Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's mostly mountainous territory spans about 49,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), hosting a population exceeding 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, while the second largest city is Košice.
Slovak Republic Slovenská republika (Slovak) | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Anthem: Nad Tatrou sa blýska (Slovak) "Lightning over the Tatras" | |
National seal | |
  Location of Slovakia (dark green) – in Europe (green & dark grey) | |
| Capital and largest city | Bratislava 48°09′N 17°07′E / 48.150°N 17.117°E |
| Official languages | Slovak |
| Ethnic groups (2021) |
|
| Religion (2021) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Slovak |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic |
• President | Peter Pellegrini |
• Prime Minister | Robert Fico |
• Speaker of the National Council | Peter Žiga |
| Legislature | National Council |
| Establishment history | |
• Independence from Austria-Hungary (First Czechoslovak Republic) | 28 October 1918 |
• Treaty of Trianon | 4 June 1920 |
• Second Czechoslovak Republic | 30 September 1938 |
• First Slovak Republic | 14 March 1939 |
• Third Czechoslovak Republic | 24 October 1945 |
• Fourth Czechoslovak Republic | 25 February 1948 |
• Czechoslovak Socialist Republic | 11 July 1960 |
• Slovak Socialist Republic (within Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, change of unitary Czechoslovak state into a federation) | 1 January 1969 |
• Slovak Republic (change of name within established Czech and Slovak Federative Republic) | 1 March 1990 |
• Dissolution of Czechoslovakia | 1 January 1993 |
| Area | |
• Total | 49,035 km2 (18,933 sq mi) (127th) |
• Water (%) | 0.72 (2015) |
| Population | |
• 30 June 2024 estimate |  5,422,194 (119th) |
• 2021 census |  5,449,270 |
• Density | 110/km2 (284.9/sq mi) (103rd) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2025 estimate |
• Total |  $256.710 billion (70th) |
• Per capita | $47,440 (46th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2025 estimate |
• Total | $152.480 billion (61st) |
• Per capita | $28,180 (44th) |
| Gini (2022) |  21.2low inequality |
| HDI (2022) |  0.855very high (45th) |
| Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Date format | d. m. yyyy |
| Drives on | Right |
| Calling code | +421 |
| ISO 3166 code | SK |
| Internet TLD | .sk and .eu |
The Slavs arrived in the territory of the present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries. From the late 6th century, parts of modern Slovakia were incorporated into the Avar Khaghanate. In the 7th century, the Slavs played a significant role in the creation of Samo's Empire. When the Avar Khaghanate dissolved in the 9th century, the Slavs established the Principality of Nitra before it was annexed by the Principality of Moravia, which later became Great Moravia. When Great Moravia fell in the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Principality of Hungary at the end of the 9th century, which later became the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. In 1241 and 1242, after the Mongol invasion of Europe, much of the territory was destroyed, but was recovered largely thanks to Hungarian king Béla IV. During the 16th and 17th centuries, southern portions of present-day Slovakia were incorporated into provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman-controlled areas were ceded to the Habsburgs by the turn of the 18th century. The Hungarian declaration of independence in 1848 was followed in the same year by the Slovak Uprising through the establishment of the Slovak National Council. While the uprising didn't achieve its aim, it played an important role in cementing a Slovak national identity. The Hungarian wars of independence eventually resulted in a compromise that established the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
During World War I, the Czechoslovak National Council successfully fought for independence amidst the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the state of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed in 1918. The borders were set by the Treaty of Saint Germain in 1919 and by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 Czechoslovakia incorporated the territory of present-day Slovakia which was entirely part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In the lead up to World War II, local fascist parties gradually came to power in the Slovak lands, and the first Slovak Republic was established in 1939 as a one-party clerical fascist client state under the control of Nazi Germany. In 1940, the country joined the Axis when its leaders signed the Tripartite Pact. Czechoslovakia was re-established after the country's liberation at the end of the war in 1945. Following the Soviet-backed coup of 1948, Czechoslovakia became a communist state within the Eastern Bloc, a satellite state of the Soviet Union behind the Iron Curtain and member of the Warsaw Pact. Attempts to liberalise communism culminated in the Prague Spring, which was suppressed by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. In 1989, the Velvet Revolution peacefully ended Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent democratic state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes referred to as the Velvet Divorce.
Slovakia is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy. The country maintains a combination of a market economy with a comprehensive social security system, providing citizens with universal health care, free education, one of the lowest retirement age in Europe and one of the longest paid parental leaves in the OECD. Slovakia is a member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the Schengen Area, the United Nations, NATO, CERN, the OECD, the WTO, the Council of Europe, the Visegrád Group, and the OSCE. Slovakia is also home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The world's largest per-capita car producer, Slovakia manufactured a total of 1.1 million cars in 2019, representing 43% of its total industrial output.
Etymology
Slovakia's name means the "Land of the Slavs" (Slovensko in Slovak stemming from the older form Sloven/Slovienin). As such, it is a cognate of the words Slovenia and Slavonia. In medieval Latin, German, and even some Slavic sources, the same name has often been used for Slovaks, Slovenes, Slavonians, and Slavs in general. According to one of the theories, a new form of national name formed for the ancestors of the Slovaks between the 13th and 14th century, possibly due to foreign influence; the Czech word Slovák (in medieval sources from 1291 onward). This form slowly replaced the name for the male members of the community, but the female name (Slovenka), reference to the lands inhabited (Slovensko) and the name of the language (slovenčina) all remained the same, with their base in the older form (compare to Slovenian counterparts). Most foreign translations tend to stem from this newer form (Slovakia in English, Slowakei in German, Slovaquie in French, etc.).
In medieval Latin sources, terms: Slavus, Slavonia, or Slavorum (and more variants, from as early as 1029) have been used. In German sources, names for the Slovak lands were Windenland or Windische Lande (early 15th century), with the forms Slovakia and Schlowakei starting to appear in the 16th century. The present Slovak form Slovensko is first attested in the year 1675.
History
This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (November 2024) |
The oldest surviving human artefacts from Slovakia are found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom and are dated at 270,000 BCE, in the Early Paleolithic era. These ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia.
Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era (200,000–80,000 BCE) come from the Prévôt (Prepoštská) cave in Bojnice and from other nearby sites. The most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium (c. 200,000 BCE), discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia.
Archaeologists have found prehistoric human skeletons in the region, as well as numerous objects and vestiges of the Gravettian culture, principally in the river valleys of Nitra, Hron, Ipeľ, Váh and as far as the city of Žilina, and near the foot of the Vihorlat, Inovec, and Tribeč mountains, as well as in the Myjava Mountains. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth bone (22,800 BCE), the famous Venus of Moravany. The statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Váhom near Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary period have come from the sites of Zákovská, Podkovice, Hubina, and Radošina. These findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and Central Europe.
Bronze Age
During the Bronze Age, the geographical territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BCE. Major cultural, economic, and political development can be attributed to the significant growth in production of copper, especially in central Slovakia (for example in Špania Dolina) and northwest Slovakia. Copper became a stable source of prosperity for the local population.
After the disappearance of the Čakany and Velatice cultures, the Lusatian people expanded building of strong and complex fortifications, with the large permanent buildings and administrative centres. Excavations of Lusatian hill forts document the substantial development of trade and agriculture at that period. The richness and diversity of tombs increased considerably. The inhabitants of the area manufactured arms, shields, jewellery, dishes, and statues.
Iron Age
Hallstatt Period
The arrival of tribes from Thrace disrupted the people of the Kalenderberg culture, who lived in the hamlets located on the plain (Sereď) and in the hill forts like Molpír, near Smolenice, in the Little Carpathians. During Hallstatt times, monumental burial mounds were erected in western Slovakia, with princely equipment consisting of richly decorated vessels, ornaments and decorations. The burial rites consisted entirely of cremation. Common people were buried in flat urnfield cemeteries.
A special role was given to weaving and the production of textiles. The local power of the "Princes" of the Hallstatt period disappeared in Slovakia during the century before the middle of first millennium BCE, after strife between the Scytho-Thracian people and locals, resulting in abandonment of the old hill-forts. Relatively depopulated areas soon caught the interest of emerging Celtic tribes, who advanced from the south towards the north, following the Slovak rivers, peacefully integrating into the remnants of the local population.
La Tène Period
From around 500 BCE, the territory of modern-day Slovakia was settled by Celts, who built powerful oppida on the sites of modern-day Bratislava and Devín. Biatecs, silver coins with inscriptions in the Latin alphabet, represent the first known use of writing in Slovakia. At the northern regions, remnants of the local population of Lusatian origin, together with Celtic and later Dacian influence, gave rise to the unique Púchov culture, with advanced crafts and iron-working, many hill-forts and fortified settlements of central type with the coinage of the "Velkobysterecky" type (no inscriptions, with a horse on one side and a head on the other). This culture is often connected with the Celtic tribe mentioned in Roman sources as Cotini.
Roman Period
From 2 CE, the expanding Roman Empire established and maintained a series of outposts around and just south of the Danube, the largest of which were known as Carnuntum (whose remains are on the main road halfway between Vienna and Bratislava) and Brigetio (present-day Szőny at the Slovak-Hungarian border). Such Roman border settlements were built on the present area of Rusovce, currently a suburb of Bratislava. The military fort was surrounded by a civilian vicus and several farms of the villa rustica type. The name of this settlement was Gerulata. The military fort had an auxiliary cavalry unit, approximately 300 horses strong, modelled after the Cananefates. The remains of Roman buildings have also survived in Stupava, Devín Castle, Bratislava Castle Hill, and the Bratislava-Dúbravka suburb.
Near the northernmost line of the Roman hinterlands, the Limes Romanus, there existed the winter camp of Laugaricio (modern-day Trenčín) where the Auxiliary of Legion II fought and prevailed in a decisive battle over the Germanic Quadi tribe in 179 CE during the Marcomannic Wars. The Kingdom of Vannius, a kingdom founded by the Germanic Suebi tribes of Quadi and Marcomanni, as well as several small Germanic and Celtic tribes, including the Osi and Cotini, existed in western and central Slovakia from 8–6 BCE to 179 CE.
Great invasions from the fourth to seventh centuries
In the second and third centuries CE, the Huns began to leave the Central Asian steppes. They crossed the Danube in 377 CE and occupied Pannonia, which they used for 75 years as their base for launching looting-raids into Western Europe. However, Attila's death in 453 brought about the disappearance of the Hunnic empire. In 568, a Turko-Mongol tribal confederacy, the Avars, conducted its invasion into the Middle Danube region. The Avars occupied the lowlands of the Pannonian Plain and established an empire dominating the Carpathian Basin.
In 623, the Slavic population living in the western parts of Pannonia seceded from their empire after a revolution led by Samo, a Frankish merchant. After 626, the Avar power started a gradual decline but its reign lasted to 804.
Slavic states
The Slavic tribes settled in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the fifth century. Western Slovakia was the centre of Samo's empire in the seventh century. A Slavic state known as the Principality of Nitra arose in the eighth century and its ruler Pribina had the first known Christian church of the territory of present-day Slovakia consecrated by 828. Together with neighbouring Moravia, the principality formed the core of the Great Moravian Empire from 833. The high point of this Slavonic empire came with the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in 863, during the reign of Duke Rastislav, and the territorial expansion under King Svätopluk I.
Great Moravia (830–before 907)
Great Moravia arose around 830 when Mojmír I unified the Slavic tribes settled north of the Danube and extended the Moravian supremacy over them. When Mojmír I endeavoured to secede from the supremacy of the king of East Francia in 846, King Louis the German deposed him and assisted Mojmír's nephew Rastislav (846–870) in acquiring the throne. The new monarch pursued an independent policy: after stopping a Frankish attack in 855, he also sought to weaken the influence of Frankish priests preaching in his realm. Duke Rastislav asked the Byzantine Emperor Michael III to send teachers who would interpret Christianity in the Slavic vernacular.
On Rastislav's request, two brothers, Byzantine officials and missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius came in 863. Cyril developed the first Slavic alphabet and translated the Gospel into the Old Church Slavonic language. Rastislav was also preoccupied with the security and administration of his state. Numerous fortified castles built throughout the country are dated to his reign and some of them (e.g., Dowina, sometimes identified with Devín Castle) are also mentioned in connection with Rastislav by Frankish chronicles.
During Rastislav's reign, the Principality of Nitra was given to his nephew Svätopluk as an appanage. The rebellious prince allied himself with the Franks and overthrew his uncle in 870. Similarly to his predecessor, Svätopluk I (871–894) assumed the title of the king (rex). During his reign, the Great Moravian Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, when not only present-day Moravia and Slovakia but also present-day northern and central Hungary, Lower Austria, Bohemia, Silesia, Lusatia, southern Poland and northern Serbia belonged to the empire, but the exact borders of his domains are still disputed by modern authors. Svatopluk also withstood attacks of the Magyar tribes and the Bulgarian Empire, although sometimes it was he who hired the Magyars when waging war against East Francia.
In 880, Pope John VIII set up an independent ecclesiastical province in Great Moravia with Archbishop Methodius as its head. He also named the German cleric Wiching the Bishop of Nitra.
After the death of Prince Svatopluk in 894, his sons Mojmír II (894–906?) and Svatopluk II succeeded him as the Prince of Great Moravia and the Prince of Nitra respectively. However, they started to quarrel for domination of the whole empire. Weakened by an internal conflict as well as by constant warfare with Eastern Francia, Great Moravia lost most of its peripheral territories.
In the meantime, the semi-nomadic Magyar tribes, possibly having suffered defeat from the similarly nomadic Pechenegs, left their territories east of the Carpathian Mountains, invaded the Carpathian Basin and started to occupy the territory gradually around 896. Their armies' advance may have been promoted by continuous wars among the countries of the region whose rulers still hired them occasionally to intervene in their struggles.
It is not known what happened with both Mojmír II and Svatopluk II because they are not mentioned in written sources after 906. In three battles (4–5 July and 9 August 907) near Bratislava, the Magyars routed Bavarian armies. Some historians put this year as the date of the break-up of the Great Moravian Empire, due to the Hungarian conquest; other historians take the date a little bit earlier (to 902).
Great Moravia left behind a lasting legacy in Central and Eastern Europe. The Glagolitic script and its successor Cyrillic were disseminated to other Slavic countries, charting a new path in their sociocultural development.
The Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire (1000–1918)
Following the disintegration of the Great Moravian Empire at the turn of the tenth century, the Hungarians annexed the territory comprising modern Slovakia. After their defeat on the river Lech, the Hungarians abandoned their nomadic ways and settled in the centre of the Carpathian valley, slowly adopting Christianity and began to build a new state—the Hungarian kingdom.
In the years 1001–1002 and 1018–1029, Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Poland, having been conquered by Boleslaus I the Brave. After the territory of Slovakia was returned to Hungary, a semi-autonomous polity continued to exist (or was created in 1048 by king Andrew I) called Duchy of Nitra. Comprising roughly the territory of Principality of Nitra and Bihar principality, they formed what was called a tercia pars regni, third of a kingdom.
This polity existed up until 1108/1110, after which it was not restored. After this, up until the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, the territory of Slovakia was an integral part of the Hungarian state. The ethnic composition of Slovakia became more diverse with the arrival of the Carpathian Germans in the 13th century and the Jews in the 14th century.
A significant decline in the population resulted from the invasion of the Mongols in 1241 and the subsequent famine. After the invasion, much of the territory was destroyed, but was recovered largely thanks to Hungarian king Béla IV. However, in medieval times the area of Slovakia was characterised by German and Jewish immigration, burgeoning towns, construction of numerous stone castles, and the cultivation of the arts. The arrival of German element sometimes proved a problem for the autochthonous Slovaks (and even Hungarians in the broader Hungary), since they often quickly gained most power in medieval towns, only to later refuse to share it. Breaking of old customs by Germans often resulted in national quarrels. One of which had to be sorted out by the king Louis I. with the proclamation Privilegium pro Slavis (Privilege for Slovaks) in the year 1381. According to this privilege, Slovaks and Germans were to occupy each half of the seats in the city council of Žilina and the mayor should be elected each year, alternating between those nationalities. This would not be the last such case.
In 1465, King Matthias Corvinus founded the Hungarian Kingdom's third university, in Pressburg (Bratislava), but it was closed in 1490 after his death.Hussites also settled in the region after the Hussite Wars.
Owing to the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Hungarian territory, Bratislava was designated the new capital of Hungary in 1536, ahead of the fall of the old Hungarian capital of Buda in 1541. It became part of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, marking the beginning of a new era. The territory comprising modern Slovakia, then known as Upper Hungary, became the place of settlement for nearly two-thirds of the Magyar nobility fleeing the Turks and became far more linguistically and culturally Hungarian than it was before. Partly thanks to old Hussite families and Slovaks studying under Martin Luther, the region then experienced a growth in Protestantism. For a short period in the 17th century, most Slovaks were Lutherans. They defied the Catholic Habsburgs and sought protection from neighbouring Transylvania, a rival continuation of the Magyar state that practised religious tolerance and normally had Ottoman backing. Upper Hungary, modern Slovakia, became the site of frequent wars between Catholics in the west territory and Protestants in the east, as well as against Turks; the frontier was on a constant state of military alert and heavily fortified by castles and citadels often manned by Catholic German and Slovak troops on the Habsburg side. By 1648, Slovakia was not spared the Counter-Reformation, which brought the majority of its population from Lutheranism back to Roman Catholicism. In 1655, the printing press at the Trnava university produced the Jesuit Benedikt Szöllősi's Cantus Catholici, a Catholic hymnal in Slovak that reaffirmed links to the earlier works of Cyril and Methodius.
The Ottoman wars, the rivalry between Austria and Transylvania, and the frequent insurrections against the Habsburg monarchy inflicted a great deal of devastation, especially in the rural areas. In the Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) a Turkish army led by the Grand Vizier decimated Slovakia. In 1682, the Principality of Upper Hungary, a short-lived Ottoman vassal state, was established in the territory of modern Slovakia. Prior to this, regions on its southern rim were already encompassed in the Egri, Budin and Uyvar eyalets.Thököly's kuruc rebels from the Principality of Upper Hungary fought alongside the Turks against the Austrians and Poles at the Battle of Vienna of 1683 led by John III Sobieski. As the Turks withdrew from Hungary in the late 17th century, the importance of the territory composing modern Slovakia decreased, although Pressburg retained its status as the capital of Hungary until 1848 when it was transferred back to Buda.
During the revolution of 1848–49, the Slovaks supported the Austrian Emperor, hoping for independence from the Hungarian part of the Dual Monarchy, they failed to achieve their aim, but the conflict resulted in Slovak rights for language.
Thereafter, relations between the nationalities deteriorated (see Magyarisation), culminating in the secession of Slovakia from Hungary after World War I.
Czechoslovak independence (1918–1939)
On 18 October 1918, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Edvard Beneš declared in Washington, D.C. the independence for the territories of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Upper Hungary and Carpathian Ruthenia from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and proclaimed a common state, Czechoslovakia.
During the chaos following the break-up of Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia was formed with numerous Czechs, Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians and Ruthenians. The borders were set by the Treaty of Saint Germain in 1919 and Treaty of Trianon in 1920. By the treaties following the World War I, Czechoslovakia emerged as a sovereign European state.
During the Interwar period, democratic Czechoslovakia was allied with France, and also with Romania and Yugoslavia (Little Entente); however, the Locarno Treaties of 1925 left East European security open. Both Czechs and Slovaks enjoyed a period of relative prosperity. There was progress in not only the development of the country's economy but also culture and educational opportunities. Yet the Great Depression caused a sharp economic downturn, followed by political disruption and insecurity in Europe.
In the 1930s, Czechoslovakia came under continuous pressure from the revanchist governments of Germany, Hungary and Poland who used the aggrieved minorities in the country as a useful vehicle. Revision of the borders was called for, as Czechs constituted only 43% of the population. Eventually, this pressure led to the Munich Agreement of September 1938, which allowed the majority ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland, borderlands of Czechoslovakia, to join with Germany. The remaining minorities stepped up their pressures for autonomy and the State became federalised, with Diets in Slovakia and Ruthenia. The remainder of Czechoslovakia was renamed Czecho-Slovakia and promised a greater degree of Slovak political autonomy. This, however, failed to materialise. Parts of southern and eastern Slovakia were also reclaimed by Hungary at the First Vienna Award of November 1938.
Fascist regime during World War II (1939–1945)
After the Munich Agreement and its Vienna Award, Nazi Germany threatened to annex part of Slovakia and allow the remaining regions to be partitioned by Hungary or Poland unless independence was declared. Thus, Slovakia seceded from Czecho-Slovakia in March 1939 and allied itself, as demanded by Germany, with Hitler's coalition. Secession had created the first Slovak state in history.
A one-party clerical fascist Slovak Republic governed by the far-right Hlinka's Slovak People's Party was led by President Jozef Tiso and Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka. The (First) Slovak Republic is primarily known for its collaboration with Nazi Germany, which included sending troops to the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the Soviet Union in 1941. On 24 November 1940, Slovakia joined the Axis when its leaders signed the Tripartite Pact. The country was strongly influenced by Germany and gradually became a puppet regime in many respects.
