present Central and West Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and parts of neighboring Poland, Hungary, and Germany. In 907, the empire collapsed as a result of the political intrigues, and by 1018 the whole of Slovakia was annexed by Hungary and remained so for the next 900 years. When the Turks overran Hungary in the early 16th century, the Hungarian capital moved from Buda to Bratislava.

The formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867 gave Hungary autonomy in domestic matters, and a policy of enforced Magyarization ("Hungarianization") was instituted. Slovak intellectuals cultivated closer cultural ties with the Czechs, who were themselves dominated by the Austrians. The concept of a single Czecho-Slovakian unit was born for political purposes, and, after the Austro-Hungarian defeat in WWI, Slovakia, Ruthenia, Bohemia, and Moravia united as Czechoslovakia. After the 1938 Munich agreement that forced Czechoslovakia to cede territory to Germany, Slovakia declared its autonomy within a federal state.

A second Czechoslovakia was established after the war, but after the communist takeover in February 1948, the administration once again became centralized in Prague.

The fall of communism in Czechoslovakia during 1989 led to a resurgence of Slovak nationalism. In June 1992, the Slovak parliament voted to declare sovereignty and the federation dissolved peacefully on January 1, 1993.

Although it is now holding its own in a rebuilding Eastern block, there is a refreshing absence of Prague-style glitz and glamour. The capital, Bratislava, is small and cheerful with a surprisingly accomplished cultural life; the High Tatras are as rugged a range as any in Eastern Europe and the peasant traditions of rural Slovakia are still evident in the villages. You will find the Slovaks to be extremely warm, friendly people prepared to go out of their way to help you enjoy their country.

MAJOR CITIES

Bratislava

The capital of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava, lies on both banks of the Danube River at the foothills of the Low Carpathian Mountains. Its southern district borders on the Hungarian Republic and Austria shares its western border. Vienna is 65 kilometers from Bratislava, Budapest 200 kilometers, and Prague 321 kilometers. The city has a population of 451,616 inhabitants.

Archaeological finds support evidence of man's presence on the territory of Bratislava since ancient times. The Celts were present during the 4th and 5th centuries. The Slavs arrived in the area during the 5th and 6th centuries. In A.D. 833 the Great Moravian Empire came into being, and Bratislava is first mentioned in historical sources in A.D. 907 as the city of "Brezalzuspurc."

During the 10th and 11th centuries, Bratislava gradually became the seat of government for the Hungarian State and was largely under Hungarian influence. Its advantageous position helped Bratislava to become the capital of the Habsburg part of Hungary in 1536. As the capital, Bratislava was the coronation town for the reigning Hungarian kings and queens. St. Martin's cathedral was used as a coronation church until 1830 and during this period of almost 300 years, 11 rulers (including Maria Theresa) and eight royal consorts were crowned there.

The period of the late 18th and first half of the 19th century is known as the Slovak National Revival and saw significant historic events and movements toward a new Slovak identity. Important among them were the first efforts to codify literary Slovak made by the Bratislava Seminary through its leader, Anton Bernolak. Finally, Ludovit Stur, the leading personality of the Slovak national movement, succeeded in codifying the modern Slovak language. The 1830s were marked by the development of manufacturing in Bratislava and the introduction of modern transport. Steamships, also capable of sailing upstream, appeared on the Danube. In 1840, horse-drawn trains ran on rails as far as Trnava and later also to Sered. Ten years later, passengers traveled by train to Pest (now part of Budapest).

On the first of January 1919, Bratislava became a part of the newly-constituted Czecho-Slovakia and was duly proclaimed the capital of Slovakia. It began to use the name of Bratislava instead of Pressburg, its name under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On March 14, 1939, at the same time that Bohemia and Moravia became a protectorate incorporated into the German Reich, Slovakia declared itself independent, and the Slovak Parliament elected Jozef Tiso, a Catholic priest, as its president. During the following six years, Slovakia existed as a puppet state of Hitter's Germany. A codex that sharply discriminated against its Jewish population was instituted, and subsequently thousands of Jews were deported to extermination camps. On August 29, 1944, Slovak resistance fighters began an insurrection, the Slovak National Uprising, against the pro-Nazi government in Bratislava and the German troops stationed in Slovakia. The uprising, centered in the town of Banska Bystrica, lasted two months before it was put down at a terrible cost in lives and property. An American mission was sent to aid the uprising most of its members were captured by the Nazis in December 1944. In early 1945, Soviet Forces broke through German defenses, and on April 4th they reached Bratislava. After 1945, but particularly in the 1960s, Bratislava became the center of numerous independence efforts of the Slovak people. These resulted in the signing of the Constitutional Law on the Czecho-Slovak Federation in 1968 at the Bratislava Castle. However, in the wake of the restoration of totalitarian rule that followed the 1968 Soviet-led invasion, Slovakia was left with a government and parliament whose real powers were severely limited. After the 1989 Revolution, discussions with Czech and Slovak officials were instituted to find a mutually acceptable formula that would divide powers between the two states but maintain a common Czechoslovak state.

