The production of weapons and other military equipment had been based largely in Slovakia and had employed as much as 10 percent of the Slovak workforce in the 1980s. The reduction led to a decline in overall industrial production and a significant rise in unemployment. The Slovak economy has improved somewhat in recent years. Between 1993 and 1994, gross domestic product grew by 4.3 percent, inflation fell from more than 20 percent to about 12 percent, and the budget deficit was brought under control. The pace of change remains slow, however.
Foreign trade is important to Slovakia's economy.
Crude oil, natural gas, machinery, and transportation equipment are Slovakia's main imports. Exports include machinery, chemicals, fuels, steel, and weapons. The Czech Republic, Slovakia's main trading partner, supplies about 30 percent of Slovakia's imports and purchases approximately 40 percent of its exports. Austria, Germany, and Russia are Slovakia's other leading trade partners. In Slovakia, the famous Roman inscription engraved on the Rock of Trenc n dated 179 A.D. has been conserved and testifies to the long commercial tradition of its regions.