Meanwhile, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile sought to reverse the Munich Agreement and the subsequent German occupation of Czechoslovakia and to return the Republic to its 1937 boundaries. The government operated from London and it was ultimately considered, by those countries that recognised it, the legitimate government for Czechoslovakia throughout the Second World War.
The local Jewish population was heavily persecuted. As part of the Holocaust in Slovakia, 75,000 Jews out of 80,000 who remained on Slovak territory after Hungary had seized southern regions were deported and taken to German death camps. Thousands of Jews, Gypsies and other politically undesirable people remained in Slovak forced labour camps in Sereď, Vyhne, and Nováky. Tiso, through the granting of presidential exceptions, allowed between 1,000 and 4,000 people crucial to the war economy to avoid deportations. Under Tiso's government and Hungarian occupation, the vast majority of Slovakia's pre-war Jewish population (between 75,000 and 105,000 individuals including those who perished from the occupied territory) were murdered. The Slovak state paid Germany 500 RM per every deported Jew for "retraining and accommodation" (a similar but smaller payment of 30 RM was paid by Croatia).
After it became clear that the Soviet Red Army was going to push the Nazis out of eastern and central Europe, an anti-Nazi resistance movement launched. Internal opposition to the fascist government's policies culminated in the Slovak National Uprising, near the end of summer 1944. A bloody German occupation and a guerilla war followed. Germans and their local collaborators completely destroyed 93 villages and massacred thousands of civilians, often hundreds at a time. Although the uprising was eventually suppressed, partisan resistance continued. The territory of Slovakia was liberated by Soviet and Romanian forces by the end of April 1945.
From Fascism to Communism (1945–1948)
As a result of the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Czechoslovakia came under the influence of the Soviet Union.
After World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and Jozef Tiso was executed in 1947 for collaboration with the Nazis. More than 80,000 Hungarians and 32,000 Germans were forced to leave Slovakia, in a series of population transfers initiated by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference. Out of about 130,000 Carpathian Germans in Slovakia in 1938, by 1947 only some 20,000 remained.[failed verification]
In February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia through a coup d'état and Czechoslovakia came under direct occupation of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact. It became a puppet state of the Soviet Union, but it was never part of the Soviet Union and remained independent to a certain degree.
Communist party rule in Czechoslovakia (1948–1989)
Borders with the West were protected by the Iron Curtain. About 600 people, men, women, and children, were killed on the Czechoslovak border with Austria and West Germany between 1948 and 1989. 8,240 people went to forced labour camps in 1948–1953.
On 11 July 1960, the Constitution of Czechoslovakia was promulgated, changing the name of the country from the "Czechoslovak Republic" to the "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic".
In 1968, following the Prague Spring, the country was invaded by the Warsaw Pact forces (People's Republic of Bulgaria, People's Republic of Hungary, People's Republic of Poland, and Soviet Union, with the exception of Socialist Republic of Romania and People's Socialist Republic of Albania), ending a period of liberalisation under the leadership of Alexander Dubček. 137 Czechoslovak civilians were killed and 500 seriously wounded during the invasion.
In 1969, Czechoslovakia became a federation of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
Czechoslovakia was allied with communist regimes worldwide. As one of the first countries in the world acknowledged Kim Il-sung's Democratic People's Republic of Korea. After the beginning of the Korean War, Czechoslovakia protested against measures taken by the Security Council. Czechoslovak communist leaders considered the intervention against North Korean aggression illegal. During summer 1950, many resolutions against "American imperialism" were sent to the United Nations from Czechoslovakia. During the Korean War in 1952, Czechoslovakia sent a military hospital with two hospital teams consisting of 58 people to North Korea.
When Fidel Castro took power after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Czechoslovakia open embassy in Cuba and developed mutual relations. In August 1968, Castro denounced the Prague Spring as led by a "fascist reactionary rabble" and praised the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. During the Vietnam War, Czechoslovakia sent significant aid to North Vietnam. The Czechoslovakian government created committees which sought to not only promote and establish peace, but also to promote victory for Viet Cong and Vietnam People's Army forces. Czech-made equipment and military aid would increase significantly following the Prague Spring. Czechoslovakia continued to send tens of thousands of Czech-made rifles as well as mortar and artillery throughout the war.
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia (1989–1992)
The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989, during the peaceful Velvet Revolution, was followed once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two successor states. Czechoslovak Socialist Republic renamed as Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, the word "socialist" was dropped in the names of the two republics within the federation, the Slovak Socialist Republic renamed as Slovak Republic.
On 17 July 1992, Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, declared itself a sovereign state, meaning that its laws took precedence over those of the federal government. Throughout the autumn of 1992, Vladimír Mečiar and Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus negotiated the details for disbanding the federation. In November, the federal parliament voted to dissolve the country officially on 31 December 1992.
Slovak independence (since 1993)
1990s
The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic went their separate ways on 1 January 1993, an event sometimes called the Velvet Divorce, after 74 years of joint existence disrupted only by World War II. Slovakia has, nevertheless, remained a close partner with the Czech Republic; the two countries are close European allies and both co-operate with Hungary and Poland in the Visegrád Group. The first President of the Slovak Republic became Michal Kováč, elected by the National Council of Slovakia in February 1993. Slovakia became a member of the United Nations on 19 January 1993, on 31 March 1993 ratified the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the UNESCO list and on 15 April 1993 joined GATT (current World Trade Organization).
After the fall of communism and the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the country was unprepared for organised crime.Crime rates in Slovakia soared in the 1990s, the first post-communist gangsters emerged and mafia became the major problem in the country. Most of the law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges had no experience of investigating, trying, or sentencing criminals. Many officials lacked even basic knowledge of the leading criminal operators in their communities. Between the years 1994–1998, during the government of Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, organised crime became well established and it penetrated the highest political positions. One of the major crime events was kidnapping of Slovak president's son Michal Kováč Jr. in 1995, organised by Slovak intelligence service and the government of Vladimír Mečiar. Processes of privatization in Slovakia began, often criticized for lack of transparency and corruption. Hundreds of state assets came into private hands to only a selected group of businessmen. In the 1990s, Slovakia had central Europe's worst-performing economy, marked by high unemployment rates and inflation with least democratic government. Madeleine Albright, the U.S. secretary of state, referred to it as "a black hole in the heart of Europe". This time period in Slovakia is also known as “Wild 90s”. Since March 1998, the country was 14 months without a head of state, when the National Council of Slovakia multiple times failed to elect the new president, which led to the introduction of a direct presidential election in 1999.
After the 1998 parliamentary election, Mikuláš Dzurinda went on to replace Vladimír Mečiar as Prime Minister, and during two successive governments between the years 1998–2006, relaunched the transformation processes that had stalled under Mečiar. The country embarked on a reformist course that saw the introduction of a flat tax, liberalisation of the labour market, deregulation of business, and partial privatization of social security. Government of Mikuláš Dzurinda led Slovakia into OECD, NATO and the European Union. In 1999, the second President of Slovakia became Rudolf Schuster, first directly-elected president.
2000s
Slovakia became a member of OECD on 14 December 2000, NATO on 29 March 2004 and of the European Union on 1 May 2004. The country used to be dubbed the "Tatra Tiger" in the 2000s as achieved, on average, roughly 6% per capita GDP growth each year from 2000 to 2008.Ivan Gašparovič became the third president of Slovakia in 2004 and in 2009 became the first and the only Slovak re-elected president.
In 2006, Robert Fico became Prime Minister, during his first government, Slovakia joined the Schengen area on 21 December 2007, allowing visa free travel and on 1 January 2009 adopted the Euro as its national currency at 30.1260 korunas to the euro. The Slovak economy was involved in a major slowdown during the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, experiencing the deepest economic decline in history. At the beginning of 2009, Slovakia faced energy crisis and declared a state of emergency, after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe via Ukrainian pipelines as part of a price dispute with Ukraine.
2010s
Between the years 2010–2012, Slovak government was led by first female Prime Minister Iveta Radičová. Her government lasted only two years, Radičová combined the vote on the strengthening of the European Financial Stability Facility – a key anti-crisis mechanism in the Eurozone – with a vote of confidence for her cabinet. Slovak parliament rejected the EFSF, which led to the collapse of the government.
In 2012, Robert Fico became second time Prime Minister when his political party Direction – Social Democracy won election and collected 83 of 150 seats in National Council, becoming the first single party to win a clear majority in the Slovak parliament since the fall of communism. In 2014, Andrej Kiska became the fourth President of Slovakia. For the first time was elected as President entrepreneur and first-time politician. International crisis impacted Slovak politics and quickly started dominating the country's political life and media coverage, such as Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in neighbouring Ukraine in 2014 or European migrant crisis in 2015.
After the parliamentary election in 2016, Robert Fico became third time Prime Minister, making him longest-serving prime minister in Slovak history, if the years are counted cumulatively. Third term of Fico's government was characterised by social and political turmoil. On February 21, 2018, young Slovak investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, were killed in their home in Veľká Mača. Thousands of people protested in streets across Slovakia for independent investigation of journalist's murder and a ‘trustworthy’ government in largest demonstrations in the country since the Velvet Revolution. Due to protests, Robert Fico resignate and the government continued under a new Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini. In 2019, Zuzana Čaputová became the fifth President of Slovakia, first female president.
2020s
After the parliamentary election in 2020, Igor Matovič became the new Prime Minister of Slovakia. Matovič and his government, with little to no previous government experience, was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 recession, during which more than 21,000 people died in Slovakia between the years 2020–2023, the worst death toll in the country since the end of World War II. Due to the pandemic in 2020, the Slovak economy faced the worst economic crisis since the global financial crisis and fell into recession. At the beginning of 2021, Matovič signed an agreement to acquire 2 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, which has not been cleared by European Union regulators. Matovič orchestrated the deal despite disagreement among his coalition partners, which led to a government crisis and his resignation. The government continued under a new Prime Minister Eduard Heger. Heger and his government faced many challenges, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Russian invasion in neighbouring Ukraine, Ukrainian refugee crisis, Global energy crisis and Inflation surge. After a strong economic recovery in 2021, growth slowed down markedly in 2022 and 2023 as a result of the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, notably the subsequent EU sanctions on Russia and Global energy crisis. Slovakia became one of Ukraine's largest donors of military aid during Heger's government in 2022 and 2023. Government crisis in Slovakia continued with various disputes in the coalition. At the end of 2022, Heger's government collapsed, after a lost no-confidence vote in parliament. In 2023, in the interim before the next election, President Zuzana Čaputová appointed the first technocrat government in Slovak history and Ľudovít Ódor became the new Prime Minister for only six months, the third Prime Minister of Slovakia in three years.
After the parliamentary election in 2023, Robert Fico became for the fourth time Prime Minister. The new government halted military aid to Ukraine, while still providing humanitarian aid and electricity supplies. On May 15, 2024, Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times and wounded in an assassination attempt. The suspect stated during interrogation that he acted primarily because of the Fico government's opposition to military assistance to Ukraine. In 2024, Peter Pellegrini became the sixth President of Slovakia. Pellegrini is the first Slovak politician to have held all three highest constitutional posts (President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament) in the country.
Geography
Slovakia lies between latitudes 47° and 50° N, and longitudes 16° and 23° E. The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. Among these mountain ranges are the high peaks of the Fatra-Tatra Area (including Tatra Mountains, Greater Fatra and Lesser Fatra), Slovak Ore Mountains, Slovak Central Mountains or Beskids. The largest lowland is the fertile Danubian Lowland in the southwest, followed by the Eastern Slovak Lowland in the southeast. Forests cover 41% of Slovak land surface.
Tatra mountains
The Tatra Mountains, with 29 peaks higher than 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) AMSL, are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. The Tatras occupy an area of 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi), of which the greater part 600 square kilometres (232 sq mi) lies in Slovakia. They are divided into several parts.
To the north, close to the Polish border, are the High Tatras which are a popular hiking and skiing destination and home to many scenic lakes and valleys as well as the highest point in Slovakia, the Gerlachovský štít at 2,655 metres (8,711 ft) and the country's highly symbolic mountain Kriváň. To the west are the Western Tatras with their highest peak of Bystrá at 2,248 metres (7,375 ft) and to the east are the Belianske Tatras, smallest by area.
Separated from the Tatras proper by the valley of the Váh river are the Low Tatras, with their highest peak of Ďumbier at 2,043 metres (6,703 ft).
The Tatra mountain range is represented as one of the three hills on the coat of arms of Slovakia.
National parks
There are nine national parks in Slovakia, covering 6.5% of the Slovak land surface. These parks are: Tatra National Park, Low Tatras National Park, Veľká Fatra National Park, Slovak Karst National Park, Poloniny National Park, Malá Fatra National Park, Muránska planina National Park, Slovak Paradise National Park and Pieniny National Park.
Caves
Slovakia has hundreds of caves and caverns under its mountains, of which 30 are open to the public. Most of the caves have stalagmites rising from the ground and stalactites hanging from above.
There are currently five Slovak caves under UNESCO's World Heritage Site status: Dobšiná Ice Cave, Domica, Gombasek Cave, Jasovská Cave and Ochtinská Aragonite Cave. Other caves open to the public include Belianska Cave, Demänovská Cave of Liberty, Demänovská Ice Cave or Bystrianska Cave.
Rivers
Most of the rivers arise in the Slovak mountains. Some only pass through Slovakia, while others make a natural border with surrounding countries (more than 620 kilometres [390 mi]). For example, the Dunajec (17 kilometres [11 mi]) to the north, the Danube (172 kilometres [107 mi]) to the south or the Morava (119 kilometres [74 mi]) to the West. The total length of the rivers on Slovak territory is 49,774 kilometres (30,928 mi).
The longest river in Slovakia is the Váh (403 kilometres [250 mi]), the shortest is the Čierna voda. Other important and large rivers are the Myjava, the Nitra (197 kilometres [122 mi]), the Orava, the Hron (298 kilometres [185 mi]), the Hornád (193 kilometres [120 mi]), the Slaná (110 kilometres [68 mi]), the Ipeľ (232 kilometres [144 mi], forming the border with Hungary), the Bodrog, the Laborec, the Latorica and the Ondava.
The biggest volume of discharge in Slovak rivers is during spring, when the snow melts from the mountains. The only exception is the Danube, whose discharge is the greatest during summer when the snow melts in the Alps. The Danube is the largest river that flows through Slovakia.
Climate
The Slovak climate lies between the temperate and continental climate zones with relatively warm summers and cold, cloudy and humid winters. Temperature extremes are between −41 and 40.3 °C (−41.8 and 104.5 °F) although temperatures below −30 °C (−22 °F) are rare. The weather differs from the mountainous north to the plains in the south.
The warmest region is Bratislava and Southern Slovakia where the temperatures may reach 30 °C (86 °F) in summer, occasionally to 39 °C (102 °F) in Hurbanovo. During night, the temperatures drop to 20 °C (68 °F). The daily temperatures in winter average in the range of −5 °C (23 °F) to 10 °C (50 °F). During night it may be freezing, but usually not below −10 °C (14 °F).
In Slovakia, there are four seasons, each season (spring, summer, autumn and winter) lasts three months. The dry continental air brings in the summer heat and winter frosts. In contrast, oceanic air brings rainfalls and reduces summer temperatures. In the lowlands and valleys, there is often fog, especially in winter.
Spring starts with 21 March and is characterised by colder weather with an average daily temperature of 9 °C (48 °F) in the first weeks and about 14 °C (57 °F) in May and 17 °C (63 °F) in June. In Slovakia, the weather and climate in the spring are very unstable.
Summer starts on 22 June and is usually characterised by hot weather with daily temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F). July is the warmest month with temperatures up to about 37 to 40 °C (99 to 104 °F), especially in regions of southern Slovakia - in the urban area of Komárno, Hurbanovo or Štúrovo. Showers or thunderstorms may occur because of the summer monsoon called Medardova kvapka (Medard drop - 40 days of rain). Summer in Northern Slovakia is usually mild with temperatures around 25 °C (77 °F) (less in the mountains).
Autumn in Slovakia starts on 23 September and is mostly characterised by wet weather and wind, although the first weeks can be very warm and sunny. The average temperature in September is around 14 °C (57 °F), in November to 3 °C (37 °F). Late September and early October is a dry and sunny time of year (so-called Indian summer).
Winter starts on 21 December with temperatures around −5 to −10 °C (23 to 14 °F). In December and January, it is usually snowing, these are the coldest months of the year. At lower altitudes, snow does not stay the whole winter, it changes into the thaw and frost. Winters are colder in the mountains, where the snow usually lasts until March or April and the night temperatures fall to −20 °C (−4 °F) and colder.
Biodiversity
Slovakia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 19 May 1993, and became a party to the convention on 25 August 1994. It has subsequently produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which was received by the convention on 2 November 1998.
The biodiversity of Slovakia comprises animals (such as annelids, arthropods, molluscs, nematodes and vertebrates), fungi (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota and Zygomycota), micro-organisms (including Mycetozoa), and plants. The geographical position of Slovakia determines the richness of the diversity of fauna and flora. More than 11,000 plant species have been described throughout its territory, nearly 29,000 animal species and over 1,000 species of protozoa. Endemic biodiversity is also common.
Slovakia is located in the biome of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and terrestrial ecoregions of Pannonian mixed forests and Carpathian montane conifer forests. As the altitude changes, the vegetation associations and animal communities are forming height levels (oak, beech, spruce, scrub pine, alpine meadows and subsoil). Forests cover 44% of the territory of Slovakia. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4.34/10, ranking it 129th globally out of 172 countries. In terms of forest stands, 60% are broadleaf trees and 40% are coniferous trees. The occurrence of animal species is strongly connected to the appropriate types of plant associations and biotopes.
Over 4,000 species of fungi have been recorded from Slovakia. Of these, nearly 1,500 are lichen-forming species. Some of these fungi are undoubtedly endemic, but not enough is known to say how many. Of the lichen-forming species, about 40% have been classified as threatened in some way. About 7% are apparently extinct, 9% endangered, 17% vulnerable, and 7% rare. The conservation status of non-lichen-forming fungi in Slovakia is not well documented, but there is a red list for its larger fungi.
Water
The entire population of Slovakia has access to a safe-drinking water source. The country has one of the best quality tap water in the world, it is the second country in Europe (after Austria) with the largest reserves of drinking water. Groundwater is the drinking water source of the highest quality protected by Constitution of Slovakia. Since 2014, it is banned the export of drinking and mineral waters in pipelines and water tanks. The ban excludes bottled water and water for personal use. Both, groundwater (82.2 %) as well as surface water (17.8 %) are exploited as drinking water sources. Žitný ostrov is the biggest natural groundwater source in Slovakia and as well in Central Europe.
About 1300 mineral sources are registered, providing curative water and high quality mineral water for drinking. There are 21 thermal spa towns built on these mineral springs. The most visited are Piešťany, Trenčianske Teplice, Bardejov and Dudince.
Government and politics
Prime Minister
since 2023
Presidentsince 2024
Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system. The last parliamentary elections were held on 30 September 2023 and two rounds of presidential elections took place on 23 March and 6 April 2024.
The Slovak head of state and the formal head of the executive is the president (currently Peter Pellegrini), though with very limited powers. The president is elected by direct, popular vote under the two-round system for a five-year term. Most executive power lies with the head of government, the prime minister (currently Robert Fico), who is usually the leader of the winning party and who needs to form a majority coalition in the parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president. The remainder of the cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic (Národná rada Slovenskej republiky). Delegates are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation.
Slovakia's highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court of Slovakia (Ústavný súd), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by parliament.
The Constitution of the Slovak Republic was ratified 1 September 1992, and became effective 1 January 1993. It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements. The civil law system is based on Austro-Hungarian codes. The legal code was modified to comply with the obligations of Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge the Marxist–Leninist legal theory. Slovakia accepts the compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction with reservations.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Peter Pellegrini | Independent | 15 June 2024 |
| Prime Minister | Robert Fico | Direction – Social Democracy | 25 October 2023 |
| Speaker of the National Council | Peter Žiga (acting) | Voice – Social Democracy | 7 April 2024 |
Foreign relations
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Slovak: Ministerstvo zahraničných vecí a európskych záležitostí) is responsible for maintaining the Slovak Republic's external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions. The ministry's director is Juraj Blanár. The ministry oversees Slovakia's affairs with foreign entities, including bilateral relations with individual nations and its representation in international organisations.
Slovakia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004, the Schengen Area in 2007 and the Eurozone in 2009.
Slovakia is a member of the United Nations (since 1993) and participates in its specialised agencies. The country was, on 10 October 2005, elected to a two-year term on the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2007. It is also a member of the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the Bucharest Nine (B9) and part of the Visegrád Group (V4: Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland).
In 2024, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 184 countries and territories, putting the Slovak passport at the 10th rank of travel freedom (tied with Latvia and Iceland) on the Henley Passport Index.
Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries, primarily through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Slovakia maintained 90 missions abroad, including 64 embassies, seven missions to multilateral organisations, nine consulates-general, one consular office, one Slovak Economic and Cultural Office and eight Slovak Institutes. Bratislava hosts 41 foreign embassies and 22 consulates.
Largest trading partners are countries of the European Union. In 2024, more than 80% of Slovak exports went to the European Union, and more than 65% of Slovak imports came from other European Union member states.