Finally, on January 1, 1993 Slovakia was declared a free and independent state. After centuries of Hungarian and Soviet repression, Bratislava today is a dynamic city with a youthful population and a rich, picturesque history. There is a general air of modernization taking place. Individuals, however, are impatient for visible improvements in their personal standard of living. Reconstruction and renovation of old buildings in the historical district are a part of daily life here. The city will have to deal with major problems like local, public, and personal transportation, parking lots, and housing construction. In spite of all these temporary inconveniences, Bratislava is a pleasant place to live in.

Utilities

Slovakia has dependable electricity and water.

The voltage for electricity is 220v. Small appliances using 220v are available locally.

Food

Bratislava has several grocery stores whose stocks vary according to the season, but it is possible to find most things locally. During the spring and summer there are several large markets, and many small vegetable and fruit stands and two markets in the city where it is possible to find locally produced fruits and vegetables. It is common to see Western European products available all over these places, even in the small grocery stores. Bread and sweets abound in the small shops and are very good. Cosmetics are available on the local market.

Additionally, fresh foods can be purchased in Hainburg, Austria across the border all year round at high prices.

Clothing

Apparel worn in Bratislava is much like that in the Northeastern United States. Most Slovaks dress conservatively. The younger people dress in a more avant-garde style. "Informal" is the most widely used term for social functions and generally means a suit for men and a cocktail dress or suit for women. Wardrobes should include warm winter clothing: a warm coat, scarves, hats, gloves, and low-heeled warm boots. Shops are opening in Bratislava regularly and provide a reasonable selection of Western European clothing and locally manufactured clothing.

Supplies and Services

European manufactured toiletries are available in Bratislava in ample supply at Baumax (hardware store), Tesco (department store), and other shops such as Billa, Dominos, and smaller shops all over Slovakia. American brand-names are more unusual, and cosmetics, while available, are limited in variety. It is recommended to include often used cosmetics, feminine and personal supplies, and medicines, in your household goods. Cigarettes and name-brand liquors are available in the duty free stores and in local shops at reasonable prices. Good quality household cleaning supplies are available in Tesco, and cleaning supplies stores (drogerias) as well as in many smaller shops.

Bring U.S. postage stamps.

Parents with babies should bring everything required if they prefer certain American manufactured items. There is a large IKEA in Bratislava which stocks good quality children's furniture and baby furniture. The baby store "Super G Market" also has a good selection of furniture and clothes for babies. European manufactured baby foods are in ready supply and good quality. Dinos and Maxa are food warehouses, where you can purchase in bulk, dairy products, toiletries, beverages, canned and frozen food.

Paper napkins, paper plates, plastic cups can be purchased locally.

Beautiful glassware and crystal is available locally.

Generally, basic supplies and services are inexpensive when compared to the United States. Service can be slow and sometimes spare parts and materials are difficult to find.

Local beauty shops located in the large hotels. Haircuts, perms, treatments, etc. are generally less expensive than in the U.S. Good quality European hair products are used, but methods and techniques used by hairdressers may differ somewhat from those in the West. Facials, manicures, pedicures, and massages are plentiful, good quality, and at low prices.

Good quality fabrics for clothing are manufactured in Slovakia and are available at very reasonable prices. Men's suits can be tailor-made at very good prices. Shoes can be hand-made locally. Shoe repair is available and at low cost, although quality varies.

Currently there are three dry-cleaning stores in town.

Domestic Help

Help for cleaning, cooking, shopping, childcare, gardening, household repairs, driving, etc., is widely available. Payment and fees are negotiable, and are very reasonable compared to prices in the West.

The employer must be willing to train the employee so that the work can meet his or her standards. English-speaking help is hard to find. Most Slovaks are not familiar with Western appliances, or cleaning products, so care should be taken to train employees in their use. If possible, try to retain the domestics of your predecessor, as they will be used to dealing with Americans, and training will be easier.

Household help costs between 60 and 80 SK per hour in Bratislava, less in surrounding towns. Slovak insurance for social security and taxes costs about 38% of the earned salary. Some employers agree to pay the salary plus the monthly insurance costs.

