Slovakia
Slovak Republic Slovenská republika | |
|---|---|
| Anthem: Nad Tatrou sa blýska "Lightning Over the Tatras" | |
| Capital and largest city | Bratislava |
| Official languages | Slovak |
| Recognized languages | |
| Ethnic groups (2001) | 85.8% Slovaks, 9.7% Hungarians, 1.7% Roma, 2.8% others and unspecified[1] |
| Demonym(s) | Slovak |
| Government | Parliamentary republic |
| Peter Pellegrini | |
| Robert Fico | |
| Independence | |
| 28 October 1918 | |
| 1 January 19931 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 49,033.98 km2 (18,932.13 sq mi)[2] (129th) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
| Population | |
• 2010 estimate | 5,440,078[3] (111th) |
• 2001 census | 5,379,455 |
• Density | 111/km2 (287.5/sq mi) (88th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2017 estimate |
• Total | $179.527 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $33,054[4] (39th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2017 estimate |
• Total | $89.134 billion[4] |
• Per capita | $16,412[4] (40th) |
| Gini (2005) | 26 low |
| HDI (2011) | 0.834[5] very high · 35th |
| Currency | Euro (€)2 (EUR2) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| UTC+2 (CEST) | |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +4214 |
| ISO 3166 code | SK |
| Internet TLD | .sk3 |
1 Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia; see Velvet Divorce. 2 Before 2009: Slovak Koruna 3 Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states. 4 Shared code 42 with Czech Republic until 1997. |
Slovakia (Slovak: Slovensko) (Official name The Slovak Republic, Slovenská republika) is a landlocked country in the eastern region of Central Europe. It is bordered by Austria in the southwest, Hungary in the south, Ukraine in the east, Poland in the north and Czech Republic in the northwest. Its capital city is Bratislava, the only capital of the world that borders with other two countries. Other main cities are Košice, Prešov, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Trenčín, Nitra and Trnava. Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and its official currency is the Euro.
History
[change | change source]The Celts started to settle since 450 BC. The coins named Biatec represent the first use of writing in Slovakia. After the time of the Julio-Claudian dynasty many different Germanic tribes like Quadi and Marcomanni started to overtake the area. The Roman Empire established many outposts along the Danube river. They fought Germanic tribes, with the most northern presence being in Trenčín (Laugaritio), during the Marcomannic Wars.
Great Moravia was at first in constant quarrels with East Francia and at the beginning of the 10th century, with the Magyars who arrived from Asia. The Magyars conquered Great Moravia in 906, and established the Hungarian Principality, resulting later in the creation of the Kingdom of Hungary in year 1000. Slovaks continued to live in the north, while most Hungarians were in the south.
A huge population loss resulted from the Mongol invasions in 1241. The Hungarian kings started to invite other settlers, for example Germans in the 13th century, and many others started to arrive in the kingdom, Vlachs from Romania in the 14th century and Jews.
In the 16th century the Ottoman Empire occupied the southern part of the kingdom including the two most important towns, Buda (capital) and Székesfehérvár (coronation capital). Many Hungarian nobles moved to Slovakia and the king moved to Bratislava (Pressburg, Pozsony at that time). The wars against the Ottomans and an uprising against the Habsburgs caused much destruction. After the Ottomans started to retreat back from Hungary, Bratislava continued to be capital until 1848, when it was moved back to Budapest.
The creation of a dual monarchy, Austria-Hungary, enabled the Hungarian government to initiate a policy of suppressing the teaching of languages other than the Hungarian language in state schools. The official use of other languages than Hungarian was also discouraged. During this time, a nationalist movement arose among Slovakians. A part of this movement joined forces with a part of the Czech nationalist movement. During World War I, this movement convinced the future victorious powers to recognise a new state of Czechoslovakia after the war.
The territory of today's Slovakia was a part of Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1938 and again from 1945 until 1989. Czechoslovakia was one of the states which came into existence after the breakup of Austria-Hungary at end of World War I in 1918. Czechoslovakia split up in 1939, when Slovakia, under Hitler's influence and pressure, declared independence and became a client state. The state existed during World War II. It was a totalitarian one-party state and ally of Nazi Germany. Under the regime, the state fought in the war on the side of Nazi Germany and deported about 70,000 of its Jewish citizens to Nazi extermination camps as part of the Holocaust.
The territory of Czechoslovakia was liberated by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in 1945. After the liberation, Czechoslovakia was reunified and briefly existed as a democratic country. The Communist Party successfully performed a state coup in 1948 and ruled Czechoslovakia as a totalitarian one-party state which was a satellite of the Soviet Union. In 1989, the one-party rule of the Communist Party was overthrown during the Velvet Revolution, which was a series of large and peaceful demonstrations by the citizens in the streets.
Czechoslovakia again became a democratic country. However, it split up into two independent countries (Slovakia and Czech Republic) on January 1, 1993 when it became an independent country. Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since May 1, 2004.
Geography
[change | change source]Slovakia is landlocked. It is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains being in the north and various lowlands mostly in the south. The highest mountain range are the Tatra mountains with the highest peak, the Gerlachov Peak (Slovak: Gerlachovský štít; 2,654 m). Major Slovak rivers besides the Danube are the Váh and Hron.
At low altitudes, Slovakia's climate is humid continental (Dfb in the Koeppen climate classification, with warm summers and cloudy, cold and humid winters. At high altitudes it is subarctic and alpine.