Slovakia and the United States retain strong diplomatic ties and cooperate in the military and law enforcement areas. U.S. Department of Defence programmes has contributed significantly to Slovak military reforms. The two countries have a long history tracing back to the American Revolutionary War, when a Slovak Major, Ján Ladislav Polerecký, fought alongside George Washington in Yorktowne to win the colonies' independence. President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the original Czechoslovak state on 28 October 1918. Around one million Americans have their roots in Slovakia, and many retain strong cultural and familial ties to the Slovak Republic. American steel producer U. S. Steel is the largest employer in Eastern Slovakia in Košice with 12,000 employees.
Military
The president is formally the commander-in-chief of the Slovak armed forces.
Slovakia joined NATO in March 2004. From 2006, the army transformed into a fully professional organisation and compulsory military service was abolished. Slovak armed forces numbered 19,500 uniformed personnel and 4,208 civilians in 2022.
The country has been an active participant in US- and NATO-led military actions and involved in many United Nations peacekeeping military missions: UNPROFOR in the Yugoslavia (1992–1995), UNOMUR in Uganda and Rwanda (1993–1994), UNAMIR in Rwanda (1993-1996), UNTAES in Croatia (1996-1998), UNOMIL in Liberia (1993-1997), MONUA in Angola (1997-1999), SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999-2003), OSCE mission in Moldova (1998-2002), OSCE mission in Albania (1999), KFOR in Kosovo (1999-2002), UNGCI in Iraq (2000-2003), UNMEE in Ethiopia and Eritrea (2000-2004), UNMISET in East Timor (2001), EUFOR Concordia in Macedonia (2003), UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone (1999-2005), EU supporting action to African Union in Darfur (2006), Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2002-2005), Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq (2003-2007) and UNDOF at the borders of Israel and Syria (1998-2008).
As of 2025, Slovakia has 240 military personnel deployed in Cyprus for UNFICYP United Nations led peace support operations, 50 troops deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina for EUFOR Althea and 135 troops deployed in Latvia for NATO Enhanced Forward Presence.
The Slovak Ground Forces are made up of two active mechanised infantry brigades. The Air and Air Defence Forces comprise one wing of fighters, one wing of utility helicopters, and one SAM brigade. Training and support forces comprise a National Support Element (Multifunctional Battalion, Transport Battalion, Repair Battalion), a garrison force of the capital city Bratislava, as well as a training battalion, and various logistics, communication, and information bases. Miscellaneous forces under the direct command of the General Staff include the 5th Special Forces Regiment.
Human rights
Human rights in Slovakia are guaranteed by the Constitution of Slovakia from the year 1992 and by multiple international laws signed in Slovakia between 1948 and 2006. Slovakia performs favourably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance, and peacefulness.
The US State Department in 2021 reported:
The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: corruption; violence and threats of violence against Roma and members of other ethnic and racial minorities; and violence and threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons.
According to the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), Romani people in Slovakia "endure racism in the job market, housing and education fields and are often subjected to forced evictions, vigilante intimidation, disproportionate levels of police brutality and more subtle forms of discrimination."
Administrative divisions
Slovakia is divided into 8 kraje (singular—kraj, usually translated as "region"), each of which is named after its principal city. Regions have enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy since 2002. Their self-governing bodies are referred to as Self-governing (or autonomous) Regions (sg. samosprávny kraj, pl. samosprávne kraje) or Upper-Tier Territorial Units (sg. vyšší územný celok, pl. vyššie územné celky, abbr. VÚC).
The kraje are subdivided into okresy (sg. okres, usually translated as districts). Slovakia currently has 79 districts.
The okresy are further divided into obce (sg. obec, usually translated as "municipality"). There are currently 2,890 municipalities.
In terms of economics and unemployment rate, the western regions are richer than eastern regions. Bratislava is the 19th-richest region of the European Union by GDP (PPP) per capita; GDP at purchasing power parity is about three times higher than in other Slovak regions.
|
|
Economy
Slovakia has a high-income developed economy. In 2024, with a population of only 5 million, it ranked as the 46th richest country with a per capita gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity of $44,081, and the 61st largest economy in the World with a GDP of $140,808 billion. Its GDP per capita equalling 74% of the average of the European Union in 2023. Major privatisations are completed, the banking sector is almost completely in private hands, and foreign investment has risen.
In 2024, more than 80% of Slovak exports went to the European Union, and more than 65% of Slovak imports came from other European Union member states. Main export partners are Germany (23% of total exports), Czech Republic (12.4%), Poland (8.3%) and Austria (5.7%).
The country has difficulties addressing regional imbalances in wealth and employment. GDP per capita ranges from 188% of EU average in Bratislava to 54% in Eastern Slovakia. Bratislava is the 19th-richest region of the European Union by GDP (PPP) per capita. Although regional income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes.
The country used to be dubbed the "Tatra Tiger" in the 2000s as it successfully transformed from a centrally planned economy to a market-driven economy and achieved, on average, roughly 6% per capita GDP growth each year from 2000 to 2008. In 2017, the Slovak economy was one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe and 3rd-fastest in eurozone.
The OECD in 2017 reported:
The Slovak Republic continues exhibiting robust economic performance, with strong growth backed by a sound financial sector, low public debt and high international competitiveness drawing on large inward investment.
The ratio of government debt to GDP in Slovakia reached 60.5% in 2024.
Unemployment, peaking at 19% at the end of 1999, decreased to 4.9% in 2019, lowest recorded rate in Slovak history. Unemployment rate in 2024 was 5.4%.
A high dependence on global supply chains and energy imports makes the Slovak economy vulnerable to external shocks. As a consequence, the economy was hit hard by the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis (-3.3% decline in 2020), despite sizeable economic policy support. And after a strong recovery in 2021 (+4.8% growth), growth slowed down markedly in 2022 (+1.9%) and 2023 (+1.6%) as a result of the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, notably the subsequent EU sanctions on Russia and soaring energy prices.
The Slovak government encourages foreign investment since it is one of the driving forces of the economy. Slovakia is an attractive country for foreign investors mainly because of its low wages, low tax rates, well educated labour force, favourable geographic location in the heart of Central Europe, strong political stability and good international relations reinforced by the country's accession to the European Union. Some regions, mostly at the east of Slovakia have failed to attract major investment, which has aggravated regional disparities in many economic and social areas.
Slovakia adopted the euro currency on 1 January 2009 as the 16th member of the Eurozone. The euro in Slovakia was approved by the European commission on 7 May 2008. The Slovak koruna was revalued on 28 May 2008 to 30.126 for 1 euro, which was also the exchange rate for the euro.
Slovakia ranks 45th out of 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business, according to the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Report and 49th out of the 63 countries and territories in terms of competitive economy, according to the 2022 World Competitiveness Yearbook Report.
Industry
Although Slovakia's GDP comes mainly from the tertiary (services) sector, the industrial sector also plays an important role within its economy. The main industry sectors are car manufacturing and electrical engineering. Since 2007, Slovakia has been the world's largest producer of cars per capita, with a total of 1,090,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2018 alone. 275,000 people are employed directly and indirectly by the automotive industry. There are currently four automobile assembly plants, with a fifth under construction: Volkswagen's in Bratislava (models: Volkswagen Up, Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, Audi Q8, Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus), PSA Peugeot Citroën's in Trnava (models: Peugeot 208, Citroën C3 Picasso), Kia Motors' Žilina Plant (models: Kia Cee'd, Kia Sportage, Kia Venga) and Jaguar Land Rover's in Nitra (model: Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Discovery). Volvo will make electric cars at a new plant at the east of Slovakia, construction began in 2023 in Košice, with series production starting in 2026.Hyundai Mobis in Žilina is the largest suppliers for the automotive industry in Slovakia.
The electronics manufacturing industry also thrives. Foxconn has a factory at Nitra for LCD TV manufacturing, Samsung at Galanta for computer monitors and television sets manufacturing. Steel producer U. S. Steel in Košice is the largest employer in the east of Slovakia with 12,000 employees.
ESET is an IT security company from Bratislava with more than 1,000 employees worldwide at present. Their branch offices are in the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Singapore and Poland. In recent years, service and high-tech-oriented businesses have prospered in Bratislava. Many global companies, including IBM, Dell, Lenovo, AT&T, SAP, and Accenture, have built outsourcing and service centres here. Reasons for the influx of multi-national corporations include proximity to Western Europe, skilled labour force and the high density of universities and research facilities. Other large companies and employers with headquarters in Bratislava include Amazon, Slovak Telekom, Orange Slovensko, Slovenská sporiteľňa, Tatra banka, Doprastav, Hewlett-Packard Slovakia, Henkel Slovensko, Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, Microsoft Slovakia, Mondelez Slovakia, Whirlpool Slovakia and Zurich Insurance Group Slovakia.
Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a crossroads for international trade traffic. Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway, have crossed territory of present-day Bratislava. Today, Bratislava is a road, railway, waterway and airway hub.
Energy
Slovakia is self-sufficient in electricity production following the launch of the third unit of the Mochovce nuclear power plant in 2023.
In 2020, Slovakia produced a total of 29,322 GWh of electricity. Nuclear energy accounted for 54% (15 400 GWh) of total electricity production, followed by 16% by hydro power energy, 16% natural gas, 8% coal, biofuel 3% and 3% by solar energy,
The two nuclear power-plants in Slovakia are in Jaslovské Bohunice and Mochovce. Jaslovské Bohunice containing two operating reactors. Mochovce containing three operating reactors, unit Mochovce-3 came on-line in January 2023 and unit Mochovce-4 will be completed at the end of 2025. The additional reactors in Mochovce returned Slovakia to being a net exporter of electricity.
In 2024, Slovak government approved a plan to build another new nuclear reactor in Jaslovské Bohunice.
Slovenský plynárenský priemysel (Slovak Gas Industry) is the biggest natural gas seller in Slovakia. In 2024, domestic gas production covers roughly 2% of Slovak consumption. An average of around 65 million m³ of natural gas is produced, while 4,2 billion m³ of natural gas is imported. As of 2025, most of gas imports to Slovakia is from Russia via TurkStream pipeline. TurkStream connects Russia and Turkey, with gas flowing through the Balkans and Hungary before reaching Slovakia.
The oil production in Slovakia is even lower than the gas production. In 2021 it reached a volume of 4,500 tons per year with a total oil consumption of around 6 million tons per year. Among European Union countries, Slovakia is the most dependent on Russian oil and petroleum products. In 2020, Russia was the origin country for 78 percent of the country's total oil imports. Slovnaft, with 4,000 employees, is the largest oil refining company in Slovakia, located in Bratislava. The company refines 5.5 to 6 million tonnes of crude oil per annum and produces a broad range of motor fuels, fuel oils and petrochemical products.
Transportation
There are four main motorway D1 to D4 and eight expressways R1 to R8. Many of them are still under construction.
The major motorway in Slovakia is D1, the motorway connects major cities across Slovakia from west to east, from Bratislava to Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina and beyond. As of 2025, some sections of D1 are still under construction. The D2 motorway connects it to Prague, Brno and Budapest in the north–south direction. A large part of D4 motorway (an outer bypass), which ease the pressure on Bratislava's highway system, opened in 2021. The A6 motorway to Vienna connects Slovakia directly to the Austrian motorway system and was opened on 19 November 2007.
Slovakia has three international airports. Bratislava Airport is the main and largest international airport. It is located 9 km northeast of the city centre. It serves civil and governmental, scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights. The current runways support the landing of all common types of aircraft currently used. The airport has enjoyed rapidly growing passenger traffic in recent years; it served 279,028 passengers in 2000 and 2,292,712 in 2018.Košice International Airport is an airport serving Košice. It is the second-largest international airport in Slovakia. The Poprad–Tatry Airport is the third busiest airport, the airport is located 5 km west-northwest of Poprad. It is an airport with one of the highest elevations in Central Europe, at 718 m, which is 150 m higher than Innsbruck Airport in Austria.
Železnice Slovenskej Republiky (Railways of Slovak Republic) provides railway transport services on national and international lines.
The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia. The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic, especially the interconnection from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. Additionally, tourist boats operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devín, Vienna and elsewhere. The is the second largest port in Slovakia with an area of over 20 hectares and is located approximately 100 km east of Bratislava. It lies at the confluence of two rivers - the Danube and Váh.
Tourism
Slovakia features natural landscapes, mountains, caves, medieval castles and towns, folk architecture, spas and ski resorts. More than 5,4 million tourists visited Slovakia in 2017. The most attractive destinations are the capital of Bratislava and the High Tatras. Most visitors come from the Czech Republic (about 26%), Poland (15%) and Germany (11%).
Slovakia contains many castles, most of which are in ruins. The best known castles include Bojnice Castle (often used as a filming location), Spiš Castle, (on the UNESCO list), Orava Castle, Bratislava Castle, and the ruins of Devín Castle. Čachtice Castle was once the home of the world's most prolific female serial killer, the 'Bloody Lady', Elizabeth Báthory.
Slovakia's position in Europe and the country's past (part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg monarchy and Czechoslovakia) made many cities and towns similar to the cities in the Czech Republic (such as Prague), Austria (such as Salzburg) or Hungary (such as Budapest). A historical centre with at least one square has been preserved in many towns. Large historical centres can be found in Bratislava, Trenčín, Košice, Banská Štiavnica, Levoča, and Trnava. Historical centres have been going through a restoration in recent years.
Historical churches can be found in virtually every village and town in Slovakia. Most of them are built in the Baroque style, but there are also many examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, for example Banská Bystrica, Bardejov and Spišská Kapitula. The Basilica of St. James in Levoča with the tallest wood-carved altar in the world and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Žehra with medieval frescos are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The St. Martin's Concathedral in Bratislava served as the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary. The oldest sacral buildings in Slovakia stem from the Great Moravian period in the ninth century.
Very precious structures are the complete wooden churches of northern and northern-eastern Slovakia. Most were built from the 15th century onwards by Catholics, Lutherans and members of eastern-rite churches.
Tourism is one of the main sectors of the Slovakia's economy, although still underserved. It is based on domestic tourism, as most of the tourists are the Slovak nationals and residents travelling for leisure within the country. Bratislava and the High and Low Tatras are the busiest tourist stops. Other popular tourist destinations are the cities and towns of Košice, Banská Štiavnica, or Bardejov, and numerous national parks, such as Pieniny National Park, Malá Fatra National Park, Veľká Fatra National Park, Poloniny National Park, or Slovak Paradise National Park, among others.
There are many castles located throughout the country. Among the tourists, some of the most popular are Bojnice Castle, Spiš Castle, Stará Ľubovňa Castle, Krásna Hôrka Castle, Orava Castle (where many scenes of Nosferatu were filmed), Trenčín Castle, and Bratislava Castle, and also castles in ruins, such as Beckov Castle, Devín Castle, Šariš Castle, Považie Castle, and Strečno Castle (where Dragonheart was filmed).
Caves open to the public are mainly located in Northern Slovakia. Driny is the only cave located in Western Slovakia that is open to the public. Dobšiná Ice Cave, Demänovská Ice Cave, Demänovská Cave of Liberty, Belianska Cave, or Domica Cave are among the most popular tourist stops. Ochtinská Aragonite Cave, located in Central Slovakia, is one of only three aragonite caves in the world. There are thousands of caves located in Slovakia, thirteen of which are open to the public.
Slovakia is also known for its numerous spas. Piešťany is the biggest and busiest spa town in the country, attracting many visitors from the Gulf countries, mostly the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Bardejov, Trenčianske Teplice, Turčianske Teplice, and Rajecké Teplice are other major spa towns. Some well-known minor spa towns and villages are Štós, Číž, Dudince, Kováčová, Nimnica, Smrdáky, Lúčky, and Vyšné Ružbachy, among others.
Typical souvenirs from Slovakia are dolls dressed in folk costumes, ceramic objects, crystal glass, carved wooden figures, črpáks (wooden pitchers), fujaras (a folk instrument on the UNESCO list) and valaškas (a decorated folk hatchet) and above all products made from corn husks and wire, notably human figures. Souvenirs can be bought in the shops run by the state organisation ÚĽUV (Ústredie ľudovej umeleckej výroby—Centre of Folk Art Production). Dielo shop chain sells works of Slovak artists and craftsmen. These shops are mostly found in towns and cities.
Prices of imported products are generally the same as in the neighbouring countries, whereas prices of local products and services, especially food, are usually lower.
Science
The Slovak Academy of Sciences has been the most important scientific and research institution in the country since 1953. Slovaks have made notable scientific and technical contributions during history. In 1999, astronaut Ivan Bella, became the first and only Slovak citizen to fly in space.
Observer status to European Space Agency (ESA) was granted in 2010, when Slovakia signed the General Agreement on Cooperation in which information about ongoing education programmes was shared and Slovakia was invited to various negotiations of the ESA. In 2015, Slovakia signed the European Cooperating State Agreement based on which Slovakia committed to the finance entrance programme named PECS (Plan for the European Cooperating States) which serves as preparation for full membership. Slovak research and development organisations can apply for funding of projects regarding space technologies advancement. Slovakia became European Space Agency associate member state in 2022. In 2024, the country signed the Artemis Accords with NASA.
Slovakia was ranked 46th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.
Demographics
Largest cities or towns in Slovakia Štatistický úrad Slovenskej republiky – 31 December 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Region | Pop. | Rank | Name | Region | Pop. | ||
 Bratislava  Košice | 1 | Bratislava | Bratislava | 475,503 | 11 | Prievidza | Trenčín | 45,017 |  Prešov  Žilina |
| 2 | Košice | Košice | 229,040 | 12 | Zvolen | Banská Bystrica | 40,637 | ||
| 3 | Prešov | Prešov | 84,824 | 13 | Považská Bystrica | Trenčín | 38,641 | ||
| 4 | Žilina | Žilina | 82,656 | 14 | Nové Zámky | Nitra | 37,791 | ||
| 5 | Nitra | Nitra | 78,489 | 15 | Michalovce | Košice | 36,704 | ||
| 6 | Banská Bystrica | Banská Bystrica | 76 018 | 16 | Spišská Nová Ves | Košice | 35,431 | ||
| 7 | Trnava | Trnava | 63,803 | 17 | Komárno | Nitra | 32,967 | ||
| 8 | Trenčín | Trenčín | 54,740 | 18 | Levice | Nitra | 31,974 | ||
| 9 | Martin | Žilina | 52,520 | 19 | Humenné | Prešov | 31,359 | ||
| 10 | Poprad | Prešov | 49,855 | 20 | Bardejov | Prešov | 30,840 | ||
The population is over 5.4 million and consists mostly of Slovaks. The average population density is 110 inhabitants per km2. According to the 2021 census, the majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are Slovaks (83.82%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (7.75%). Other ethnic groups include Roma (1.23%),Czechs (0.53%), Rusyns (0.44%) and others or unspecified (6.1%).
In 2018, the median age of the Slovak population was 41 years.
The largest waves of Slovak emigration occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1990 US census, 1.8 million people self-identified as having Slovak ancestry.[needs update]
In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Slovakia is one of 22 countries with a GHI score of less than 5.
Languages
The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family. Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern regions, and Rusyn is used in some parts of the Northeast. Minority languages hold co-official status in the municipalities in which the size of the minority population meets the legal threshold of 15% in two consecutive censuses.
Slovakia is ranked among the top EU countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages. In 2007, 68% of the population aged from 25 to 64 years claimed to speak two or more foreign languages, finishing second highest in the European Union. The best known foreign language in Slovakia is Czech. Eurostat report also shows that 98.3% of Slovak students in the upper secondary education take on two foreign languages, ranking highly over the average 60.1% in the European Union. According to a Eurobarometer survey from 2012, 26% of the population have knowledge of English at a conversational level, followed by German (22%) and Russian (17%).
The deaf community uses the Slovak Sign Language. Even though spoken Czech and Slovak are similar, the Slovak Sign language is not particularly close to Czech Sign Language.[citation needed]
Religion
The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. In 2021, 55.8% of population identified themselves as Roman Catholics, 5.3% as Lutherans, 1.6% as Calvinists, 4% as Greek Catholics, 0.9% as Orthodox, 23.8% identified themselves as atheists or non-religious, and 6.5% did not answer the question about their belief. In 2004, about one third of the church members regularly attended church services. The Slovak Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern rite sui iuris Catholic Church. Before World War II, an estimated 90,000 Jews lived in Slovakia (1.6% of the population), but most were murdered during the Holocaust. After further reductions due to postwar emigration and assimilation, only about 2,300 Jews remain today (0.04% of the population).
There are 18 state-registered religions in Slovakia, of which 16 are Christian, one is Jewish, and one is the Baháʼí Faith. In 2016, a two-thirds majority of the Slovak parliament passed a new bill that would obstruct Islam and other religious organisations from becoming state-recognised religions by doubling the minimum followers threshold from 25,000 to 50,000; however, Slovakia's then-president Andrej Kiska vetoed the bill. In 2010, there were an estimated 5,000 Muslims in Slovakia representing less than 0.1% of the country's population. Slovakia is the only member state of the European Union to not have any mosques.