There are two agencies in Bratislava that find and train domestic help, but the prices are usually higher than hiring an employee directly. Other good resources for finding domestic help are the International Women's Club of Bratislava or the expat community.

Religious Activities

Slovakia's population is largely Roman Catholic and there are many Catholic services conducted in Slovak in Bratislava. The next largest denomination is Lutheran. Several other Protestant denominations as well as Jewish and Eastern Orthodox congregations are also present. There are several international churches conducting services in English, including Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Apostolic, and the Church of the Brethren.

Education

The International School of Bratislava, a US-accredited private institution which opened in September 1994, offers English-language instruction for students from five years through 15 years of age, as well as a professionally developed and staffed preschool for children ages three and four. The school operates under the control of Quality Schools International, a private nonprofit organization, operating schools in 13 Newly Independent States. Children who reach the age of five before October 31 of the enrollment year are eligible for kindergarten. The school has 125 students enrolled for 1998-99.

The school term is from early September to mid-June. The curriculum includes English, mathematics, cultural studies, science, art, music, drama, foreign languages, and physical education. Special activities include dance, gymnastics, and swimming. The school is located within a large children's center called the Iuventa. The area used by the school includes seven classrooms, a library, and a cafeteria. The sport facilities include soccer and baseball playing fields, a swimming pool, an outdoor basketball court, and a playground area.

The British International School is a non-U.S. accredited private school, which was opened on September 1997. The school offers English-language instruction for students from six years through 15 years of age, and has a kindergarten from three-five years old. Currently the school has 80 students from different nationalities.

The British International School term is from early September to mid-June. The curriculum includes mathematics, art, music, cultural studies, gymnastics, and swimming. The school is located in Karlovy Vez. This school has a computer laboratory, a cafeteria, and includes five classrooms.

Some American parents have placed their children in Slovak schools. Slovak kindergartens and elementary schools are accommodating to American children wishing to attend; almost every district in Bratislava has a kindergarten and an elementary school. They offer a sound academic curriculum, most have music and sports programs, and English is being taught starting in the first grade in many schools. The experience of attending a local school can be rewarding if children are prepared to endure the time necessary and the extra work involved in learning the Slovak language.

Special Educational Opportunities

City University of Washington State, USA, opened a campus in Trencin, Slovakia three years ago. Instruction is in English and an undergraduate program leading specifically to a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration as well as a graduate-study program leading to a Master's

Degree in business administration (MBA) is offered. Comenius University has a program for teaching foreigners the Slovak language. Private language tutoring is widely accessible. The University of Maryland European Division offers a variety of courses in Vienna. Their offerings include many weekend seminars of historical and cultural interest.

Sports

There are many hiking paths around Bratislava, which are heavily used by people out for a stroll, hikers, and runners. Cycling is popular here, and there are some bike paths where children can ride safely. Outdoor tennis courts have become more abundant here, and several Americans have purchased weekly time on a court for the May-October season at a very reasonable price. Indoor courts are more difficult to find, but a few exist and are available during the winter. A nine-hole golf course opened near Bratislava in October 1995, with future plans to construct a complete 18-hole golf course.

There are several indoor pools offering swimming all year round. Some haved used the fitness rooms of two hotels in town. There are fitness centers and gymnasiums available at various locations around the city. There is a Hash House Harriers running group, which has a marathon twice a year. Aerobic lessons are becoming popular. Classes are given in Slovak and occasionally in English.

Both cross-country and downhill skiing is possible all over Slovakia and in locations close to Bratislava. The Carpathian Mountains provide the full range of possibilities with high, steep runs in the Tatras and Fatras, and gentle sloping runs in the low Carpathians. The most popular spectator sports are soccer and ice hockey.

Touring and Outdoor Activities

Slovakia is a beautiful country to visit, although knowledge of the language greatly facilitates getting around, as many Slovaks do not speak English. There are many lakes for boating (motor boats are forbidden) and swimming, mountain streams and large rivers to hike along, and numerous fascinating caves to explore. Slovakia has more castles per capita than any other country in Europe. Other historical monuments also abound. Entire towns are constructed of traditional wooden houses, and cathedrals are filled with treasures from the past.

Entertainment

The Slovak National Theater presents a full range of high quality opera and ballet performances annually. The Slovak Symphony offers an annual subscription or you can buy tickets on an individual basis. Their performances are excellent. The summer months in Bratislava are alive with the concerts of the well-known series, "Cultural Summer," being performed all around the city. There are several movie theaters in Bratislava, and most popular American films are in English.

Social Activities

Many opportunities exist in Bratislava to make contact with the expatriate community. Embassy personnel, business representatives and journalists often entertain each other at informal dinners, receptions, and theater performances. The Bratislava American Chamber of Commerce also provides a venue for economic and commercial personnel to pursue business contacts.