Population
[change | change source]| Year: | 1994 | 2004 | 2014 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count: | 5,356,207 | 5,384,822 | 5,421,349 | 5,419,451 |
| Progress: | +0.53% | +0.67% | -0.03% |
| Year: | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Count: | 5,424,687 | 5,419,451 |
| Progress: | -0.09% |
Ethnic composition
[change | change source]| Ethnicity | Number | Fraction |
|---|---|---|
| Slovak | 4,623,043 | 84.83% |
| Hungarian | 456,154 | 8.37% |
| Not found out | 331,146 | 6.07% |
| Romani | 156,164 | 2.86% |
| Rusyn | 63,556 | 1.16% |
| Total | 5,449,270 |
In year 2021 was 5,449,270 people by ethnicity 4,623,043 as Slovak, 456,154 as Hungarian, 331,146 as Not found out, 156,164 as Romani, 63,556 as Rusyn, 45,711 as Czech, 20,152 as Other, 11,037 as Ukrainian, 8573 as German, 8116 as Russian, 5282 as Polish, 3282 as Vietnamese, 2470 as Italian, 2049 as Moravian, 2001 as Croatian, 1876 as Serbian, 1838 as Jewish, 1746 as Romanian, 1648 as English, 1552 as Bulgarian, 1289 as Austrian, 1275 as Chinese, 1237 as French, 876 as Albanian, 729 as Greek, 711 as Irish, 634 as Canadian, 604 as Turkish, 337 as Korean, 220 as Silesian and 137 as Iranian.
Note on population The difference between the population numbers above and in the census (here and below) is that the population numbers above are mostly made up of permanent residents, etc.; and the census should indicate the place where people actually mainly live.
For example, a student is a citizen of a village because he has permanent residence there (he lived there as a child and has parents), but most of the time he studies at a university in the city.
Religion
[change | change source]| Religion | Number | Fraction |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic Church | 3,038,511 | 55.76% |
| None | 1,296,142 | 23.79% |
| Not found out | 353,797 | 6.49% |
| Evangelical Church | 286,907 | 5.27% |
| Greek Catholic Church | 218,235 | 4% |
| Calvinist Church | 85,271 | 1.56% |
| Total | 5,449,270 |
In year 2021 was 5,449,270 people by religion 3,038,511 from Roman Catholic Church, 1,296,142 from None, 353,797 from Not found out, 286,907 from Evangelical Church, 218,235 from Greek Catholic Church, 85,271 from Calvinist Church, 50,677 from Eastern Orthodox Church, 18,553 from Christian Congregations in Slovakia, 16,416 from Jehovah's Witnesses, 16,186 from Ad hoc movements, 14,685 from Other, 10,811 from Other and not ascertained christian church, 9044 from Apostolic Church, 6722 from Buddhism, 4007 from Paganism and natural spirituality, 3883 from Baptists Church, 3862 from Islam, 3440 from Church of the Brethren, 3018 from United Methodist Church, 3001 from Seventh-day Adventist Church, 2007 from Jewish community, 1778 from Old Catholic Church, 975 from Hinduism, 581 from Czechoslovak Hussite Church, 377 from Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 311 from Bahá'i Community and 73 from New Apostolic Church.
Transport
[change | change source]- Rail: Slovakia has 3,662 km of rails, of which 3,512 km are in standard gauge. Rail network currently undergoes a modernisation.
- Road: Slovakia has 42,993 km of roads, of which 316 km are motorways (2003). The motorway network is currently under construction.
- Air: Slovakia has 6 international airports, with the most important ones being in Bratislava and Košice, others are near Sliač, Poprad, Žilina and Piešťany.
- Marine: Slovakia has no direct access to the sea. The most important waterway is the Danube, with the ports in Bratislava and Komárno. The Danube and the Rhine-Main-Danube canal connects Slovakia to the North Sea and the Black Sea.
Administrative division
[change | change source]There are currently 8 regions of Slovakia:
- Bratislava Region (Bratislavský kraj) (capital Bratislava)
- Trnava Region (Trnavský kraj) (capital Trnava)
- Trenčín Region (Trenčiansky kraj) (capital Trenčín)
- Nitra Region (Nitriansky kraj) (capital Nitra)
- Žilina Region (Žilinský kraj) (capital Žilina)
- Banská Bystrica Region (Banskobystrický kraj) (capital Banská Bystrica)
- Prešov Region (Prešovský kraj) (capital Prešov)
- Košice Region (Košický kraj) (capital Košice)
These are further divided into many districts. There are currently 79 districts of Slovakia.
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Slovakia: Ethnicity of the Population Section". Government of Slovakia. 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
- ↑ "Hustota obyvateľstva - obce [om7015rr_obc=AREAS_SK, v_om7015rr_ukaz=Rozloha (Štvorcový meter)]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2025-03-31. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
- ↑ Statistics Slovakia Archived 2011-11-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30-06-2011.
- 1 2 3 4 "Slovakia". International Monetary Fund.
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2010" (PDF). United Nations. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
- 1 2 "Počet obyvateľov podľa pohlavia - obce (ročne) [om7102rr_obce=AREAS_SK]". Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 2025-03-31. Retrieved 2025-03-31.
- ↑ "Population - Basic results". www.scitanie.sk. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
- ↑ "Population - Basic results". www.scitanie.sk. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved 2025-11-03.
- ↑ "Population - Basic results". www.scitanie.sk. Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Retrieved 2025-11-03.