Education
The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Slovak secondary education the 30th in the world (placing it just below the United States and just above Spain). Education in Slovakia is compulsory from age 6 to 16. The education system consists of elementary school which is divided into two parts, the first grade (age 6–10) and the second grade (age 10–15) which is finished by taking nationwide testing called Monitor, in Slovak and math. Parents may apply for social assistance for a child that is studying on an elementary school or a high-school. If approved, the state provides basic study necessities for the child. Schools provide books to all their students with usual exceptions of books for studying a foreign language and books which require taking notes in them, which are mostly present in the first grade of elementary school.
After finishing elementary school, students are obliged to take one year in high school.
After finishing high school, students can go to university and are highly encouraged to do so. Slovakia has a wide range of universities. The biggest university is Comenius University, established in 1919. Although it is not the first university ever established on Slovak territory, it is the oldest university that is still running. Most universities in Slovakia are public funded, where anyone can apply. Every citizen has a right to free education in public schools.
Slovakia has several privately funded universities, however public universities consistently score better in the ranking than their private counterparts. Universities have different criteria for accepting students. Anyone can apply to any number of universities.
Culture
Folk tradition
Folk tradition has rooted strongly in Slovakia and is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture. The prime example is the Slovak national anthem, "Nad Tatrou sa blýska", which is based on a melody from the "Kopala studienku" folk song.
The manifestation of Slovak folklore culture is the "Východná" Folklore Festival. It is the oldest and largest nationwide festival with international participation, which takes place in Východná annually. Slovakia is usually represented by many groups but mainly by SĽUK (Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív—Slovak folk art collective). SĽUK is the largest Slovak folk art group, trying to preserve the folklore tradition.
An example of wooden folk architecture in Slovakia can be seen in the well-preserved village of Vlkolínec which has been the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. The Prešov Region preserves the world's most remarkable folk wooden churches. Most of them are protected by Slovak law as cultural heritage, but some of them are on the UNESCO list too, in Bodružal, Hervartov, Ladomirová and Ruská Bystrá.
The best known Slovak hero, found in many folk mythologies, is Juraj Jánošík (1688–1713) (the Slovak equivalent of Robin Hood). The legend says he was taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Jánošík's life was depicted in a list of literary works and many movies throughout the 20th century. One of the most popular is a film Jánošík directed by Martin Frič in 1935. He is commemorated mainly in Terchová, his family's place of living.
Art
Visual art in Slovakia is represented through painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration, arts and crafts, sculpture, photography or conceptual art. The Slovak National Gallery founded in 1948, is the biggest network of galleries in Slovakia. Two displays in Bratislava are situated in Esterházy Palace (Esterházyho palác) and the Water Barracks (Vodné kasárne), adjacent one to another. They are located on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town.
The Bratislava City Gallery, founded in 1961 is the second biggest Slovak gallery of its kind. It stores about 35,000 pieces of Slovak international art and offers permanent displays in Pálffy Palace and Mirbach Palace, located in the Old Town. Danubiana Art Museum, one of the youngest art museums in Europe, is situated near Čunovo waterworks (part of Gabčíkovo Waterworks). Other major galleries include: Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art (Warhol's parents were from Miková), East Slovak Gallery, Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery, Zvolen Castle.
Literature
Christian topics include poem Proglas as a foreword to the four Gospels, partial translations of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic, Zakon sudnyj ljudem.
Medieval literature, in the period from the 11th to the 15th centuries, was written in Latin, Czech and Slovakised Czech. Lyric (prayers, songs and formulas) was still controlled by the Church, while epic was concentrated on legends. Authors from this period include Johannes de Thurocz, author of the Chronica Hungarorum and Maurus, both of them Hungarians. The worldly literature also emerged and chronicles were written in this period.
Two leading persons codified Slovak. The first was Anton Bernolák, whose concept was based on the western Slovak dialect in 1787. It was the codification of the first-ever literary language of Slovaks. The second was Ľudovít Štúr, whose formation of the Slovak took principles from the central Slovak dialect in 1843.
Slovakia is also known for its polyhistors, of whom include Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Matej Bel, Ján Kollár, and its political revolutionaries and reformists, such Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Alexander Dubček.
Media
Cuisine
Traditional Slovak cuisine is based mainly on pork, poultry (chicken is the most widely eaten, followed by duck, goose, and turkey), flour, potatoes, cabbage, and milk products. It is relatively closely related to Hungarian, Czech, Polish and Austrian cuisine. On the east it is also influenced by Ukrainian, including Lemko and Rusyn. In comparison with other European countries, "game meat" is more accessible in Slovakia due to vast resources of forest and because hunting is relatively popular.Boar, rabbit, and venison are generally available throughout the year. Lamb and goat are eaten but are not widely popular.[citation needed]
The traditional Slovak meals are bryndzové halušky, bryndzové pirohy and other meals with potato dough and bryndza. Bryndza is a salty cheese made of sheep milk, characterised by a strong taste and aroma. Bryndzové halušky especially is considered a national dish, and is very commonly found on the menu of traditional Slovak restaurants.
A typical soup is a sauerkraut soup ("kapustnica"). A blood sausage called "krvavnica", made from any parts of a butchered pig, is also a specific Slovak meal.
Wine is enjoyed throughout Slovakia. Slovak wine comes predominantly from the southern areas along the Danube and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and mountainous to grow grapevines. Traditionally, white wine was more popular than red or rosé (except in some regions), and sweet wine more popular than dry; however, in recent years tastes seem to be changing. Beer (mainly of the pilsener style, though dark lagers are also consumed) is also popular.
Sport
Sporting activities are practised widely in Slovakia, many of them on a professional level. Ice hockey and football have traditionally been regarded as the most popular sports in Slovakia, though tennis, handball, basketball, volleyball, whitewater slalom, cycling, alpine skiing, biathlon and athletics are also popular.[citation needed]
One of the most popular team sports in Slovakia is ice hockey. Slovakia became a member of the IIHF on 2 February 1993. Since then, the team has won four medals in Ice Hockey World Championships, consisting of one gold, two silver and a bronze. The most recent success was a silver medal at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki. The Slovak national hockey team made eight appearances in the Olympic games, finishing fourth in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and third with bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The country has 8,280 registered players and is ranked seventh in the IIHF World Ranking at present. The Slovak hockey teams HC Slovan Bratislava and HC Lev Poprad participated in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Slovakia hosted the 2011 IIHF World Championship, where Finland won the gold medal and 2019 IIHF World Championship, where Finland also won the gold medal. Both competitions took place in Bratislava and Košice.
Football is the most popular sport in Slovakia, with over 400,000 registered players. Since 1993, the Slovak national football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup once, in 2010. They progressed to the last 16, where they were defeated by the Netherlands. The most notable result was the 3–2 victory over Italy. In 2016, the Slovak national football team qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, under head coach Ján Kozák. This helped the team reach its best-ever position of 14th in the FIFA World Rankings.[citation needed]
In club competitions, only three teams have qualified for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, namely MFK Košice in 1997–98, FC Artmedia Bratislava in 2005–06 season, and MŠK Žilina in 2010–11. FC Artmedia Bratislava has been the most successful team, finishing third at the Group Stage of the UEFA Cup, therefore qualifying for the knockout stage. They remain the only Slovak club that has won a match at the group stage.[citation needed]
See also
- Outline of Slovakia
Notes
- /sloʊˈvækiə, -ˈvɑːk-/ Slovak: Slovensko [ˈslɔʋenskɔ]
- Slovak: Slovenská republika [ˈslɔʋenskaː ˈrepublika]
References
- "SODB2021 - Population - Basic results". Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- "SODB2021 - K rímskokatolíckemu vyznaniu sa prihlásilo 56 % obyvateľov". Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- "Stock of population in the SR on 30 June 2024". slovak.statistics.sk. Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- "2021 Population and Housing Census". scitanie.sk. Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Slovakia)". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey". ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0
- Roach, Peter (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-15253-2
- Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (1998). Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic myth and legend. ABC-CLIO. p. 375. ISBN 978-1-57607-130-4. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
- Pirický, Gabriel (3 March 2023), "The Legacy of the Ottoman (Turkish) Age in Slovakia in the 21st Century", Europe's Islamic Legacy: 1900 to the Present, Brill, pp. 29–47, doi:10.1163/9789004510722_004, ISBN 978-90-04-51072-2, retrieved 1 November 2024
- Ágoston, Gábor (1998). "HABSBURGS AND OTTOMANS: Defense, Military Change and Shifts in Power". Turkish Studies Association Bulletin. 22 (1): 126–141. ISSN 0275-6048. JSTOR 43385414. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- "A life for a language: Ľudovít Štúr (1815-54) and the Slovak nation". British Library. 28 October 2015.
- "Austria-Hungary, HISTORICAL EMPIRE, EUROPE". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- "Which countries are most generous to new parents?". The Economist. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- "Slovakia beats record in car production, again". 13 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- UHLÁR, V.: O pôvode názvov Slovák, Slovensko a slovenčina
- Papasonov, Mária; Šmahel, František; Dvořáková, Daniela; Richental, Ulrich (2009). Kostnická kronika. Budmerice: Vydavateľstvo Rak. ISBN 978-808550142-1..
- Uličný, Ferdinand (2014). "Toponymum Slovensko – pôvod a obsah názvu" [The name Slovakia (Slovensko) – its origin and content]. Historický časopis. Historický ústav SAV (3): 548. ISSN 0018-2575.
- "Výrazová a významová diferenciácia a vznik nových pomenovaní" (PDF). Kultúra Slova. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- Neruda, Petr; Kaminská, L.ubomira (2013). Neanderthals at Bojnice in the Context of Central Europe. Moravské Zemské Muzeum. p. 21. ISBN 978-80-7028-407-0. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Museum of Prehistoric Prepoštská Cave (2011). "Museum of Prehistoric". muzeumpraveku.sk. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- Benda, Kálmán (1981). Magyarország történeti kronológiája ("The Historical Chronology of Hungary"). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. p. 44. ISBN 963-05-2661-1.
- Kristó, p.30–31
- 'Europe', p.360
- Kristó, Gyula (1994). Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon (9–14. század) [Encyclopedia of Early Hungarian History – 9th–14th centuries]. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. p. 467. ISBN 963-05-6722-9.
- Poulik, Josef (1978). "The Origins of Christianity in Slavonic Countries North of the Middle Danube Basin". World Archaeology. 10 (2): 158–171. doi:10.1080/00438243.1978.9979728. ISSN 0043-8243.
- Čaplovič, Dušan; Viliam Čičaj; Dušan Kováč; Ľubomír Lipták; Ján Lukačka (2000). Dejiny Slovenska. Bratislava: AEP.
- pages=167, 566
- Annales Fuldenses, sive, Annales regni Francorum orientalis ab Einhardo, Ruodolfo, Meginhardo Fuldensibus, Seligenstadi, Fuldae, Mogontiaci conscripti cum continuationibus Ratisbonensi et Altahensibus / post editionem G. H. Pertzii recognovit Friderious Kurze; Accedunt Annales Fuldenses antiquissimi. Hanover: Imprensis Bibliopolii Hahniani. 1978. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
- Tóth, Sándor László (1998). Levediától a Kárpát-medencéig ("From Levedia to the Carpathian Basin"). Szeged: Szegedi Középkorász Műhely. p. 199. ISBN 963-482-175-8.
- page=51
- A Country Study: Hungary. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 29 October 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
- pages=189–211
- Kristó, Gyula (1996). Magyar honfoglalás – honfoglaló magyarok ("The Hungarians' Occupation of their Country – The Hungarians occupying their Country"). Kossuth Könyvkiadó. pp. 84–85. ISBN 963-09-3836-7.
- "The kingdom of Hungary". loststory.net. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
- Ottov historický atlas Slovensko. Pavol Kršák, Daniel Gurňák. Praha: Ottovo Nakladatelství. 2012. ISBN 978-80-7360-834-7. OCLC 827000163. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - Steinhübel, Ján (2016). Nitrianské kniežatstvo : počiatky stredovekého Slovenska = The duchy of Nitra, the beginnings of the medieval Slovakia (Druhé prepracované a doplnené vydanie ed.). Bratislava. ISBN 978-80-85501-64-3. OCLC 966315215. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Felak, James Ramon (15 June 1995). At the Price of the Republic: Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, 1929–1938. University of Pittsburgh Pre. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-0-8229-7694-3.
- Schuster, Rudolf (January 2004). The Slovak Republic: A Decade of Independence, 1993–2002. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. pp. 71–. ISBN 978-0-86516-568-7.
- Prokhorov, A. M. (1982). Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Macmillan. p. 71.
- Tibenský, Ján; et al. (1971). Slovensko: Dejiny. Bratislava: Obzor.
- Žilina v slovenských dejinách : zborník z vedeckej konferencie k 620. výročiu udelenia výsad pre žilinských Slovákov : Žilina 7. mája 2001. Richard Marsina. Žilina: Knižné Centrum Vyd. 2002. ISBN 80-8064-158-7. OCLC 164889878. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - "Academia Istropolitana". City of Bratislava. 14 February 2005. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- Mahoney, William (18 February 2011). The History of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313363061. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2020 – via Google Books.
- "Part of Hungary, Turkish occupation Archived 9 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine". Slovakiasite.com
- "The Ottoman history of Slovakia". The Slovak Spectator. 2010. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- Bratislava Archived 27 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Slovakiasite.com
- "Divided Memories: The Image of the First World War in the Historical Memory of Slovaks". Slovak Sociological Review, Issue 3. 2003. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
- J. V. Polisencky, History of Czechoslovakia in Outline (Prague: Bohemia International 1947) at 113–114.
- Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939 edited by Professor E. L. Woodward, Roham Butler, M.A., and Margaret Lambert, PhD., Third Series, vol.iv, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1951, pps:94-99: 'Memorandum on the Present Political Situation in Slovakia'.
- Gerhard L. Weinberg, The Foreign Policy of Hitler's Germany: Starting World War II, 1937–1939 (Chicago, 1980), pp. 470–481.
- Dominik Jůn interviewing Professor Jan Rychlík (2016). "Czechs and Slovaks – more than just neighbours". Radio Prague. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- "Slovaks condemn WWII deportations of Jews to Nazi death camps". PBS NewsHour. 25 May 2022. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- "Obžaloba pri Národnom súde v Bratislave". Spis Onľud 17/46. 20 May 1946.
- Daxner, Igor (25 July 1946). "Rozsudok Národného súdu v Bratislave". Spis Tnľud 17/1946.
- Leni Yahil, The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry, 1932–1945 (Oxford, 1990), pp. 402–403.
- For the higher figure, see Milan S. Ďurica, The Slovak Involvement in the Tragedy of the European Jews (Abano Terme: Piovan Editore, 1989), p. 12; for the lower figure, see Gila Fatran, "The Struggle for Jewish Survival During the Holocaust" in The Tragedy of the Jews of Slovakia (Banská Bystrica, 2002), p. 148.
- Dawidowicz, Lucy. The War Against the Jews, Bantam, 1986. p. 403
- Rebekah Klein-Pejšová (2006). "An overview of the history of Jews in Slovakia". Slovak Jewish Heritage. Synagoga Slovaca. Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- Nižňanský, Eduard (2010). Nacizmus, holokaust, slovenský štát [Nazism, holocaust, Slovak state] (in Slovak). Bratislava: Kalligram. ISBN 978-80-8101-396-6.
- "Slovenské Národné Povstanie – the Slovak national uprising Archived 16 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine". SME.sk.
- "Management of the Hungarian Issue in Slovak Politics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
- "Nemecká menšina na Slovensku po roku 1918" [German minority in Slovakia after 1918] (in Slovak). 20 June 2008. Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
- Rock, David; Stefan Wolff (2002). Coming home to Germany? The integration of ethnic Germans from central and eastern Europe in the Federal Republic. New York; Oxford: Berghahn.
- "Dr. Thomas Reimer, Carpathian Germans history". Mertsahinoglu.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
- "[1] Archived 8 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine." spectator.sme.sk. Retrieved on 9 June 2019. "Border killings remain unpunished decades later."
- "[2] Archived 26 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine." upn.gov.sk. Retrieved on 9 June 2019. "Communist crimes in Slovakia."
- Fraňková, Ruth (18 August 2017). "Historians pin down number of 1968 invasion victims". radio.cz. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- "August 1968 – Victims of the Occupation". ustrcr.cz. Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
- "Images shed light on work of Czechoslovakia". The Korea Times. 26 July 2013.
- Bourne 1986. pp. 270–271.
- Coltman 2003. pp. 216–217.
- Bischof, Günter; Karner, Stefan; Ruggenthaler, Peter (2010). The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-7391-4304-9.
- Francev, Vladimir (2015). Československé zbraně ve světě: V míru i za války (in Czech). Grada Publishing. p. 166. ISBN 978-80-247-5314-0.
- "The Breakup of Czechoslovakia". Slovakia. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
- "Velvet divorce". Dictionary.reference.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
- "Czech Republic important partner for Slovakia". Radio Slovakia International. 19 June 2024.
- "Michal Kováč, President of the Slovak Republic 1993-1998". The Slovak Spectator. 1 February 1999.
- "Slovak Republic and the WTO". World Trade Organization.
- "Organized crime terrorizes Slovak society". The Slovak Spectator. 26 February 1998.
- "Slovakia's mafia pioneer". The Slovak Spectator. 17 March 2008.
- "How the Mafias Came to Slovakia". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. 19 February 2019.
- "The arrest of Vladimir Meciar". The Economist. 27 April 2000.
- "Ex intelligence employee: Lexa oversaw the 1995 abduction". The Slovak Spectator. 10 January 2018.
- "Almost 30 years ago, the Slovak president's son was kidnapped. The trial may finally begin this year". The Slovak Spectator. 18 January 2024.
- "New Mečiar-era privatisation details". The Slovak Spectator. 18 May 2009.
- "Slovakia - from black hole to neutron star". EUobserver. 29 August 2018.
- "Divoké 90. roky. Pozrite si zabudnuté fotky z éry mečiarizmu, kedy si štát robil, čo chcel". Hospodárske noviny. 5 April 2017.
- "Slovaks head to polls May 15 to elect president - but why?". The Slovak Spectator. 17 May 1999.
- "The man who saved Slovakia in 1998 attempts a cinematic relaunch". The Slovak Spectator. 30 January 2023.
- "Slovakia: A story of reforms" (PDF). Univerzita pre moderné Slovensko. 2008.
- "Schuster 'acceptable,' says West". The Slovak Spectator. 7 June 1999.
- "Review of Slovakia's accession to the OECD" (PDF). National bank of Slovakia. February 2001.
- Nicolae-Dragos, Biea (2015). "Economic growth in Slovakia: Past successes and future challenges" (PDF). Acta Oeconomica. European Economy Economic Briefs (008 ed.). European Commission. doi:10.2765/01942. ISBN 978-92-79-54469-9. ISSN 2443-8030. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- Pogátsa, Zoltán (2009). "Tatra Tiger: Growth Miracle or Belated Recovery?". Acta Oeconomica. 59 (4). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó: 377–390. doi:10.1556/AOecon.59.2009.4.1. ISSN 0001-6373. JSTOR 40729918.
- "Ivan Gasparovic re-elected President". France 24. 5 April 2009.
- "Slovakia joins the euro - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- "Slovakia's economic success and the global crisis" (PDF). CES commentary. 2 February 2009.
- "Energy crisis looms as all gas imports cease". The Slovak Spectator. 12 January 2009.
- "New parliament meets, Radičová becomes PM". The Slovak Spectator. 12 July 2010.
- "Coalition splits, government falls". The Slovak Spectator. 12 October 2011.
- "Smer wins historic election victory". The Slovak Spectator. 11 March 2012.
- "Kiska becomes president, official results confirm". The Slovak Spectator. 30 March 2014.
- "Refugee crisis affects Slovak politics". The Slovak Spectator. 28 December 2015.
- "Prime Minister: Robert Fico (Smer)". The Slovak Spectator. 22 March 2016.
- "Ján Kuciak's last story: Italian mafia's tentacles reach into Slovak politics". Politico. 28 February 2018.
- "The Murders of Slovak Journalist Ján Kuciak and Partner Marina Kušnírova Represent a Serious Threat to Media Freedom in Europe". Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom. 1 March 2018.
- "Enough of Smer, people chanted in streets". The Slovak Spectator. 16 March 2018.
- "Peter Pellegrini to become new prime minister. Who is he?". The Slovak Spectator. 15 March 2018.
- Walker, Shaun (31 March 2019). "Slovakia's first female president hails victory for progressive values". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- "It's official: Matovič assigned to form the new government". The Slovak Spectator. 4 March 2020.
- "Q&A: Will there be another Covid-19 wave in Slovakia? What about vaccines?". The Slovak Spectator. 22 September 2023.
- "In 2020, Slovakia suffered its worst death toll since the end of WW2". The Slovak Spectator. 11 February 2020.
- "Worse than the financial crisis: Economic recession and the very first drop in wages". The Slovak Spectator. 9 September 2020.
- "Slovak premier, government resign over Russian vaccine deal". Associated Press. 30 March 2021.
- "Slovakia's prime minister is the first world leader to step down over covid controversy". The Washington Post. 29 March 2021.
- "Igor Matovič stepped down as PM". The Slovak Spectator. 30 March 2021.
- "Slovak president appoints Heger prime minister, ending political crisis". Reuters. 1 April 2021.
- "Energy crisis will force Slovak economy into a recession in 2023". The Slovak Spectator. 28 December 2022.