The International Women's Club offers numerous activities and opportunities for foreign women living in Bratislava to get acquainted with each other and with English-speaking Slovak women. Various interest groups within the club provide opportunities for women to tour cultural facilities, participate in arts and crafts-making, practice foreign language skills, and participate in a variety of sports and other activities.

In general, social relationships with Slovak citizens are not difficult to establish, particularly if one possesses the language skills. The Slovaks are very warm and receptive to someone reaching out to make friends.

Special Information

Americans are popular and generally welcomed by all segments of society in Bratislava. There is a low incidence of violent crime; however, reasonable precautions should be taken. Incidents of pickpockets are increasingly frequent in the downtown and other tourist areas.

Košice

Košice is located in the East Slovak Region on the Hornád River, near the borders of Hungary and the Ukraine. A major market for the surrounding agricultural area and a transportation center, Košice has a population of 235,000. Košice is also a principal industrial center whose modern factories produce steel, machinery, petroleum, cement, and ceramics. Other industries include breweries, distilleries, and food-processing plants.

The city was originally a fortress town, was chartered in 1241, and was an important trade center by the Middle Ages. Frequently occupied by Austrian, Hungarian, and Turkish forces, Košice passed from Hungary to Czechoslovakia via the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. Landmarks in Koš ice include the 14th-century Franciscan monastery and church, the Gothic Cathedral of St. Elizabeth (built in the 14th and 15th centuries). It is the most outstanding historical building in all of Slovakia. Other buildings of prominence are the 18th-century town hall, an Ursuline convent, the Forgács Palace, and a Gothic Dominican church and monastery.

The city's several museums house collections of technology, historical and prehistorical artifacts, feudalism, coins, and records of the Communist movement in East Slovakia. The State Philharmonic Orchestra makes Košice its home, and here also are located the Municipal Theater and the Hungarian Theater.

Other city attractions are the botanical gardens and a large sports arena. Skiing is popular at nearby Jahodná. Krasna Horka, 40 miles from Košice, has an interesting medieval castle which was later rebuilt in Renaissance style and is a museum today. In Jasov, 22 miles away, there is a medieval monastery and nearby stalactite caverns. Presov is known for its fortification ruins.

OTHER CITIES

BANSKÁ BYSTRICA , site of the Slovak National Uprising in August 1944, is a city of 78,300 residents in the Central Slovak Region. This historical town lies on the Hron River, about 100 miles northeast of Bratislava, and is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Slovakia. It prospered in the Middle Ages from the mining of silver and copper. The oldest of Banská Bystrica's many remaining medieval buildings is a Romanesque church which dates to the 13th century. A castle, surrounded by fortifications, dominates the main square. Other Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance buildings, most of which are in the square, are now preserved as museums and galleries. During World War II, many of Banská Bystrica's men and women lost their lives in brutal battles with occupying forces, and tributes to their resistance are seen throughout the city in monuments and memorial plaques.

PIEŠT'ANY , situated in the picturesque valley of the River Váh, 45 miles north of Bratislava, is Europe's foremost center for the treatment of inflammatory joint diseases. The first mention of its thermal springs dates from early in the 12th century, and for hundreds of years it has enjoyed a reputation for arthritic treatment and orthopedic rehabilitation. Modern medical treatments have further enhanced its renown. So popular is this spa that there is an express bus service to Piešt'any from Vienna. The city, with a population of 31,000, offers a busy cultural life and a wide variety of opportunities for recreation. There are concerts, theatrical events, and art exhibitions, and a music festival sponsored annually in June and July. An international motorcycle race is also held in Piešt'any.

COUNTRY PROFILE

Geography and Climate

Slovakia, located in the very heart of Europe, has an area of 29,418 square miles (49,030 square kilometers), slightly smaller than the State of West Virginia. To the west, Slovakia borders with the Czech Republic, to the southwest with Austria, to the southeast with Hungary, to the north with Poland, and to the east with the Ukraine. The terrain includes the high Carpathian Mountains (The Tatras) in the north, the low Carpathian mountains in the center, the foothills to the west, and the Danube River Basin in the south. Slovakia is mostly mountainous; approximately 80% of the territory is 750 meters or more above sea level. The highest point is Gerlach Peak, 2,655 meters above sea level.

Slovakia is a land of beautiful, wide valleys, which were created by the Vah, Nitra, and Hron Rivers. Most of the land is drained by the Danube, the largest river in Slovakia, which empties into the Black Sea, and its tributaries (Morava, Vah, Hron and others). A smaller part of Slovakia is drained by the Dunajec River, a tributary of the Visla, which empties into the Baltic Sea. The longest river in Slovakia is the Vah, which is 234 miles (390 kilometers).