- "Slovakia comes out as one of Ukraine's biggest supporters". The Slovak Spectator. 25 April 2022.
- "Slovakia's government collapses after a lost no-confidence vote". The Slovak Spectator. 15 December 2022.
- "Slovakia gets technocratic caretaker government until September's early election". Associated Press. 15 May 2023.
- "Slovakia's Fico appointed prime minister for fourth time". Reuters. 25 October 2023.
- "Slovakia's Fico announces halt of military aid to Ukraine". Politico. 26 October 2023.
- "Slovakia to increase electricity supplies to Ukraine during colder months, Slovak president says". The Kyiv Independent. 5 July 2024.
- "PM Fico shot as he speaks to supporters in Handlová". The Slovak Spectator. 15 May 2024.
- "Fico's 'Judas' government should have backed Ukraine, shooting suspect says". Politico. 23 May 2024.
- "President Pellegrini: Slovak interests matter to me more than praise from media and world leaders". The Slovak Spectator. 15 June 2024.
- "Slovakia". The World Factbook. CIA. 2007. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
- "Až dve pätiny územia Slovenska pokrývajú lesy". etrend.sk. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
- "Národné parky na Slovensku". lamnia.sk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
- "Verejnosti voľne prístupné jaskyne". ssj.sk. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- Nie ste prihlásený. "Vodstvo – Jazerá - rieky - rybníky Slovenska". Slovakregion.sk. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- "Based on the "Climate" article from". www.slovensko.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
- "List of Parties". Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- "National Biodiversity Strategy of Slovakia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- "Regionální geografie Slovenska - elektronická učebnice". geography.upol.cz. Archived from the original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- Dinerstein, Eric; et al. (2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi:10.1093/biosci/bix014. ISSN 0006-3568. PMC 5451287. PMID 28608869.
- "Tlačová agentúra Slovenskej republiky - TASR.sk". www.tasr.sk. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- Grantham, H. S.; et al. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5978. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.5978G. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7723057. PMID 33293507.
Slovakia officially the Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe It is bordered by Poland to the north Ukraine to the east Hungary to the south Austria to the west and the Czech Republic to the northwest Slovakia s mostly mountainous territory spans about 49 000 km2 19 000 sq mi hosting a population exceeding 5 4 million The capital and largest city is Bratislava while the second largest city is Kosice Slovak RepublicSlovenska republika Slovak Flag Coat of armsAnthem Nad Tatrou sa blyska Slovak Lightning over the Tatras source source track track track track National sealShow globeShow map of EuropeLocation of Slovakia dark green in Europe green amp dark grey in the European Union green Legend Capitaland largest cityBratislava 48 09 N 17 07 E 48 150 N 17 117 E 48 150 17 117Official languagesSlovakEthnic groups 2021 83 8 Slovaks7 7 Hungarians1 2 Romani1 9 other5 4 unspecifiedReligion 2021 68 8 Christianity 59 8 Catholicism 7 6 Protestantism 1 4 other Christian23 8 no religion0 9 other6 5 unspecifiedDemonym s SlovakGovernmentUnitary parliamentary republic PresidentPeter Pellegrini Prime MinisterRobert Fico Speaker of the National CouncilPeter ZigaLegislatureNational CouncilEstablishment history Independence from Austria Hungary First Czechoslovak Republic 28 October 1918 Treaty of Trianon4 June 1920 Second Czechoslovak Republic30 September 1938 First Slovak Republic14 March 1939 Third Czechoslovak Republic24 October 1945 Fourth Czechoslovak Republic25 February 1948 Czechoslovak Socialist Republic11 July 1960 Slovak Socialist Republic within Czechoslovak Socialist Republic change of unitary Czechoslovak state into a federation 1 January 1969 Slovak Republic change of name within established Czech and Slovak Federative Republic 1 March 1990 Dissolution of Czechoslovakia1 January 1993Area Total49 035 km2 18 933 sq mi 127th Water 0 72 2015 Population 30 June 2024 estimate5 422 194 119th 2021 census5 449 270 Density110 km2 284 9 sq mi 103rd GDP PPP 2025 estimate Total 256 710 billion 70th Per capita 47 440 46th GDP nominal 2025 estimate Total 152 480 billion 61st Per capita 28 180 44th Gini 2022 21 2 low inequalityHDI 2022 0 855 very high 45th CurrencyEuro EUR Time zoneUTC 1 CET Summer DST UTC 2 CEST Date formatd m yyyyDrives onRightCalling code 421ISO 3166 codeSKInternet TLD sk and eu The Slavs arrived in the territory of the present day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries From the late 6th century parts of modern Slovakia were incorporated into the Avar Khaghanate In the 7th century the Slavs played a significant role in the creation of Samo s Empire When the Avar Khaghanate dissolved in the 9th century the Slavs established the Principality of Nitra before it was annexed by the Principality of Moravia which later became Great Moravia When Great Moravia fell in the 10th century the territory was integrated into the Principality of Hungary at the end of the 9th century which later became the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000 In 1241 and 1242 after the Mongol invasion of Europe much of the territory was destroyed but was recovered largely thanks to Hungarian king Bela IV During the 16th and 17th centuries southern portions of present day Slovakia were incorporated into provinces of the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman controlled areas were ceded to the Habsburgs by the turn of the 18th century The Hungarian declaration of independence in 1848 was followed in the same year by the Slovak Uprising through the establishment of the Slovak National Council While the uprising didn t achieve its aim it played an important role in cementing a Slovak national identity The Hungarian wars of independence eventually resulted in a compromise that established the Austro Hungarian Empire During World War I the Czechoslovak National Council successfully fought for independence amidst the collapse of the Austro Hungarian Empire and the state of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed in 1918 The borders were set by the Treaty of Saint Germain in 1919 and by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 Czechoslovakia incorporated the territory of present day Slovakia which was entirely part of the Kingdom of Hungary In the lead up to World War II local fascist parties gradually came to power in the Slovak lands and the first Slovak Republic was established in 1939 as a one party clerical fascist client state under the control of Nazi Germany In 1940 the country joined the Axis when its leaders signed the Tripartite Pact Czechoslovakia was re established after the country s liberation at the end of the war in 1945 Following the Soviet backed coup of 1948 Czechoslovakia became a communist state within the Eastern Bloc a satellite state of the Soviet Union behind the Iron Curtain and member of the Warsaw Pact Attempts to liberalise communism culminated in the Prague Spring which was suppressed by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 In 1989 the Velvet Revolution peacefully ended Communist rule in Czechoslovakia Slovakia became an independent democratic state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia sometimes referred to as the Velvet Divorce Slovakia is a developed country with an advanced high income economy The country maintains a combination of a market economy with a comprehensive social security system providing citizens with universal health care free education one of the lowest retirement age in Europe and one of the longest paid parental leaves in the OECD Slovakia is a member of the European Union the Eurozone the Schengen Area the United Nations NATO CERN the OECD the WTO the Council of Europe the Visegrad Group and the OSCE Slovakia is also home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites The world s largest per capita car producer Slovakia manufactured a total of 1 1 million cars in 2019 representing 43 of its total industrial output EtymologySlovakia s name means the Land of the Slavs Slovensko in Slovak stemming from the older form Sloven Slovienin As such it is a cognate of the words Slovenia and Slavonia In medieval Latin German and even some Slavic sources the same name has often been used for Slovaks Slovenes Slavonians and Slavs in general According to one of the theories a new form of national name formed for the ancestors of the Slovaks between the 13th and 14th century possibly due to foreign influence the Czech word Slovak in medieval sources from 1291 onward This form slowly replaced the name for the male members of the community but the female name Slovenka reference to the lands inhabited Slovensko and the name of the language slovencina all remained the same with their base in the older form compare to Slovenian counterparts Most foreign translations tend to stem from this newer form Slovakia in English Slowakei in German Slovaquie in French etc In medieval Latin sources terms Slavus Slavonia or Slavorum and more variants from as early as 1029 have been used In German sources names for the Slovak lands were Windenland or Windische Lande early 15th century with the forms Slovakia and Schlowakei starting to appear in the 16th century The present Slovak form Slovensko is first attested in the year 1675 HistoryThis section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia s quality standards You can help The talk page may contain suggestions November 2024 A Venus from Moravany nad Vahom which dates back to 22 800 BC The oldest surviving human artefacts from Slovakia are found near Nove Mesto nad Vahom and are dated at 270 000 BCE in the Early Paleolithic era These ancient tools made by the Clactonian technique bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era 200 000 80 000 BCE come from the Prevot Prepostska cave in Bojnice and from other nearby sites The most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium c 200 000 BCE discovered near Ganovce a village in northern Slovakia Archaeologists have found prehistoric human skeletons in the region as well as numerous objects and vestiges of the Gravettian culture principally in the river valleys of Nitra Hron Ipeľ Vah and as far as the city of Zilina and near the foot of the Vihorlat Inovec and Tribec mountains as well as in the Myjava Mountains The most well known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth bone 22 800 BCE the famous Venus of Moravany The statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Vahom near Piestany Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary period have come from the sites of Zakovska Podkovice Hubina and Radosina These findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and Central Europe Bronze Age During the Bronze Age the geographical territory of modern day Slovakia went through three stages of development stretching from 2000 to 800 BCE Major cultural economic and political development can be attributed to the significant growth in production of copper especially in central Slovakia for example in Spania Dolina and northwest Slovakia Copper became a stable source of prosperity for the local population After the disappearance of the Cakany and Velatice cultures the Lusatian people expanded building of strong and complex fortifications with the large permanent buildings and administrative centres Excavations of Lusatian hill forts document the substantial development of trade and agriculture at that period The richness and diversity of tombs increased considerably The inhabitants of the area manufactured arms shields jewellery dishes and statues Iron Age Biatec presumably a king who appeared on the Celtic coins minted by the Boii at the current location of Bratislava 1st century B C Hallstatt Period The arrival of tribes from Thrace disrupted the people of the Kalenderberg culture who lived in the hamlets located on the plain Sered and in the hill forts like Molpir near Smolenice in the Little Carpathians During Hallstatt times monumental burial mounds were erected in western Slovakia with princely equipment consisting of richly decorated vessels ornaments and decorations The burial rites consisted entirely of cremation Common people were buried in flat urnfield cemeteries A special role was given to weaving and the production of textiles The local power of the Princes of the Hallstatt period disappeared in Slovakia during the century before the middle of first millennium BCE after strife between the Scytho Thracian people and locals resulting in abandonment of the old hill forts Relatively depopulated areas soon caught the interest of emerging Celtic tribes who advanced from the south towards the north following the Slovak rivers peacefully integrating into the remnants of the local population La Tene Period From around 500 BCE the territory of modern day Slovakia was settled by Celts who built powerful oppida on the sites of modern day Bratislava and Devin Biatecs silver coins with inscriptions in the Latin alphabet represent the first known use of writing in Slovakia At the northern regions remnants of the local population of Lusatian origin together with Celtic and later Dacian influence gave rise to the unique Puchov culture with advanced crafts and iron working many hill forts and fortified settlements of central type with the coinage of the Velkobysterecky type no inscriptions with a horse on one side and a head on the other This culture is often connected with the Celtic tribe mentioned in Roman sources as Cotini Roman Period A Roman inscription at the castle hill of Trencin 178 179 AD From 2 CE the expanding Roman Empire established and maintained a series of outposts around and just south of the Danube the largest of which were known as Carnuntum whose remains are on the main road halfway between Vienna and Bratislava and Brigetio present day Szony at the Slovak Hungarian border Such Roman border settlements were built on the present area of Rusovce currently a suburb of Bratislava The military fort was surrounded by a civilian vicus and several farms of the villa rustica type The name of this settlement was Gerulata The military fort had an auxiliary cavalry unit approximately 300 horses strong modelled after the Cananefates The remains of Roman buildings have also survived in Stupava Devin Castle Bratislava Castle Hill and the Bratislava Dubravka suburb Near the northernmost line of the Roman hinterlands the Limes Romanus there existed the winter camp of Laugaricio modern day Trencin where the Auxiliary of Legion II fought and prevailed in a decisive battle over the Germanic Quadi tribe in 179 CE during the Marcomannic Wars The Kingdom of Vannius a kingdom founded by the Germanic Suebi tribes of Quadi and Marcomanni as well as several small Germanic and Celtic tribes including the Osi and Cotini existed in western and central Slovakia from 8 6 BCE to 179 CE Great invasions from the fourth to seventh centuries In the second and third centuries CE the Huns began to leave the Central Asian steppes They crossed the Danube in 377 CE and occupied Pannonia which they used for 75 years as their base for launching looting raids into Western Europe However Attila s death in 453 brought about the disappearance of the Hunnic empire In 568 a Turko Mongol tribal confederacy the Avars conducted its invasion into the Middle Danube region The Avars occupied the lowlands of the Pannonian Plain and established an empire dominating the Carpathian Basin In 623 the Slavic population living in the western parts of Pannonia seceded from their empire after a revolution led by Samo a Frankish merchant After 626 the Avar power started a gradual decline but its reign lasted to 804 Slavic states The Slavic tribes settled in the territory of present day Slovakia in the fifth century Western Slovakia was the centre of Samo s empire in the seventh century A Slavic state known as the Principality of Nitra arose in the eighth century and its ruler Pribina had the first known Christian church of the territory of present day Slovakia consecrated by 828 Together with neighbouring Moravia the principality formed the core of the Great Moravian Empire from 833 The high point of this Slavonic empire came with the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in 863 during the reign of Duke Rastislav and the territorial expansion under King Svatopluk I Great Moravia 830 before 907 A statue of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius in Zilina In 863 they introduced Christianity to what is now Slovakia Great Moravia arose around 830 when Mojmir I unified the Slavic tribes settled north of the Danube and extended the Moravian supremacy over them When Mojmir I endeavoured to secede from the supremacy of the king of East Francia in 846 King Louis the German deposed him and assisted Mojmir s nephew Rastislav 846 870 in acquiring the throne The new monarch pursued an independent policy after stopping a Frankish attack in 855 he also sought to weaken the influence of Frankish priests preaching in his realm Duke Rastislav asked the Byzantine Emperor Michael III to send teachers who would interpret Christianity in the Slavic vernacular On Rastislav s request two brothers Byzantine officials and missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius came in 863 Cyril developed the first Slavic alphabet and translated the Gospel into the Old Church Slavonic language Rastislav was also preoccupied with the security and administration of his state Numerous fortified castles built throughout the country are dated to his reign and some of them e g Dowina sometimes identified with Devin Castle are also mentioned in connection with Rastislav by Frankish chronicles During Rastislav s reign the Principality of Nitra was given to his nephew Svatopluk as an appanage The rebellious prince allied himself with the Franks and overthrew his uncle in 870 Similarly to his predecessor Svatopluk I 871 894 assumed the title of the king rex During his reign the Great Moravian Empire reached its greatest territorial extent when not only present day Moravia and Slovakia but also present day northern and central Hungary Lower Austria Bohemia Silesia Lusatia southern Poland and northern Serbia belonged to the empire but the exact borders of his domains are still disputed by modern authors Svatopluk also withstood attacks of the Magyar tribes and the Bulgarian Empire although sometimes it was he who hired the Magyars when waging war against East Francia In 880 Pope John VIII set up an independent ecclesiastical province in Great Moravia with Archbishop Methodius as its head He also named the German cleric Wiching the Bishop of Nitra Certain and disputed borders of Great Moravia under Svatopluk I according to modern historians After the death of Prince Svatopluk in 894 his sons Mojmir II 894 906 and Svatopluk II succeeded him as the Prince of Great Moravia and the Prince of Nitra respectively However they started to quarrel for domination of the whole empire Weakened by an internal conflict as well as by constant warfare with Eastern Francia Great Moravia lost most of its peripheral territories In the meantime the semi nomadic Magyar tribes possibly having suffered defeat from the similarly nomadic Pechenegs left their territories east of the Carpathian Mountains invaded the Carpathian Basin and started to occupy the territory gradually around 896 Their armies advance may have been promoted by continuous wars among the countries of the region whose rulers still hired them occasionally to intervene in their struggles It is not known what happened with both Mojmir II and Svatopluk II because they are not mentioned in written sources after 906 In three battles 4 5 July and 9 August 907 near Bratislava the Magyars routed Bavarian armies Some historians put this year as the date of the break up of the Great Moravian Empire due to the Hungarian conquest other historians take the date a little bit earlier to 902 Great Moravia left behind a lasting legacy in Central and Eastern Europe The Glagolitic script and its successor Cyrillic were disseminated to other Slavic countries charting a new path in their sociocultural development The Kingdom of Hungary the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire 1000 1918 Stephen I King of Hungary Following the disintegration of the Great Moravian Empire at the turn of the tenth century the Hungarians annexed the territory comprising modern Slovakia After their defeat on the river Lech the Hungarians abandoned their nomadic ways and settled in the centre of the Carpathian valley slowly adopting Christianity and began to build a new state the Hungarian kingdom In the years 1001 1002 and 1018 1029 Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Poland having been conquered by Boleslaus I the Brave After the territory of Slovakia was returned to Hungary a semi autonomous polity continued to exist or was created in 1048 by king Andrew I called Duchy of Nitra Comprising roughly the territory of Principality of Nitra and Bihar principality they formed what was called a tercia pars regni third of a kingdom This polity existed up until 1108 1110 after which it was not restored After this up until the collapse of Austria Hungary in 1918 the territory of Slovakia was an integral part of the Hungarian state The ethnic composition of Slovakia became more diverse with the arrival of the Carpathian Germans in the 13th century and the Jews in the 14th century A significant decline in the population resulted from the invasion of the Mongols in 1241 and the subsequent famine After the invasion much of the territory was destroyed but was recovered largely thanks to Hungarian king Bela IV However in medieval times the area of Slovakia was characterised by German and Jewish immigration burgeoning towns construction of numerous stone castles and the cultivation of the arts The arrival of German element sometimes proved a problem for the autochthonous Slovaks and even Hungarians in the broader Hungary since they often quickly gained most power in medieval towns only to later refuse to share it Breaking of old customs by Germans often resulted in national quarrels One of which had to be sorted out by the king Louis I with the proclamation Privilegium pro Slavis Privilege for Slovaks in the year 1381 According to this privilege Slovaks and Germans were to occupy each half of the seats in the city council of Zilina and the mayor should be elected each year alternating between those nationalities This would not be the last such case One of the commanders of a Slovak volunteers army captain Jan Francisci Rimavsky during the fight for independence from the Kingdom of Hungary In 1465 King Matthias Corvinus founded the Hungarian Kingdom s third university in Pressburg Bratislava but it was closed in 1490 after his death Hussites also settled in the region after the Hussite Wars Owing to the Ottoman Empire s expansion into Hungarian territory Bratislava was designated the new capital of Hungary in 1536 ahead of the fall of the old Hungarian capital of Buda in 1541 It became part of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy marking the beginning of a new era The territory comprising modern Slovakia then known as Upper Hungary became the place of settlement for nearly two thirds of the Magyar nobility fleeing the Turks and became far more linguistically and culturally Hungarian than it was before Partly thanks to old Hussite families and Slovaks studying under Martin Luther the region then experienced a growth in Protestantism For a short period in the 17th century most Slovaks were Lutherans They defied the Catholic Habsburgs and sought protection from neighbouring Transylvania a rival continuation of the Magyar state that practised religious tolerance and normally had Ottoman backing Upper Hungary modern Slovakia became the site of frequent wars between Catholics in the west territory and Protestants in the east as well as against Turks the frontier was on a constant state of military alert and heavily fortified by castles and citadels often manned by Catholic German and Slovak troops on the Habsburg side By 1648 Slovakia was not spared the Counter Reformation which brought the majority of its population from Lutheranism back to Roman Catholicism In 1655 the printing press at the Trnava university produced the Jesuit Benedikt Szollosi s Cantus Catholici a Catholic hymnal in Slovak that reaffirmed links to the earlier works of Cyril and Methodius The Ottoman wars the rivalry between Austria and Transylvania and the frequent insurrections against the Habsburg monarchy inflicted a great deal of devastation especially in the rural areas In the Austro Turkish War 1663 1664 a Turkish army led by the Grand Vizier decimated Slovakia In 1682 the Principality of Upper Hungary a short lived Ottoman vassal state was established in the territory of modern Slovakia Prior to this regions on its southern rim were already encompassed in the Egri Budin and Uyvar eyalets Thokoly s kuruc rebels from the Principality of Upper Hungary fought alongside the Turks against the Austrians and Poles at the Battle of Vienna of 1683 led by John III Sobieski As the Turks withdrew from Hungary in the late 17th century the importance of the territory composing modern Slovakia decreased although Pressburg retained its status as the capital of Hungary until 1848 when it was transferred back to Buda During the revolution of 1848 49 the Slovaks supported the Austrian Emperor hoping for independence from the Hungarian part of the Dual Monarchy they failed to achieve their aim but the conflict resulted in Slovak