In the eastern part of the country lie the woodlands of the Carpathian Mountains. Further south along the Danube River lies another important woodland section called the Podunajska Plain, the bread basket of Slovakia. In the woodland regions, oak, birch and spruce grow abundantly up to the tree line. Mountain pine and alpine vegetation grow above the tree line. Because the country lies on the crossroads of several different plant systems, unique flora abound. The entire territory of Slovakia is rich in fauna and most animal species live in the mountainous woodland regions.

The climate in Slovakia is a mixture of continental and ocean climates and has four distinct seasons. The mountain regions affect the weather much more than the geographical location of the country.

The warmest and driest regions are the southern Slovak plains and the Eastern Slovak lowlands where the average temperature is 10°C and average annual precipitation is approximately 500 mm. In the High Tatras, the average temperature is 3°C and annual precipitation is 2,000 mm. The coldest month is January; the warmest is July. During winter the temperatures in the mountain valleys are substantially lower than on the mountain peaks, and temperature inversions are quite common. Bratislava has a warm and moderately dry lowland climate with average temperatures ranging from-1 degree C to-4 degrees C in January and from 19.5 degrees C to 20.5 degrees C in July. Annual rainfall varies from 530 to 650 mm. Bratislava ranks among the warmest places in Slovakia, and strong winds help to remove excessive air pollution and improve the air quality.

Population

Slovakia has a population of 5,390,657. The ethnic breakdown of the population is 85.6% Slovaks, 10.8% Hungarian, 1.5% Romanies (or Gypsies), 1% Czechs, and the remaining 1.6% is made up of Ruthenians, Ukrainians, and Germans. The average density is 106 inhabitants per square kilometer. The official language is Slovak. The majority of the population is Roman Catholic. Lutheranism is the second most practiced religion, and a significant part of the population of Eastern Slovakia is Greek-Catholic and Orthodox. Other smaller religious groups such as the Jewish community are active in Slovakia.

Public Institutions

On January 1, 1993, the Slovak Republic, formerly part of Czechoslovakia, became an independent and democratic state. The partition of the former federation was accomplished democratically and peacefully. On September 1, 1992 the Slovak Parliament passed the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, creating the necessary framework for the democratic development of society. Its political system is based on the three fundamental branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. Slovakia's unicameral Parliament, the National Council of the Slovak Republic, has 150 deputies.

The official head of state is the President who is elected by popular vote through a secret ballot for a five-year term. The President appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister and the other members of the government. The National Council of the Slovak Republic is the only constitutional legislative body. Its deputies are elected by secret ballot for a four-year term. The main political parties are as follows:

HZDS-Movement for a Democratic Slovakia SDK-Slovak Democratic Coalition SDL-Party of the Democratic Left KDH-Christian Democratic Movement DU-Democratic Union SNS-Slovak National Party EWS-Coexistence-Hungarian (Spoluzitie) National Movement SMK-Party of the Hungarian Coalition

Slovak citizens have the right to vote at the age of 18 years.

The judicial branch is comprised of courts on three levels: the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic, regional courts and district courts, with a Constitutional Court to decide constitutional issues. There is also a system of military courts. Judges of the Supreme Court, district, and regional courts are elected by the National Council, while the President appoints those of the Constitutional Court. A new government coalition formed after the September 1998 parliamentary elections has declared its top priorities to be righting the economy, fighting crime and corruption, and Slovak integration into the EU and NATO.

Arts, Science, and Education

Slovakia boasts a variety of cultural, artistic, and craft traditions. A stay here would not be complete without seeing the variety of brightly colored ceramics produced by local tradesmen and artists. Beautifully hand-embroidered tablecloths and linens abound, as well as wooden toys, hand-made dolls, painted wooden eggs, and a variety of other enchanting folklore objects.

Opera has a long tradition in Bratislava, and the Renaissance-style Slovak National Theater maintains a lively schedule of performances annually from September through June. Just opposite the theater, in the neo-Renaissance and neo-Baroque building called the Reduta, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra performs an annual series of concerts, also from September through June. Tickets to both the opera and the symphony are readily available at reasonable prices. The summer months are filled with the music of outdoor concerts, drama performances, and puppet shows, most of which are free, during the annual July-August Cultural Summer concert series. A number of movie theaters in Bratislava show English language films.