rights for language Thereafter relations between the nationalities deteriorated see Magyarisation culminating in the secession of Slovakia from Hungary after World War I Czechoslovak independence 1918 1939 Czechoslovak declaration of independence by Tomas Garrigue Masaryk in the United States 1918 On 18 October 1918 Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Milan Rastislav Stefanik and Edvard Benes declared in Washington D C the independence for the territories of Bohemia Moravia Silesia Upper Hungary and Carpathian Ruthenia from the Austro Hungarian Empire and proclaimed a common state Czechoslovakia During the chaos following the break up of Austria Hungary Czechoslovakia was formed with numerous Czechs Germans Slovaks Hungarians and Ruthenians The borders were set by the Treaty of Saint Germain in 1919 and Treaty of Trianon in 1920 By the treaties following the World War I Czechoslovakia emerged as a sovereign European state The Hungarian delegation arriving to Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles to sign Treaty of Trianon that cede territory of Slovakia Upper Hungary to Czechoslovakia after World War I 1920 During the Interwar period democratic Czechoslovakia was allied with France and also with Romania and Yugoslavia Little Entente however the Locarno Treaties of 1925 left East European security open Both Czechs and Slovaks enjoyed a period of relative prosperity There was progress in not only the development of the country s economy but also culture and educational opportunities Yet the Great Depression caused a sharp economic downturn followed by political disruption and insecurity in Europe In the 1930s Czechoslovakia came under continuous pressure from the revanchist governments of Germany Hungary and Poland who used the aggrieved minorities in the country as a useful vehicle Revision of the borders was called for as Czechs constituted only 43 of the population Eventually this pressure led to the Munich Agreement of September 1938 which allowed the majority ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland borderlands of Czechoslovakia to join with Germany The remaining minorities stepped up their pressures for autonomy and the State became federalised with Diets in Slovakia and Ruthenia The remainder of Czechoslovakia was renamed Czecho Slovakia and promised a greater degree of Slovak political autonomy This however failed to materialise Parts of southern and eastern Slovakia were also reclaimed by Hungary at the First Vienna Award of November 1938 Fascist regime during World War II 1939 1945 Adolf Hitler greeting Jozef Tiso president of the First Slovak Republic a client state of Nazi Germany during World War II 1941 After the Munich Agreement and its Vienna Award Nazi Germany threatened to annex part of Slovakia and allow the remaining regions to be partitioned by Hungary or Poland unless independence was declared Thus Slovakia seceded from Czecho Slovakia in March 1939 and allied itself as demanded by Germany with Hitler s coalition Secession had created the first Slovak state in history A one party clerical fascist Slovak Republic governed by the far right Hlinka s Slovak People s Party was led by President Jozef Tiso and Prime Minister Vojtech Tuka The First Slovak Republic is primarily known for its collaboration with Nazi Germany which included sending troops to the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the Soviet Union in 1941 On 24 November 1940 Slovakia joined the Axis when its leaders signed the Tripartite Pact The country was strongly influenced by Germany and gradually became a puppet regime in many respects Meanwhile the Czechoslovak government in exile sought to reverse the Munich Agreement and the subsequent German occupation of Czechoslovakia and to return the Republic to its 1937 boundaries The government operated from London and it was ultimately considered by those countries that recognised it the legitimate government for Czechoslovakia throughout the Second World War The local Jewish population was heavily persecuted As part of the Holocaust in Slovakia 75 000 Jews out of 80 000 who remained on Slovak territory after Hungary had seized southern regions were deported and taken to German death camps Thousands of Jews Gypsies and other politically undesirable people remained in Slovak forced labour camps in Sered Vyhne and Novaky Tiso through the granting of presidential exceptions allowed between 1 000 and 4 000 people crucial to the war economy to avoid deportations Under Tiso s government and Hungarian occupation the vast majority of Slovakia s pre war Jewish population between 75 000 and 105 000 individuals including those who perished from the occupied territory were murdered The Slovak state paid Germany 500 RM per every deported Jew for retraining and accommodation a similar but smaller payment of 30 RM was paid by Croatia After it became clear that the Soviet Red Army was going to push the Nazis out of eastern and central Europe an anti Nazi resistance movement launched Internal opposition to the fascist government s policies culminated in the Slovak National Uprising near the end of summer 1944 A bloody German occupation and a guerilla war followed Germans and their local collaborators completely destroyed 93 villages and massacred thousands of civilians often hundreds at a time Although the uprising was eventually suppressed partisan resistance continued The territory of Slovakia was liberated by Soviet and Romanian forces by the end of April 1945 From Fascism to Communism 1945 1948 As a result of the Yalta Conference in February 1945 Czechoslovakia came under the influence of the Soviet Union After World War II Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and Jozef Tiso was executed in 1947 for collaboration with the Nazis More than 80 000 Hungarians and 32 000 Germans were forced to leave Slovakia in a series of population transfers initiated by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference Out of about 130 000 Carpathian Germans in Slovakia in 1938 by 1947 only some 20 000 remained failed verification In February 1948 the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia with Soviet backing assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia through a coup d etat and Czechoslovakia came under direct occupation of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact It became a puppet state of the Soviet Union but it was never part of the Soviet Union and remained independent to a certain degree Communist party rule in Czechoslovakia 1948 1989 Soviet tank in Bratislava during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 Borders with the West were protected by the Iron Curtain About 600 people men women and children were killed on the Czechoslovak border with Austria and West Germany between 1948 and 1989 8 240 people went to forced labour camps in 1948 1953 On 11 July 1960 the Constitution of Czechoslovakia was promulgated changing the name of the country from the Czechoslovak Republic to the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic In 1968 following the Prague Spring the country was invaded by the Warsaw Pact forces People s Republic of Bulgaria People s Republic of Hungary People s Republic of Poland and Soviet Union with the exception of Socialist Republic of Romania and People s Socialist Republic of Albania ending a period of liberalisation under the leadership of Alexander Dubcek 137 Czechoslovak civilians were killed and 500 seriously wounded during the invasion In 1969 Czechoslovakia became a federation of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Czechoslovak communist leader Gustav Husak right with Fidel Castro during his state visit of Czechoslovakia 1972 Czechoslovakia was allied with communist regimes worldwide As one of the first countries in the world acknowledged Kim Il sung s Democratic People s Republic of Korea After the beginning of the Korean War Czechoslovakia protested against measures taken by the Security Council Czechoslovak communist leaders considered the intervention against North Korean aggression illegal During summer 1950 many resolutions against American imperialism were sent to the United Nations from Czechoslovakia During the Korean War in 1952 Czechoslovakia sent a military hospital with two hospital teams consisting of 58 people to North Korea When Fidel Castro took power after the Cuban Revolution in 1959 Czechoslovakia open embassy in Cuba and developed mutual relations In August 1968 Castro denounced the Prague Spring as led by a fascist reactionary rabble and praised the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia During the Vietnam War Czechoslovakia sent significant aid to North Vietnam The Czechoslovakian government created committees which sought to not only promote and establish peace but also to promote victory for Viet Cong and Vietnam People s Army forces Czech made equipment and military aid would increase significantly following the Prague Spring Czechoslovakia continued to send tens of thousands of Czech made rifles as well as mortar and artillery throughout the war Dissolution of Czechoslovakia 1989 1992 The Velvet Revolution ended 41 years of authoritarian communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989 The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989 during the peaceful Velvet Revolution was followed once again by the country s dissolution this time into two successor states Czechoslovak Socialist Republic renamed as Czech and Slovak Federative Republic the word socialist was dropped in the names of the two republics within the federation the Slovak Socialist Republic renamed as Slovak Republic On 17 July 1992 Slovakia led by Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar declared itself a sovereign state meaning that its laws took precedence over those of the federal government Throughout the autumn of 1992 Vladimir Meciar and Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus negotiated the details for disbanding the federation In November the federal parliament voted to dissolve the country officially on 31 December 1992 Slovak independence since 1993 1990s The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic went their separate ways on 1 January 1993 an event sometimes called the Velvet Divorce after 74 years of joint existence disrupted only by World War II Slovakia has nevertheless remained a close partner with the Czech Republic the two countries are close European allies and both co operate with Hungary and Poland in the Visegrad Group The first President of the Slovak Republic became Michal Kovac elected by the National Council of Slovakia in February 1993 Slovakia became a member of the United Nations on 19 January 1993 on 31 March 1993 ratified the UNESCO World Heritage Convention making its historical sites eligible for inclusion on the UNESCO list and on 15 April 1993 joined GATT current World Trade Organization After the fall of communism and the dissolution of Czechoslovakia the country was unprepared for organised crime Crime rates in Slovakia soared in the 1990s the first post communist gangsters emerged and mafia became the major problem in the country Most of the law enforcement officers prosecutors and judges had no experience of investigating trying or sentencing criminals Many officials lacked even basic knowledge of the leading criminal operators in their communities Between the years 1994 1998 during the government of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar organised crime became well established and it penetrated the highest political positions One of the major crime events was kidnapping of Slovak president s son Michal Kovac Jr in 1995 organised by Slovak intelligence service and the government of Vladimir Meciar Processes of privatization in Slovakia began often criticized for lack of transparency and corruption Hundreds of state assets came into private hands to only a selected group of businessmen In the 1990s Slovakia had central Europe s worst performing economy marked by high unemployment rates and inflation with least democratic government Madeleine Albright the U S secretary of state referred to it as a black hole in the heart of Europe This time period in Slovakia is also known as Wild 90s Since March 1998 the country was 14 months without a head of state when the National Council of Slovakia multiple times failed to elect the new president which led to the introduction of a direct presidential election in 1999 After the 1998 parliamentary election Mikulas Dzurinda went on to replace Vladimir Meciar as Prime Minister and during two successive governments between the years 1998 2006 relaunched the transformation processes that had stalled under Meciar The country embarked on a reformist course that saw the introduction of a flat tax liberalisation of the labour market deregulation of business and partial privatization of social security Government of Mikulas Dzurinda led Slovakia into OECD NATO and the European Union In 1999 the second President of Slovakia became Rudolf Schuster first directly elected president 2000s Slovakia became a member of the European Union in 2004 and signed the Lisbon Treaty in 2007 Slovakia became a member of OECD on 14 December 2000 NATO on 29 March 2004 and of the European Union on 1 May 2004 The country used to be dubbed the Tatra Tiger in the 2000s as achieved on average roughly 6 per capita GDP growth each year from 2000 to 2008 Ivan Gasparovic became the third president of Slovakia in 2004 and in 2009 became the first and the only Slovak re elected president In 2006 Robert Fico became Prime Minister during his first government Slovakia joined the Schengen area on 21 December 2007 allowing visa free travel and on 1 January 2009 adopted the Euro as its national currency at 30 1260 korunas to the euro The Slovak economy was involved in a major slowdown during the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 experiencing the deepest economic decline in history At the beginning of 2009 Slovakia faced energy crisis and declared a state of emergency after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe via Ukrainian pipelines as part of a price dispute with Ukraine 2010s Between the years 2010 2012 Slovak government was led by first female Prime Minister Iveta Radicova Her government lasted only two years Radicova combined the vote on the strengthening of the European Financial Stability Facility a key anti crisis mechanism in the Eurozone with a vote of confidence for her cabinet Slovak parliament rejected the EFSF which led to the collapse of the government In 2012 Robert Fico became second time Prime Minister when his political party Direction Social Democracy won election and collected 83 of 150 seats in National Council becoming the first single party to win a clear majority in the Slovak parliament since the fall of communism In 2014 Andrej Kiska became the fourth President of Slovakia For the first time was elected as President entrepreneur and first time politician International crisis impacted Slovak politics and quickly started dominating the country s political life and media coverage such as Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in neighbouring Ukraine in 2014 or European migrant crisis in 2015 After the parliamentary election in 2016 Robert Fico became third time Prime Minister making him longest serving prime minister in Slovak history if the years are counted cumulatively Third term of Fico s government was characterised by social and political turmoil On February 21 2018 young Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee were killed in their home in Veľka Maca Thousands of people protested in streets across Slovakia for independent investigation of journalist s murder and a trustworthy government in largest demonstrations in the country since the Velvet Revolution Due to protests Robert Fico resignate and the government continued under a new Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini In 2019 Zuzana Caputova became the fifth President of Slovakia first female president 2020s After the parliamentary election in 2020 Igor Matovic became the new Prime Minister of Slovakia Matovic and his government with little to no previous government experience was dealing with the COVID 19 pandemic and COVID 19 recession during which more than 21 000 people died in Slovakia between the years 2020 2023 the worst death toll in the country since the end of World War II Due to the pandemic in 2020 the Slovak economy faced the worst economic crisis since the global financial crisis and fell into recession At the beginning of 2021 Matovic signed an agreement to acquire 2 million doses of Russia s Sputnik V COVID 19 vaccine which has not been cleared by European Union regulators Matovic orchestrated the deal despite disagreement among his coalition partners which led to a government crisis and his resignation The government continued under a new Prime Minister Eduard Heger Heger and his government faced many challenges such as the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic Russian invasion in neighbouring Ukraine Ukrainian refugee crisis Global energy crisis and Inflation surge After a strong economic recovery in 2021 growth slowed down markedly in 2022 and 2023 as a result of the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine notably the subsequent EU sanctions on Russia and Global energy crisis Slovakia became one of Ukraine s largest donors of military aid during Heger s government in 2022 and 2023 Government crisis in Slovakia continued with various disputes in the coalition At the end of 2022 Heger s government collapsed after a lost no confidence vote in parliament In 2023 in the interim before the next election President Zuzana Caputova appointed the first technocrat government in Slovak history and Ľudovit odor became the new Prime Minister for only six months the third Prime Minister of Slovakia in three years After the parliamentary election in 2023 Robert Fico became for the fourth time Prime Minister The new government halted military aid to Ukraine while still providing humanitarian aid and electricity supplies On May 15 2024 Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times and wounded in an assassination attempt The suspect stated during interrogation that he acted primarily because of the Fico government s opposition to military assistance to Ukraine In 2024 Peter Pellegrini became the sixth President of Slovakia Pellegrini is the first Slovak politician to have held all three highest constitutional posts President Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament in the country GeographyPanorama of the High Tatras Slovakia lies between latitudes 47 and 50 N and longitudes 16 and 23 E The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country Among these mountain ranges are the high peaks of the Fatra Tatra Area including Tatra Mountains Greater Fatra and Lesser Fatra Slovak Ore Mountains Slovak Central Mountains or Beskids The largest lowland is the fertile Danubian Lowland in the southwest followed by the Eastern Slovak Lowland in the southeast Forests cover 41 of Slovak land surface Tatra mountains A topographical map of Slovakia The Tatra Mountains with 29 peaks higher than 2 500 metres 8 202 feet AMSL are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains The Tatras occupy an area of 750 square kilometres 290 sq mi of which the greater part 600 square kilometres 232 sq mi lies in Slovakia They are divided into several parts To the north close to the Polish border are the High Tatras which are a popular hiking and skiing destination and home to many scenic lakes and valleys as well as the highest point in Slovakia the Gerlachovsky stit at 2 655 metres 8 711 ft and the country s highly symbolic mountain Krivan To the west are the Western Tatras with their highest peak of Bystra at 2 248 metres 7 375 ft and to the east are the Belianske Tatras smallest by area Separated from the Tatras proper by the valley of the Vah river are the Low Tatras with their highest peak of Dumbier at 2 043 metres 6 703 ft The Tatra mountain range is represented as one of the three hills on the coat of arms of Slovakia National parks Slovak Paradise National Park There are nine national parks in Slovakia covering 6 5 of the Slovak land surface These parks are Tatra National Park Low Tatras National Park Veľka Fatra National Park Slovak Karst National Park Poloniny National Park Mala Fatra National Park Muranska planina National Park Slovak Paradise National Park and Pieniny National Park Caves Domica Cave Slovakia has hundreds of caves and caverns under its mountains of which 30 are open to the public Most of the caves have stalagmites rising from the ground and stalactites hanging from above There are currently five Slovak caves under UNESCO s World Heritage Site status Dobsina Ice Cave Domica Gombasek Cave Jasovska Cave and Ochtinska Aragonite Cave Other caves open to the public include Belianska Cave Demanovska Cave of Liberty Demanovska Ice Cave or Bystrianska Cave Rivers Dunajec river Most of the rivers arise in the Slovak mountains Some only pass through Slovakia while others make a natural border with surrounding countries more than 620 kilometres 390 mi For example the Dunajec 17 kilometres 11 mi to the north the Danube 172 kilometres 107 mi to the south or the Morava 119 kilometres 74 mi to the West The total length of the rivers on Slovak territory is 49 774 kilometres 30 928 mi The longest river in Slovakia is the Vah 403 kilometres 250 mi the shortest is the Cierna voda Other important and large rivers are the Myjava the Nitra 197 kilometres 122 mi the Orava the Hron 298 kilometres 185 mi the Hornad 193 kilometres 120 mi the Slana 110 kilometres 68 mi the Ipeľ 232 kilometres 144 mi forming the border with Hungary the Bodrog the Laborec the Latorica and the Ondava The biggest volume of discharge in Slovak rivers is during spring when the snow melts from the mountains The only exception is the Danube whose discharge is the greatest during summer when the snow melts in the Alps The Danube is the largest river that flows through Slovakia Climate Four seasons in Slovakia spring in Presov summer in Spisske Podhradie autumn in High Tatras winter in Banska Stiavnica the town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site The Slovak climate lies between the temperate and continental climate zones with relatively warm summers and cold cloudy and humid winters Temperature extremes are between 41 and 40 3 C 41 8 and 104 5 F although temperatures below 30 C 22 F are rare The weather differs from the mountainous north to the plains in the south The warmest region is Bratislava and Southern Slovakia where the temperatures may reach 30 C 86 F in summer occasionally to 39 C 102 F in Hurbanovo During night the temperatures drop to 20 C 68 F The daily temperatures in winter average in the range of 5 C 23 F to 10 C 50 F During night it may be freezing but usually not below 10 C 14 F In Slovakia there are four seasons each season spring summer autumn and winter lasts three months The dry continental air brings in the summer heat and winter frosts In contrast oceanic air brings rainfalls and reduces summer temperatures In the lowlands and valleys there is often fog especially in winter Spring starts with 21 March and is characterised by colder weather with an average daily temperature of 9 C 48 F in the first weeks and about 14 C 57 F in May and 17 C 63 F in June In Slovakia the weather and climate in the spring are very unstable Summer starts on 22 June and is usually characterised by hot weather with daily temperatures exceeding 30 C 86 F July is the warmest month with temperatures up to about 37 to 40 C 99 to 104 F especially in regions of southern Slovakia in the urban area of Komarno Hurbanovo or Sturovo Showers or thunderstorms may occur because of the summer monsoon called Medardova kvapka Medard drop 40 days of rain Summer in Northern Slovakia is usually mild with temperatures around 25 C 77 F less in the mountains Autumn in Slovakia starts on 23 September and is mostly characterised by wet weather and wind although the first weeks can be very warm and sunny The average temperature in September is around 14 C 57 F in November to 3 C 37 F Late September and early October is a dry and sunny time of year so called Indian summer Winter starts on 21 December with temperatures around 5 to 10 C 23 to 14 F In December and January it is usually snowing these are the coldest months of the year At lower altitudes snow does not stay the whole winter it changes into the thaw and frost Winters are colder in the mountains where the snow usually lasts until March or April and the night temperatures fall to 20 C 4 F and colder Biodiversity Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica in the Tatra Mountains Slovakia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 19 May 1993 and became a party to the convention on 25 August 1994 It has subsequently produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan which was received by the convention on 2 November 1998 The biodiversity of Slovakia comprises animals such as annelids arthropods molluscs nematodes and vertebrates fungi Ascomycota Basidiomycota Chytridiomycota Glomeromycota and Zygomycota micro organisms including Mycetozoa and plants The geographical position of Slovakia determines the richness of the diversity of fauna and flora More than 11 000 plant species have been described throughout its territory nearly 29 000 animal species and over 1 000 species of protozoa Endemic biodiversity is also common Vihorlat Mountains Slovakia is located in the biome of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and terrestrial ecoregions of Pannonian mixed forests and Carpathian montane conifer forests As the altitude changes the vegetation associations and animal communities are forming height levels oak beech spruce scrub pine alpine meadows and