There are many historical monuments of various architectural styles in the Slovak Republic. Slovakia lists 16 historical towns and 158 historical monuments. Listed historical towns are: Bratislava, Svaty Jur, Nitra, Trencin, Trnava, Banska Bystrica, Banska Stiavnica, Kremnica, Zilina, Bardejov, Kezmarok, Kosice, Levoca, Spisska Sobota, Spisske Podhradie, and Presov.

In the last half of the nineteenth century an interest in preserving the Slovak national identity began to emerge. A cultural institution, the Slovak National Foundation (Matica Slovenska) was established in 1863. Later, in 1893, the Slovak Museum Society was also founded in Martin, and in spite of the extremely difficult conditions imposed by the Austro-Hungarians, museum collections were brought together. Today the Matica Slovenska maintains the Slovak National Literary Museum, the National Cemetery, and the A. S. Pushkin Literary Museum in the city of Martin. There are also a variety of open-air museums where traditional Slovak life has been preserved and in the town of Cicmany, a tranquil mountain village, residents continue to live in beautifully kept, typical, dark wooden houses decoratively painted in white folklore designs.

Presently there are 15 institutions of higher education in the Slovak Republic. The oldest university is Academia Istropolitana which was founded in Bratislava in 1467. The Mining and Forestry Academy of Banska Stiavnica is the oldest institution of its kind in Central Europe. Comenius University, located in Bratislava, has an independent unit called the Institute for Language and Academic Preparation, where foreign students are prepared for all Slovak universities in the Slovak language. There are fifty university faculties in Slovakia and university-level education is open to anyone who can pass an admissions test. Education in Slovakia is compulsory for ages 6-16.

Among the new facilities is City University Bratislava which uses Distance Learning teaching methods: books, audio and videotapes, and computer software. Methods used are based on similar correspondence courses used at The Open University located in the UK. A second, and different, City University, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, USA, has established a branch campus locally in the city of Trencin, a picturesque city in the northern part of Slovakia on the River Vah. Instruction is in English with most of the faculty coming from America. American professors conduct courses in several of the universities in Slovakia. American students in Slovakia pursue academic work under the auspices of various foundations and privately funded programs.

Commerce and Industry

After the "commanders" of the command economy lost their power in 1989, Slovakia (then still a part of former Czechoslovakia) set out on a course of serious economic and political reforms. Much like in every other economy in transition, reforms have brought many gains but also a lot of pain. Slovakia successfully privatized most of its small enterprises and is concluding a notso-transparent privatization of large enterprises. Retail prices have been going up but are still fairly low compared to the prices in the USA due to the low price of labor. Inflation is the lowest in Central Europe (ca. 6%), currency (Slovak CrownSK) is fairly stable, unemployment ca. 13%, and the GDP grew ca. 8% in 1998. It is premature to say, however, that after several years of impressive reforms, Slovakia is facing macroeconomic problems and much restructuring remains to be done at the microeconomic level. Private enterprise plays an important role in employment and amounts for ca.70% of the country's income.

Though the economic situation is reasonably favorable, foreign investment has been growing at a slower pace than in other Eastern European countries. This is often attributed to Slovakia's relatively unstable political climate. Slovakia's neighbor, Austria, is the largest investor, followed by Germany and the Czech Republic. The USA comes fourth. Slovakia's principal trading partners are Europeans-both those in CEFTA (Central European Free Trade Agreement) and those in the EU.

Slovakia is dependent on oil and gas imports from Russia and foreign machinery and factory equipment imports. Slovakia also imports some food products, cars, electronics, clothing. Exports consist mainly of semi-finished products, market goods, machinery and equipment. Since iron and steel products play a crucial role in Slovakia's exports, the economy fluctuates with the economies of the countries that import these commodities (mainly within the EU). Slovakia's key advantages both in terms of competitiveness and foreign investment are its well-educated, highly skilled work force and relatively low wage rates. On the other hand, the country suffers a shortage of domestic capital needed for economic revival. Slovakia has its eyes set on joining the OECD and the EU.

Commercial ties with the USA are good. American companies are becoming increasingly active in setting up joint ventures, holdings, offices and other forms of partnerships and investment in Slovakia. The American Business Center, American-Slovak Enterprise Fund, and American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia with 120 members in 1998 are also very active in providing assistance to U.S. business and promoting U.S.-Slovak business ties.

Transportation

Automobiles

The public transportation system in Bratislava. In addition, neighboring cities like Vienna, Prague and Budapest, as well as towns and historic sites in Slovakia are within easy driving distance of Bratislava.

The Slovak Republic has strict standards on automobiles. To register, all cars must pass an inspection designed to assure that vehicles meet emission standards, are road worthy and have certain safety features. Two such safety features that are often missing from American-made cars are fog lights and mud flaps for the rear tires.

European specification cars are easier to maintain and register, but American specification cars are allowed in the country. Local dealers, such as Honda, Ford, Volkswagen and BMW, maintain inventories of only European specification spare parts.

High quality fuel, oil and antifreeze are available locally, but prices are more expensive than in the United States.

All car owners must purchase local liability insurance. The rate of this insurance depends upon the size of the engine, with costs ranging from $100 to $200 per year for most standard cars. Owners should investigate purchasing collision coverage from an American company that writes policies for automobiles in the Slovak Republic. Rental vehicles are available in Slovakia, although the rates for American sized vehicles can be quite high, particularly when taking the car outside of the country.

Local

Local mass transportation is excellent, widespread and inexpensive. Most trams and buses run from 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight. A bus or tram ticket is the equivalent of 25 cents per trip and three-month passes cost $30. Cabs are readily available and the cost per mile is equivalent to less than taxis in the United States.

Regional

The roads throughout Slovakia and its neighboring countries are generally good. Major highways and roads are salted and plowed frequently during snowy and icy weather. There are excellent controlled-access highways leading into central Slovakia and to Budapest and Prague. As with the rest of Europe, driving is on the right-hand side of the road. Most countries in the area have imposed or will impose in the near future a "road tax" that must be paid to drive in the country. For Hungary this tax is paid at border crossings when entering the country. Austria and The Czech Republic require the purchase of highway stickers good for one year, as does Slovakia. The cost for a sticker in Austria is $65, for the Czech Republic is $15 and Slovakia is between $10 and $20 depending on the size of the engine of the vehicle. Other means of transportation are also excellent. Vienna International airport, with direct flights to many parts of the United States and to most major cities in Europe, is conveniently located 45 minutes by car from Bratislava. The Bratislava airport can also be used for commuter flights to other cities within Slovakia and to Prague and Budapest. Trains to other parts of Slovakia and to neighboring cities and countries are frequent and inexpensive.

Communications

Telephone and Telegraph

The national telephone system is adequate and is being upgraded. International direct dialing is available from residences and at the Post Office. Rates to the U.S. from residences are about $1.80/min and are considerably more expensive from the Post Office. Many call-back services exist which cost about 60 cents per minute for a call to the U.S. AT&T and MCI services are also available though more expensive. Fax services are available in a few shops in the city. Cellular phone services are available from Eurotel, Inc. and Globtel Inc. Cellular phones are not compatible with European protocol and generally cannot be changed. Internet is offered by local companies and the annual rate is approximately $194.

Mail

Slovak mail service is currently not completely reliable for parcel mail. Parcels have arrived opened or very overdue and occasionally they have just disappeared.

TV and Radio

Radio in the region provides entertainment and information formats. BBC World News and Blue Danube Radio (Vienna) provide news and entertainment in English on the FM dial. Car radios that have digital tuners must be switchable to European standards (100 kHz increments) to receive all FM stations (U.S. standard is kHz). Local television is limited to three Slovak, two Austrian and two Hungarian stations. Cable TV is available is some parts of the city, but most residents use 3ft satellite dishes and receivers to tune in to European satellite services. These services, cable and satellite, offer a handful of English-language channels-CNN, TNT, Sky News, Eurosport, etc., and several German channels. Enhanced services are available with the use of decoders and service memberships. Basic satellite service hardware purchased locally costs $200 to $500.

Newspapers, Magazines, and Technical Journals

Local publications are of interest to those with Slovak language skills. The Slovak Spectator, an English-language newspaper, is written and produced in Bratislava by an English-speaking staff. The International Herald Tribune is widely available in large hotels and some bookstores.

Health and Medicine

Medical Facilities

The U.S. Embassy Regional Medical Officer recommends that local hospitals not be used by any U.S., except for emergency services in cases in which it is inadvisable to transport the patient to the hospital in Hainburg, (a border town approximately 20 minutes from Bratislava) Austria. Additionally, the RMO recommends that chronic medical conditions be managed by Austrian physicians.

Competent dentists practice in Bratislava, but many Americans do not consider them equal to the best American dentists. Americans are usually satisfied with minor dental work done locally. Local ophthalmologists and opticians are dependable. Glasses may be obtained locally and at U.S. military hospitals in Germany for somewhat lower prices than in the U.S.

Your should plan bringing a supply of prescriptions with you or filling them though mail-order pharmacy services in the U.S.