subsoil Forests cover 44 of the territory of Slovakia The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 4 34 10 ranking it 129th globally out of 172 countries In terms of forest stands 60 are broadleaf trees and 40 are coniferous trees The occurrence of animal species is strongly connected to the appropriate types of plant associations and biotopes Over 4 000 species of fungi have been recorded from Slovakia Of these nearly 1 500 are lichen forming species Some of these fungi are undoubtedly endemic but not enough is known to say how many Of the lichen forming species about 40 have been classified as threatened in some way About 7 are apparently extinct 9 endangered 17 vulnerable and 7 rare The conservation status of non lichen forming fungi in Slovakia is not well documented but there is a red list for its larger fungi Water Mountain lake Strbske pleso The entire population of Slovakia has access to a safe drinking water source The country has one of the best quality tap water in the world it is the second country in Europe after Austria with the largest reserves of drinking water Groundwater is the drinking water source of the highest quality protected by Constitution of Slovakia Since 2014 it is banned the export of drinking and mineral waters in pipelines and water tanks The ban excludes bottled water and water for personal use Both groundwater 82 2 as well as surface water 17 8 are exploited as drinking water sources Zitny ostrov is the biggest natural groundwater source in Slovakia and as well in Central Europe About 1300 mineral sources are registered providing curative water and high quality mineral water for drinking There are 21 thermal spa towns built on these mineral springs The most visited are Piestany Trencianske Teplice Bardejov and Dudince Government and politicsRobert Fico Prime Minister since 2023Peter Pellegrini President since 2024 Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi party system The last parliamentary elections were held on 30 September 2023 and two rounds of presidential elections took place on 23 March and 6 April 2024 The Slovak head of state and the formal head of the executive is the president currently Peter Pellegrini though with very limited powers The president is elected by direct popular vote under the two round system for a five year term Most executive power lies with the head of government the prime minister currently Robert Fico who is usually the leader of the winning party and who needs to form a majority coalition in the parliament The prime minister is appointed by the president The remainder of the cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister Slovakia s highest legislative body is the 150 seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic Narodna rada Slovenskej republiky Delegates are elected for a four year term on the basis of proportional representation Slovakia s highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court of Slovakia Ustavny sud which rules on constitutional issues The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by parliament The Constitution of the Slovak Republic was ratified 1 September 1992 and became effective 1 January 1993 It was amended in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements The civil law system is based on Austro Hungarian codes The legal code was modified to comply with the obligations of Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE and to expunge the Marxist Leninist legal theory Slovakia accepts the compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction with reservations Main office holders Office Name Party SincePresident Peter Pellegrini Independent 15 June 2024Prime Minister Robert Fico Direction Social Democracy 25 October 2023Speaker of the National Council Peter Ziga acting Voice Social Democracy 7 April 2024Grassalkovich Palace in Bratislava is the seat of the President of SlovakiaThe National Council building in BratislavaEpiscopal Summer Palace the seat of the government of Slovakia Foreign relations Former Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini current President of Slovakia with U S President Donald Trump in the White House 2019 The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Slovak Ministerstvo zahranicnych veci a europskych zalezitosti is responsible for maintaining the Slovak Republic s external relations and the management of its international diplomatic missions The ministry s director is Juraj Blanar The ministry oversees Slovakia s affairs with foreign entities including bilateral relations with individual nations and its representation in international organisations Slovakia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004 the Schengen Area in 2007 and the Eurozone in 2009 Slovakia is a member of the United Nations since 1993 and participates in its specialised agencies The country was on 10 October 2005 elected to a two year term on the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2007 It is also a member of the Council of Europe CoE the Organisation for Security and Co operation in Europe OSCE the World Trade Organisation WTO the World Health Organization WHO the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD the International Monetary Fund IMF the Union for the Mediterranean UfM the International Criminal Police Organisation INTERPOL the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO the European Organisation for Nuclear Research CERN the Bucharest Nine B9 and part of the Visegrad Group V4 Slovakia Hungary the Czech Republic and Poland In 2024 Slovak citizens had visa free or visa on arrival access to 184 countries and territories putting the Slovak passport at the 10th rank of travel freedom tied with Latvia and Iceland on the Henley Passport Index Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Moscow Kremlin 2024 Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries primarily through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs Slovakia maintained 90 missions abroad including 64 embassies seven missions to multilateral organisations nine consulates general one consular office one Slovak Economic and Cultural Office and eight Slovak Institutes Bratislava hosts 41 foreign embassies and 22 consulates Largest trading partners are countries of the European Union In 2024 more than 80 of Slovak exports went to the European Union and more than 65 of Slovak imports came from other European Union member states Slovakia and the United States retain strong diplomatic ties and cooperate in the military and law enforcement areas U S Department of Defence programmes has contributed significantly to Slovak military reforms The two countries have a long history tracing back to the American Revolutionary War when a Slovak Major Jan Ladislav Polerecky fought alongside George Washington in Yorktowne to win the colonies independence President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the original Czechoslovak state on 28 October 1918 Around one million Americans have their roots in Slovakia and many retain strong cultural and familial ties to the Slovak Republic American steel producer U S Steel is the largest employer in Eastern Slovakia in Kosice with 12 000 employees Military Slovak 5th Special Forces Regiment in eastern Afghanistan during the Operation Enduring Freedom The president is formally the commander in chief of the Slovak armed forces Slovakia joined NATO in March 2004 From 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organisation and compulsory military service was abolished Slovak armed forces numbered 19 500 uniformed personnel and 4 208 civilians in 2022 The country has been an active participant in US and NATO led military actions and involved in many United Nations peacekeeping military missions UNPROFOR in the Yugoslavia 1992 1995 UNOMUR in Uganda and Rwanda 1993 1994 UNAMIR in Rwanda 1993 1996 UNTAES in Croatia 1996 1998 UNOMIL in Liberia 1993 1997 MONUA in Angola 1997 1999 SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1999 2003 OSCE mission in Moldova 1998 2002 OSCE mission in Albania 1999 KFOR in Kosovo 1999 2002 UNGCI in Iraq 2000 2003 UNMEE in Ethiopia and Eritrea 2000 2004 UNMISET in East Timor 2001 EUFOR Concordia in Macedonia 2003 UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone 1999 2005 EU supporting action to African Union in Darfur 2006 Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan 2002 2005 Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq 2003 2007 and UNDOF at the borders of Israel and Syria 1998 2008 Slovak members of UNFICYP peacekeepers patrolling the buffer zone in Cyprus As of 2025 Slovakia has 240 military personnel deployed in Cyprus for UNFICYP United Nations led peace support operations 50 troops deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina for EUFOR Althea and 135 troops deployed in Latvia for NATO Enhanced Forward Presence The Slovak Ground Forces are made up of two active mechanised infantry brigades The Air and Air Defence Forces comprise one wing of fighters one wing of utility helicopters and one SAM brigade Training and support forces comprise a National Support Element Multifunctional Battalion Transport Battalion Repair Battalion a garrison force of the capital city Bratislava as well as a training battalion and various logistics communication and information bases Miscellaneous forces under the direct command of the General Staff include the 5th Special Forces Regiment Human rights Human rights in Slovakia are guaranteed by the Constitution of Slovakia from the year 1992 and by multiple international laws signed in Slovakia between 1948 and 2006 Slovakia performs favourably in measurements of civil liberties press freedom internet freedom democratic governance and peacefulness The US State Department in 2021 reported The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens however there were problems in some areas Significant human rights issues included credible reports of corruption violence and threats of violence against Roma and members of other ethnic and racial minorities and violence and threats of violence targeting lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer and intersex persons According to the European Roma Rights Centre ERRC Romani people in Slovakia endure racism in the job market housing and education fields and are often subjected to forced evictions vigilante intimidation disproportionate levels of police brutality and more subtle forms of discrimination Administrative divisions Bratislava capital and largest city of Slovakia Slovakia is divided into 8 kraje singular kraj usually translated as region each of which is named after its principal city Regions have enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy since 2002 Their self governing bodies are referred to as Self governing or autonomous Regions sg samospravny kraj pl samospravne kraje or Upper Tier Territorial Units sg vyssi uzemny celok pl vyssie uzemne celky abbr VUC The kraje are subdivided into okresy sg okres usually translated as districts Slovakia currently has 79 districts The okresy are further divided into obce sg obec usually translated as municipality There are currently 2 890 municipalities In terms of economics and unemployment rate the western regions are richer than eastern regions Bratislava is the 19th richest region of the European Union by GDP PPP per capita GDP at purchasing power parity is about three times higher than in other Slovak regions Presov Kosice Zilina Banska Bystrica Trencin Nitra Trnava Bratislava Name in English Name in Slovak Administrative seat Population 2019 Bratislava Region Bratislavsky kraj Bratislava 669 592Trnava Region Trnavsky kraj Trnava 564 917Nitra Region Nitriansky kraj Nitra 674 306Trencin Region Trenciansky kraj Trencin 584 569Zilina Region Zilinsky kraj Zilina 691 509Banska Bystrica Region Banskobystricky kraj Banska Bystrica 645 276Presov Region Presovsky kraj Presov 826 244Kosice Region Kosicky kraj Kosice 802 460EconomyNational Bank of Slovakia in Bratislava Slovakia has a high income developed economy In 2024 with a population of only 5 million it ranked as the 46th richest country with a per capita gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity of 44 081 and the 61st largest economy in the World with a GDP of 140 808 billion Its GDP per capita equalling 74 of the average of the European Union in 2023 Major privatisations are completed the banking sector is almost completely in private hands and foreign investment has risen In 2024 more than 80 of Slovak exports went to the European Union and more than 65 of Slovak imports came from other European Union member states Main export partners are Germany 23 of total exports Czech Republic 12 4 Poland 8 3 and Austria 5 7 The country has difficulties addressing regional imbalances in wealth and employment GDP per capita ranges from 188 of EU average in Bratislava to 54 in Eastern Slovakia Bratislava is the 19th richest region of the European Union by GDP PPP per capita Although regional income inequality is high 90 of citizens own their homes The country used to be dubbed the Tatra Tiger in the 2000s as it successfully transformed from a centrally planned economy to a market driven economy and achieved on average roughly 6 per capita GDP growth each year from 2000 to 2008 In 2017 the Slovak economy was one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and 3rd fastest in eurozone Slovakia is part of the Schengen Area the EU single market and since 2009 the Eurozone dark blue The OECD in 2017 reported The Slovak Republic continues exhibiting robust economic performance with strong growth backed by a sound financial sector low public debt and high international competitiveness drawing on large inward investment The ratio of government debt to GDP in Slovakia reached 60 5 in 2024 Unemployment peaking at 19 at the end of 1999 decreased to 4 9 in 2019 lowest recorded rate in Slovak history Unemployment rate in 2024 was 5 4 A high dependence on global supply chains and energy imports makes the Slovak economy vulnerable to external shocks As a consequence the economy was hit hard by the global COVID 19 pandemic crisis 3 3 decline in 2020 despite sizeable economic policy support And after a strong recovery in 2021 4 8 growth growth slowed down markedly in 2022 1 9 and 2023 1 6 as a result of the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine notably the subsequent EU sanctions on Russia and soaring energy prices High rise buildings in Bratislava s business districts The Slovak government encourages foreign investment since it is one of the driving forces of the economy Slovakia is an attractive country for foreign investors mainly because of its low wages low tax rates well educated labour force favourable geographic location in the heart of Central Europe strong political stability and good international relations reinforced by the country s accession to the European Union Some regions mostly at the east of Slovakia have failed to attract major investment which has aggravated regional disparities in many economic and social areas Slovakia adopted the euro currency on 1 January 2009 as the 16th member of the Eurozone The euro in Slovakia was approved by the European commission on 7 May 2008 The Slovak koruna was revalued on 28 May 2008 to 30 126 for 1 euro which was also the exchange rate for the euro Slovakia ranks 45th out of 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business according to the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Report and 49th out of the 63 countries and territories in terms of competitive economy according to the 2022 World Competitiveness Yearbook Report Industry Kia s car production plant in Zilina Although Slovakia s GDP comes mainly from the tertiary services sector the industrial sector also plays an important role within its economy The main industry sectors are car manufacturing and electrical engineering Since 2007 Slovakia has been the world s largest producer of cars per capita with a total of 1 090 000 cars manufactured in the country in 2018 alone 275 000 people are employed directly and indirectly by the automotive industry There are currently four automobile assembly plants with a fifth under construction Volkswagen s in Bratislava models Volkswagen Up Volkswagen Touareg Audi Q7 Audi Q8 Porsche Cayenne Lamborghini Urus PSA Peugeot Citroen s in Trnava models Peugeot 208 Citroen C3 Picasso Kia Motors Zilina Plant models Kia Cee d Kia Sportage Kia Venga and Jaguar Land Rover s in Nitra model Land Rover Defender Land Rover Discovery Volvo will make electric cars at a new plant at the east of Slovakia construction began in 2023 in Kosice with series production starting in 2026 Hyundai Mobis in Zilina is the largest suppliers for the automotive industry in Slovakia The electronics manufacturing industry also thrives Foxconn has a factory at Nitra for LCD TV manufacturing Samsung at Galanta for computer monitors and television sets manufacturing Steel producer U S Steel in Kosice is the largest employer in the east of Slovakia with 12 000 employees ESET is an IT security company from Bratislava with more than 1 000 employees worldwide at present Their branch offices are in the United States Ireland United Kingdom Argentina the Czech Republic Singapore and Poland In recent years service and high tech oriented businesses have prospered in Bratislava Many global companies including IBM Dell Lenovo AT amp T SAP and Accenture have built outsourcing and service centres here Reasons for the influx of multi national corporations include proximity to Western Europe skilled labour force and the high density of universities and research facilities Other large companies and employers with headquarters in Bratislava include Amazon Slovak Telekom Orange Slovensko Slovenska sporiteľna Tatra banka Doprastav Hewlett Packard Slovakia Henkel Slovensko Slovensky plynarensky priemysel Microsoft Slovakia Mondelez Slovakia Whirlpool Slovakia and Zurich Insurance Group Slovakia Bratislava s geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a crossroads for international trade traffic Various ancient trade routes such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway have crossed territory of present day Bratislava Today Bratislava is a road railway waterway and airway hub Energy Nuclear Power Plant Jaslovske Bohunice Slovakia is self sufficient in electricity production following the launch of the third unit of the Mochovce nuclear power plant in 2023 In 2020 Slovakia produced a total of 29 322 GWh of electricity Nuclear energy accounted for 54 15 400 GWh of total electricity production followed by 16 by hydro power energy 16 natural gas 8 coal biofuel 3 and 3 by solar energy The two nuclear power plants in Slovakia are in Jaslovske Bohunice and Mochovce Jaslovske Bohunice containing two operating reactors Mochovce containing three operating reactors unit Mochovce 3 came on line in January 2023 and unit Mochovce 4 will be completed at the end of 2025 The additional reactors in Mochovce returned Slovakia to being a net exporter of electricity In 2024 Slovak government approved a plan to build another new nuclear reactor in Jaslovske Bohunice Slovnaft oil refinery in Bratislava Slovensky plynarensky priemysel Slovak Gas Industry is the biggest natural gas seller in Slovakia In 2024 domestic gas production covers roughly 2 of Slovak consumption An average of around 65 million m of natural gas is produced while 4 2 billion m of natural gas is imported As of 2025 most of gas imports to Slovakia is from Russia via TurkStream pipeline TurkStream connects Russia and Turkey with gas flowing through the Balkans and Hungary before reaching Slovakia The oil production in Slovakia is even lower than the gas production In 2021 it reached a volume of 4 500 tons per year with a total oil consumption of around 6 million tons per year Among European Union countries Slovakia is the most dependent on Russian oil and petroleum products In 2020 Russia was the origin country for 78 percent of the country s total oil imports Slovnaft with 4 000 employees is the largest oil refining company in Slovakia located in Bratislava The company refines 5 5 to 6 million tonnes of crude oil per annum and produces a broad range of motor fuels fuel oils and petrochemical products Transportation A train in the northern town of Vysoke Tatry There are four main motorway D1 to D4 and eight expressways R1 to R8 Many of them are still under construction The major motorway in Slovakia is D1 the motorway connects major cities across Slovakia from west to east from Bratislava to Trnava Nitra Trencin Zilina and beyond As of 2025 some sections of D1 are still under construction The D2 motorway connects it to Prague Brno and Budapest in the north south direction A large part of D4 motorway an outer bypass which ease the pressure on Bratislava s highway system opened in 2021 The A6 motorway to Vienna connects Slovakia directly to the Austrian motorway system and was opened on 19 November 2007 D1 motorway Slovakia has three international airports Bratislava Airport is the main and largest international airport It is located 9 km northeast of the city centre It serves civil and governmental scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights The current runways support the landing of all common types of aircraft currently used The airport has enjoyed rapidly growing passenger traffic in recent years it served 279 028 passengers in 2000 and 2 292 712 in 2018 Kosice International Airport is an airport serving Kosice It is the second largest international airport in Slovakia The Poprad Tatry Airport is the third busiest airport the airport is located 5 km west northwest of Poprad It is an airport with one of the highest elevations in Central Europe at 718 m which is 150 m higher than Innsbruck Airport in Austria Zeleznice Slovenskej Republiky Railways of Slovak Republic provides railway transport services on national and international lines The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic especially the interconnection from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Rhine Main Danube Canal Additionally tourist boats operate from Bratislava s passenger port including routes to Devin Vienna and elsewhere The is the second largest port in Slovakia with an area of over 20 hectares and is located approximately 100 km east of Bratislava It lies at the confluence of two rivers the Danube and Vah Tourism Bojnice Castle Slovakia features natural landscapes mountains caves medieval castles and towns folk architecture spas and ski resorts More than 5 4 million tourists visited Slovakia in 2017 The most attractive destinations are the capital of Bratislava and the High Tatras Most visitors come from the Czech Republic about 26 Poland 15 and Germany 11 Slovakia contains many castles most of which are in ruins The best known castles include Bojnice Castle often used as a filming location Spis Castle on the UNESCO list Orava Castle Bratislava Castle and the ruins of Devin Castle Cachtice Castle was once the home of the world s most prolific female serial killer the Bloody Lady Elizabeth Bathory The centre of Bardejov a UNESCO World Heritage Site Slovakia s position in Europe and the country s past part of the Kingdom of Hungary the Habsburg monarchy and Czechoslovakia made many cities and towns similar to the cities in the Czech Republic such as Prague Austria such as Salzburg or Hungary such as Budapest A historical centre with at least one square has been preserved in many towns Large historical centres can be found in Bratislava Trencin Kosice Banska Stiavnica Levoca and Trnava Historical centres have been going through a restoration in recent years Historical churches can be found in virtually every village and town in Slovakia Most of them are built in the Baroque style but there are also many examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture for example Banska Bystrica Bardejov and Spisska Kapitula The Basilica of St James in Levoca with the tallest wood carved altar in the world and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Zehra with medieval frescos are UNESCO World Heritage Sites The St Martin s Concathedral in Bratislava served as the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary The oldest sacral buildings in Slovakia stem from the Great Moravian period in the ninth century Cable cars at Jasna in the Tatra Mountains Very precious structures are the complete wooden churches of northern and northern eastern Slovakia Most were built from the 15th century onwards by Catholics Lutherans and members of eastern rite churches Tourism is one of the main sectors of the Slovakia s economy although still underserved It is based on domestic tourism as most of the tourists are the Slovak nationals and residents travelling for leisure within the country Bratislava and the High and Low Tatras are the busiest tourist stops Other popular tourist destinations are the cities and towns of Kosice Banska Stiavnica or Bardejov and numerous national parks such as Pieniny National Park Mala Fatra National Park Veľka Fatra National Park Poloniny National Park or Slovak Paradise National Park among others There are many castles located throughout the country Among the tourists some of the most popular are Bojnice Castle Spis Castle Stara Ľubovna Castle Krasna Horka Castle Orava Castle where many scenes of Nosferatu were filmed Trencin Castle and Bratislava Castle and also castles in ruins such as Beckov Castle Devin Castle Saris Castle Povazie Castle and Strecno Castle where Dragonheart was filmed Caves open to the public are mainly located in Northern Slovakia Driny is the only cave located in Western Slovakia that is open to the public Dobsina Ice Cave Demanovska Ice Cave Demanovska Cave of Liberty Belianska Cave or Domica Cave are among the most popular tourist stops Ochtinska Aragonite Cave located in Central Slovakia is one of only three