Community Health

General sanitation in Bratislava is good. The water is fluorinated and safe to drink. Some Americans use water distillers if they live outside of the city limits of Bratislava. Bottled water is widely available for sale. Parents should bring fluoride-fortified vitamins or fluoride tablets for their children, as once the water is distilled or filtered/boiled, it loses its fluoride content. Streets and sidewalks are relatively well-kept due to daily sweeping. People practice basic cleanliness. Garbage collection is regular, and sewage disposal is good. Many roadside ditches are currently being dug in Bratislava and in towns and villages around Slovakia, in order to lay sewage lines, bury television and telephone cables, etc. The dirt and ditches are annoying but temporary.

In winter months, the city and rural streets are plowed sporadically during heavy snowfall. Sidewalks are often not cleaned of ice and snow. Main roads in Bratislava are generally in fair condition in winter, and highways in Slovakia are adequate.

Preventive Measures

Immunizations should be current upon arrival. Additionally, a series of three injections preventing tick-borne encephalitis is recommended in this region.

NOTES FOR TRAVELERS

Passage, Customs and Duties

Most choose to fly to Vienna, due to its proximity to Bratislava. Several American carrier service Vienna's Schwechat airport with code sharing arrangements with European airlines. Delta, United and Northwestern are three airlines that fly into Vienna. There are usually several flights daily from the East Coast of the U.S. using one of the American carriers.

There are no special restrictions on the free passage of individuals and goods among countries in Central Europe, other than those that are generally known-drugs, contraband weapons, etc.

A passport is required. A visa is not required for stays up to thirty days. For stays longer than thirty days a visa must be obtained prior to entry at Slovak embassies or consulates abroad. Visas cannot be obtained at border points upon arrival. Travelers to the Slovak Republic can obtain entry information at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic at 3523 International Court N.W., Suite 250, Washington, DC 20007, telephone (202) 965-5160/1, Internet http://www.slovakemb.com.

Americans living in or visiting Slovakia are encouraged to register at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Slovakia and obtain updated information on travel and security within Slovakia. The U.S. Embassy is located at Hviezdoslavovo nam. 4, telephone (421)(7) 5443 0861, (421)(7) 5443 3338, fax (421)(7) 5441 8861, web site: http://www.usis.sk.

Pets

Rabies shots must be current, not less than one month and not more than one year old, for entry of a pet shipped by air to Vienna. A valid International Certificate of Health must be issued by a veterinarian within ten days before your arrival in Vienna. As long as your pet has the above documentation, no quarantine restrictions are required. Veterinarian services are available in Bratislava, and most of the veterinarians speak English.

Currency, Banking, and Weights and Measures

The Slovak Crown (Koruna) is the official currency. One koruna contains 100 halier. Notes of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, and 5000 Korun exist. Coins in circulation are of 1, 2, 5, 10 Korun, and 10, 20, and 50 halier.

Dollars can be exchanged at banks and official exchanges all over Bratislava and Slovakia. Credit cards are widely accepted in stores, restaurants, and hotels, in Bratislava. Many automated teller machines accept Most, Plus and Cirrus debit cards.

The metric system of weights and measures is used in Slovakia.

LOCAL HOLIDAYS

Jan. 1…Slovak Republic Day

Jan. 6…Epiphany

Mar/Apr.…Good Friday^*

Mar/Apr.…Easter^*

Mar/Apr.…Easter Monday^*

May 1…Labor Day

May 8…End of World War ll

July 5…St. Cyril & St. Methodious Day

Aug. 29…Slovak Nation. Uprising Day

Sept. 1… Slovak Consitituion Day

Sept. 15… The Day of the Virgin Mary of the Seven Sorrows Nov. 1…All Saints' Day

Dec. 24 …Christmas Eve

Dec. 25 …Christmas

Dec. 26 …St. Stephen's Day

^*variable

RECOMMENDED READING

The following titles are provided as a general indication of the material published on this country:

Encyclopedical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Slovakia and the Slovaks: A Concise Encyclopedia. Goldpress Publishers: Bratislava 1994.

Priroda. Slovakia: Walking Through Centuries of Cities and Towns. Stredoslovenske vydavatelstvo Banska Bystrica and Tlaciarne BB: Banska Bystrica 1995.

Kirschbaum, Joseph M. Slovakia: A Nation at the Crossroads of Central Europe. Robert Speller and Sons, Publishers Inc.: New York 1960.

Kischbaum, Stanislav J. A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival. St. Martin's Press: New York 1995.

Oddo, Gilbert L. Slovakia and Its People. Robert Speller and Sons, Publishers: New York 1960.

Zendzian, Paul F. and Vadkerty, Madeline Bon Appetit, Dobru Chut, Bratislava: A Guide to 70 of the Best Restaurants in Bratislava. Brunswick Legal Publishers: Brunswick, Maine U.S.A. 1995.