aragonite caves in the world There are thousands of caves located in Slovakia thirteen of which are open to the public Spis Castle Slovakia is also known for its numerous spas Piestany is the biggest and busiest spa town in the country attracting many visitors from the Gulf countries mostly the United Arab Emirates Qatar Kuwait and Bahrain Bardejov Trencianske Teplice Turcianske Teplice and Rajecke Teplice are other major spa towns Some well known minor spa towns and villages are Stos Ciz Dudince Kovacova Nimnica Smrdaky Lucky and Vysne Ruzbachy among others Typical souvenirs from Slovakia are dolls dressed in folk costumes ceramic objects crystal glass carved wooden figures crpaks wooden pitchers fujaras a folk instrument on the UNESCO list and valaskas a decorated folk hatchet and above all products made from corn husks and wire notably human figures Souvenirs can be bought in the shops run by the state organisation UĽUV Ustredie ľudovej umeleckej vyroby Centre of Folk Art Production Dielo shop chain sells works of Slovak artists and craftsmen These shops are mostly found in towns and cities Prices of imported products are generally the same as in the neighbouring countries whereas prices of local products and services especially food are usually lower Science Observatory at the top of the peak Lomnicky stit at the altitude above sea level of 2 632 m 8 635 ft The Slovak Academy of Sciences has been the most important scientific and research institution in the country since 1953 Slovaks have made notable scientific and technical contributions during history In 1999 astronaut Ivan Bella became the first and only Slovak citizen to fly in space Observer status to European Space Agency ESA was granted in 2010 when Slovakia signed the General Agreement on Cooperation in which information about ongoing education programmes was shared and Slovakia was invited to various negotiations of the ESA In 2015 Slovakia signed the European Cooperating State Agreement based on which Slovakia committed to the finance entrance programme named PECS Plan for the European Cooperating States which serves as preparation for full membership Slovak research and development organisations can apply for funding of projects regarding space technologies advancement Slovakia became European Space Agency associate member state in 2022 In 2024 the country signed the Artemis Accords with NASA Slovakia was ranked 46th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024 Demographics Largest cities or towns in Slovakia Statisticky urad Slovenskej republiky 31 December 2020Rank Name Region Pop Rank Name Region Pop Bratislava Kosice 1 Bratislava Bratislava 475 503 11 Prievidza Trencin 45 017 Presov Zilina2 Kosice Kosice 229 040 12 Zvolen Banska Bystrica 40 6373 Presov Presov 84 824 13 Povazska Bystrica Trencin 38 6414 Zilina Zilina 82 656 14 Nove Zamky Nitra 37 7915 Nitra Nitra 78 489 15 Michalovce Kosice 36 7046 Banska Bystrica Banska Bystrica 76 018 16 Spisska Nova Ves Kosice 35 4317 Trnava Trnava 63 803 17 Komarno Nitra 32 9678 Trencin Trencin 54 740 18 Levice Nitra 31 9749 Martin Zilina 52 520 19 Humenne Presov 31 35910 Poprad Presov 49 855 20 Bardejov Presov 30 840Population density in Slovakia The two biggest cities are clearly visible Bratislava in the far west and Kosice in the east The population is over 5 4 million and consists mostly of Slovaks The average population density is 110 inhabitants per km2 According to the 2021 census the majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are Slovaks 83 82 Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority 7 75 Other ethnic groups include Roma 1 23 Czechs 0 53 Rusyns 0 44 and others or unspecified 6 1 In 2018 the median age of the Slovak population was 41 years The largest waves of Slovak emigration occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries In the 1990 US census 1 8 million people self identified as having Slovak ancestry needs update In the 2024 Global Hunger Index Slovakia is one of 22 countries with a GHI score of less than 5 Languages The Slovak alphabet has 46 letters of which 3 are digraphs and 18 contain diacritics The official language is Slovak a member of the Slavic language family Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern regions and Rusyn is used in some parts of the Northeast Minority languages hold co official status in the municipalities in which the size of the minority population meets the legal threshold of 15 in two consecutive censuses Slovakia is ranked among the top EU countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages In 2007 68 of the population aged from 25 to 64 years claimed to speak two or more foreign languages finishing second highest in the European Union The best known foreign language in Slovakia is Czech Eurostat report also shows that 98 3 of Slovak students in the upper secondary education take on two foreign languages ranking highly over the average 60 1 in the European Union According to a Eurobarometer survey from 2012 26 of the population have knowledge of English at a conversational level followed by German 22 and Russian 17 The deaf community uses the Slovak Sign Language Even though spoken Czech and Slovak are similar the Slovak Sign language is not particularly close to Czech Sign Language citation needed Religion Basilica of St James in LevocaSt Elisabeth Cathedral in Kosice the largest church in Slovakia The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion In 2021 55 8 of population identified themselves as Roman Catholics 5 3 as Lutherans 1 6 as Calvinists 4 as Greek Catholics 0 9 as Orthodox 23 8 identified themselves as atheists or non religious and 6 5 did not answer the question about their belief In 2004 about one third of the church members regularly attended church services The Slovak Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern rite sui iuris Catholic Church Before World War II an estimated 90 000 Jews lived in Slovakia 1 6 of the population but most were murdered during the Holocaust After further reductions due to postwar emigration and assimilation only about 2 300 Jews remain today 0 04 of the population There are 18 state registered religions in Slovakia of which 16 are Christian one is Jewish and one is the Bahaʼi Faith In 2016 a two thirds majority of the Slovak parliament passed a new bill that would obstruct Islam and other religious organisations from becoming state recognised religions by doubling the minimum followers threshold from 25 000 to 50 000 however Slovakia s then president Andrej Kiska vetoed the bill In 2010 there were an estimated 5 000 Muslims in Slovakia representing less than 0 1 of the country s population Slovakia is the only member state of the European Union to not have any mosques Education Comenius University headquarters in Bratislava The Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD currently ranks Slovak secondary education the 30th in the world placing it just below the United States and just above Spain Education in Slovakia is compulsory from age 6 to 16 The education system consists of elementary school which is divided into two parts the first grade age 6 10 and the second grade age 10 15 which is finished by taking nationwide testing called Monitor in Slovak and math Parents may apply for social assistance for a child that is studying on an elementary school or a high school If approved the state provides basic study necessities for the child Schools provide books to all their students with usual exceptions of books for studying a foreign language and books which require taking notes in them which are mostly present in the first grade of elementary school After finishing elementary school students are obliged to take one year in high school After finishing high school students can go to university and are highly encouraged to do so Slovakia has a wide range of universities The biggest university is Comenius University established in 1919 Although it is not the first university ever established on Slovak territory it is the oldest university that is still running Most universities in Slovakia are public funded where anyone can apply Every citizen has a right to free education in public schools Slovakia has several privately funded universities however public universities consistently score better in the ranking than their private counterparts Universities have different criteria for accepting students Anyone can apply to any number of universities CultureFolk tradition Wooden folk architecture can be seen in the well preserved village of Vlkolinec a UNESCO World Heritage Site Folk tradition has rooted strongly in Slovakia and is reflected in literature music dance and architecture The prime example is the Slovak national anthem Nad Tatrou sa blyska which is based on a melody from the Kopala studienku folk song The manifestation of Slovak folklore culture is the Vychodna Folklore Festival It is the oldest and largest nationwide festival with international participation which takes place in Vychodna annually Slovakia is usually represented by many groups but mainly by SĽUK Slovensky ľudovy umelecky kolektiv Slovak folk art collective SĽUK is the largest Slovak folk art group trying to preserve the folklore tradition An example of wooden folk architecture in Slovakia can be seen in the well preserved village of Vlkolinec which has been the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 The Presov Region preserves the world s most remarkable folk wooden churches Most of them are protected by Slovak law as cultural heritage but some of them are on the UNESCO list too in Bodruzal Hervartov Ladomirova and Ruska Bystra Slovaks wearing folk costumes from Eastern Slovakia The best known Slovak hero found in many folk mythologies is Juraj Janosik 1688 1713 the Slovak equivalent of Robin Hood The legend says he was taking from the rich and giving to the poor Janosik s life was depicted in a list of literary works and many movies throughout the 20th century One of the most popular is a film Janosik directed by Martin Fric in 1935 He is commemorated mainly in Terchova his family s place of living Art Main altar in the Basilica of St James crafted by Master Paul of Levoca 1517 It is the tallest wooden altar in the world Visual art in Slovakia is represented through painting drawing printmaking illustration arts and crafts sculpture photography or conceptual art The Slovak National Gallery founded in 1948 is the biggest network of galleries in Slovakia Two displays in Bratislava are situated in Esterhazy Palace Esterhazyho palac and the Water Barracks Vodne kasarne adjacent one to another They are located on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town The Bratislava City Gallery founded in 1961 is the second biggest Slovak gallery of its kind It stores about 35 000 pieces of Slovak international art and offers permanent displays in Palffy Palace and Mirbach Palace located in the Old Town Danubiana Art Museum one of the youngest art museums in Europe is situated near Cunovo waterworks part of Gabcikovo Waterworks Other major galleries include Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art Warhol s parents were from Mikova East Slovak Gallery Ernest Zmetak Art Gallery Zvolen Castle Literature Ľudovit Stur the creator of standard Slovak Christian topics include poem Proglas as a foreword to the four Gospels partial translations of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic Zakon sudnyj ljudem Medieval literature in the period from the 11th to the 15th centuries was written in Latin Czech and Slovakised Czech Lyric prayers songs and formulas was still controlled by the Church while epic was concentrated on legends Authors from this period include Johannes de Thurocz author of the Chronica Hungarorum and Maurus both of them Hungarians The worldly literature also emerged and chronicles were written in this period Two leading persons codified Slovak The first was Anton Bernolak whose concept was based on the western Slovak dialect in 1787 It was the codification of the first ever literary language of Slovaks The second was Ľudovit Stur whose formation of the Slovak took principles from the central Slovak dialect in 1843 Slovakia is also known for its polyhistors of whom include Pavol Jozef Safarik Matej Bel Jan Kollar and its political revolutionaries and reformists such Milan Rastislav Stefanik and Alexander Dubcek Media Cuisine Halusky with bryndza cheese kapustnica soup and dark beer examples of Slovak cuisine Traditional Slovak cuisine is based mainly on pork poultry chicken is the most widely eaten followed by duck goose and turkey flour potatoes cabbage and milk products It is relatively closely related to Hungarian Czech Polish and Austrian cuisine On the east it is also influenced by Ukrainian including Lemko and Rusyn In comparison with other European countries game meat is more accessible in Slovakia due to vast resources of forest and because hunting is relatively popular Boar rabbit and venison are generally available throughout the year Lamb and goat are eaten but are not widely popular citation needed The traditional Slovak meals are bryndzove halusky bryndzove pirohy and other meals with potato dough and bryndza Bryndza is a salty cheese made of sheep milk characterised by a strong taste and aroma Bryndzove halusky especially is considered a national dish and is very commonly found on the menu of traditional Slovak restaurants A typical soup is a sauerkraut soup kapustnica A blood sausage called krvavnica made from any parts of a butchered pig is also a specific Slovak meal Wine is enjoyed throughout Slovakia Slovak wine comes predominantly from the southern areas along the Danube and its tributaries the northern half of the country is too cold and mountainous to grow grapevines Traditionally white wine was more popular than red or rose except in some regions and sweet wine more popular than dry however in recent years tastes seem to be changing Beer mainly of the pilsener style though dark lagers are also consumed is also popular Sport Sporting activities are practised widely in Slovakia many of them on a professional level Ice hockey and football have traditionally been regarded as the most popular sports in Slovakia though tennis handball basketball volleyball whitewater slalom cycling alpine skiing biathlon and athletics are also popular citation needed The Slovak national ice hockey team celebrating a victory against Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics One of the most popular team sports in Slovakia is ice hockey Slovakia became a member of the IIHF on 2 February 1993 Since then the team has won four medals in Ice Hockey World Championships consisting of one gold two silver and a bronze The most recent success was a silver medal at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki The Slovak national hockey team made eight appearances in the Olympic games finishing fourth in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and third with bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing The country has 8 280 registered players and is ranked seventh in the IIHF World Ranking at present The Slovak hockey teams HC Slovan Bratislava and HC Lev Poprad participated in the Kontinental Hockey League Slovakia hosted the 2011 IIHF World Championship where Finland won the gold medal and 2019 IIHF World Championship where Finland also won the gold medal Both competitions took place in Bratislava and Kosice National football stadium in Bratislava Football is the most popular sport in Slovakia with over 400 000 registered players Since 1993 the Slovak national football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup once in 2010 They progressed to the last 16 where they were defeated by the Netherlands The most notable result was the 3 2 victory over Italy In 2016 the Slovak national football team qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament under head coach Jan Kozak This helped the team reach its best ever position of 14th in the FIFA World Rankings citation needed In club competitions only three teams have qualified for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage namely MFK Kosice in 1997 98 FC Artmedia Bratislava in 2005 06 season and MSK Zilina in 2010 11 FC Artmedia Bratislava has been the most successful team finishing third at the Group Stage of the UEFA Cup therefore qualifying for the knockout stage They remain the only Slovak club that has won a match at the group stage citation needed See alsoSlovakia portalOutline of SlovakiaNotes s l oʊ ˈ v ae k i e ˈ v ɑː k Slovak Slovensko ˈslɔʋenskɔ Slovak Slovenska republika ˈslɔʋenskaː ˈrepublika References SODB2021 Population Basic results Archived from the original on 4 November 2022 Retrieved 23 January 2022 SODB2021 K rimskokatolickemu vyznaniu sa prihlasilo 56 obyvateľov Archived from the original on 20 May 2022 Retrieved 20 January 2022 Surface water and surface water change Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD Archived from the original on 24 March 2021 Retrieved 11 October 2020 Stock of population in the SR on 30 June 2024 slovak statistics sk Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic 30 August 2024 Retrieved 30 August 2024 2021 Population and Housing Census scitanie sk Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic 20 December 2021 Retrieved 19 September 2024 World Economic Outlook Database October 2024 Edition Slovakia www imf org International Monetary Fund 22 October 2024 Retrieved 29 November 2024 Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income EU SILC survey ec europa eu Eurostat Archived from the original on 9 October 2020 Retrieved 25 November 2023 Human Development Report 2023 2024 PDF United Nations Development Programme 13 March 2024 Archived PDF from the original on 13 March 2024 Retrieved 13 March 2024 Wells John C 2008 Longman Pronunciation Dictionary 3rd ed Longman ISBN 978 1 4058 8118 0 Roach Peter 2011 Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary 18th ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 15253 2 Dixon Kennedy Mike 1998 Encyclopedia of Russian amp Slavic myth and legend ABC CLIO p 375 ISBN 978 1 57607 130 4 Retrieved 23 April 2009 Piricky Gabriel 3 March 2023 The Legacy of the Ottoman Turkish Age in Slovakia in the 21st Century Europe s Islamic Legacy 1900 to the Present Brill pp 29 47 doi 10 1163 9789004510722 004 ISBN 978 90 04 51072 2 retrieved 1 November 2024 Agoston Gabor 1998 HABSBURGS AND OTTOMANS Defense Military Change and Shifts in Power Turkish Studies Association Bulletin 22 1 126 141 ISSN 0275 6048 JSTOR 43385414 Archived from the original on 16 December 2023 Retrieved 30 December 2023 A life for a language Ľudovit Stur 1815 54 and the Slovak nation British Library 28 October 2015 Austria Hungary HISTORICAL EMPIRE EUROPE Encyclopaedia Britannica 6 June 2017 Retrieved 6 June 2017 Which countries are most generous to new parents The Economist Archived from the original on 4 November 2018 Retrieved 29 April 2017 Slovakia beats record in car production again 13 January 2020 Archived from the original on 13 December 2021 Retrieved 1 February 2020 UHLAR V O povode nazvov Slovak Slovensko a slovencina Papasonov Maria Smahel Frantisek Dvorakova Daniela Richental Ulrich 2009 Kostnicka kronika Budmerice Vydavateľstvo Rak ISBN 978 808550142 1 Ulicny Ferdinand 2014 Toponymum Slovensko povod a obsah nazvu The name Slovakia Slovensko its origin and content Historicky casopis Historicky ustav SAV 3 548 ISSN 0018 2575 Vyrazova a vyznamova diferenciacia a vznik novych pomenovani PDF Kultura Slova Archived PDF from the original on 4 August 2021 Retrieved 19 August 2021 Neruda Petr Kaminska L ubomira 2013 Neanderthals at Bojnice in the Context of Central Europe Moravske Zemske Muzeum p 21 ISBN 978 80 7028 407 0 Retrieved 19 November 2021 Museum of Prehistoric Prepostska Cave 2011 Museum of Prehistoric muzeumpraveku sk Archived from the original on 1 December 2021 Retrieved 25 November 2011 Benda Kalman 1981 Magyarorszag torteneti kronologiaja The Historical Chronology of Hungary Budapest Akademiai Kiado p 44 ISBN 963 05 2661 1 Kristo p 30 31 Europe p 360 Kristo Gyula 1994 Korai Magyar Torteneti Lexikon 9 14 szazad Encyclopedia of Early Hungarian History 9th 14th centuries Budapest Akademiai Kiado p 467 ISBN 963 05 6722 9 Poulik Josef 1978 The Origins of Christianity in Slavonic Countries North of the Middle Danube Basin World Archaeology 10 2 158 171 doi 10 1080 00438243 1978 9979728 ISSN 0043 8243 Caplovic Dusan Viliam Cicaj Dusan Kovac Ľubomir Liptak Jan Lukacka 2000 Dejiny Slovenska Bratislava AEP pages 167 566 Annales Fuldenses sive Annales regni Francorum orientalis ab Einhardo Ruodolfo Meginhardo Fuldensibus Seligenstadi Fuldae Mogontiaci conscripti cum continuationibus Ratisbonensi et Altahensibus post editionem G H Pertzii recognovit Friderious Kurze Accedunt Annales Fuldenses antiquissimi Hanover Imprensis Bibliopolii Hahniani 1978 Archived from the original on 12 March 2007 Retrieved 26 September 2009 Toth Sandor Laszlo 1998 Levediatol a Karpat medenceig From Levedia to the Carpathian Basin Szeged Szegedi Kozepkorasz Muhely p 199 ISBN 963 482 175 8 page 51 A Country Study Hungary Federal Research Division Library of Congress Archived from the original on 29 October 2004 Retrieved 6 March 2009 pages 189 211 Kristo Gyula 1996 Magyar honfoglalas honfoglalo magyarok The Hungarians Occupation of their Country The Hungarians occupying their Country Kossuth Konyvkiado pp 84 85 ISBN 963 09 3836 7 The kingdom of Hungary loststory net Archived from the original on 11 June 2016 Retrieved 15 February 2015 Ottov historicky atlas Slovensko Pavol Krsak Daniel Gurnak Praha Ottovo Nakladatelstvi 2012 ISBN 978 80 7360 834 7 OCLC 827000163 Archived from the original on 27 October 2022 Retrieved 17 August 2021 a href wiki Template Cite book title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint others link Steinhubel Jan 2016 Nitrianske kniezatstvo pociatky stredovekeho Slovenska The duchy of Nitra the beginnings of the medieval Slovakia Druhe prepracovane a doplnene vydanie ed Bratislava ISBN 978 80 85501 64 3 OCLC 966315215 Archived from the original on 27 October 2022 Retrieved 17 August 2021 a href wiki Template Cite book title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Felak James Ramon 15 June 1995 At the Price of the Republic Hlinka s Slovak People s Party 1929 1938 University of Pittsburgh Pre pp 3 ISBN 978 0 8229 7694 3 Schuster Rudolf January 2004 The Slovak Republic A Decade of Independence 1993 2002 Bolchazy Carducci Publishers pp 71 ISBN 978 0 86516 568 7 Prokhorov A M 1982 Great Soviet Encyclopedia Macmillan p 71 Tibensky Jan et al 1971 Slovensko Dejiny Bratislava Obzor Zilina v slovenskych dejinach zbornik z vedeckej konferencie k 620 vyrociu udelenia vysad pre zilinskych Slovakov Zilina 7 maja 2001 Richard Marsina Zilina Knizne Centrum Vyd 2002 ISBN 80 8064 158 7 OCLC 164889878 Archived from the original on 27 October 2022 Retrieved 17 August 2021 a href wiki Template Cite book title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint others link Academia Istropolitana City of Bratislava 14 February 2005 Archived from the original on 7 May 2008 Retrieved 5 January 2008 Mahoney William 18 February 2011 The History of the Czech Republic and Slovakia ABC CLIO ISBN 9780313363061 Archived from the original on 21 January 2023 Retrieved 21 November 2020 via Google Books Part of Hungary Turkish occupation Archived 9 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine Slovakiasite com The Ottoman history of Slovakia The Slovak Spectator 2010 Archived from the original on 26 October 2023 Retrieved 30 December 2023 Bratislava Archived 27 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine Slovakiasite com Divided Memories The Image of the First World War in the Historical Memory of Slovaks Slovak Sociological Review Issue 3 2003 Archived from the original on 15 March 2022 Retrieved 25 November 2012 J V Polisencky History of Czechoslovakia in Outline Prague Bohemia International 1947 at 113 114 Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919 1939 edited by Professor E L Woodward Roham Butler M A and Margaret Lambert PhD Third Series vol iv Her Majesty s Stationery Office 1951 pps 94 99 Memorandum on the Present Political Situation in Slovakia Gerhard L Weinberg The Foreign Policy of Hitler s Germany Starting World War II 1937 1939 Chicago 1980 pp 470 481 Dominik Jun interviewing Professor Jan Rychlik 2016 Czechs and Slovaks more than just neighbours Radio Prague Archived from the original on 29 October 2016 Retrieved 28 October 2016 Slovaks condemn WWII deportations of Jews to Nazi death camps PBS NewsHour 25 May 2022 Archived from the original on 31 December 2023 Retrieved 31 December 2023 Obzaloba pri Narodnom sude v Bratislave Spis Onľud 17 46 20 May 1946 Daxner Igor 25 July 1946 Rozsudok Narodneho sudu v Bratislave Spis Tnľud 17 1946 Leni Yahil The Holocaust The Fate of European Jewry 1932 1945 Oxford 1990 pp 402 403 For the higher figure see Milan S Durica The Slovak Involvement in the Tragedy of the European Jews Abano Terme Piovan Editore 1989 p 12 for the lower figure see Gila Fatran The Struggle for Jewish Survival During the Holocaust in The Tragedy of the Jews of Slovakia Banska Bystrica 2002 p 148 Dawidowicz Lucy The War Against the Jews Bantam 1986 p 403 Rebekah Klein Pejsova 2006 An overview of the history of Jews in Slovakia Slovak Jewish Heritage Synagoga Slovaca Archived from the original on 5 September 2014 Retrieved 28 July 2011 Niznansky Eduard 2010 Nacizmus holokaust slovensky stat Nazism holocaust Slovak state in Slovak Bratislava Kalligram ISBN 978 80 8101 396 6 Slovenske Narodne Povstanie the Slovak national uprising Archived 16 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine SME sk Management of the Hungarian Issue in Slovak Politics PDF Archived from the original PDF on 25 March 2009 Retrieved 16 October 2010 Nemecka mensina na Slovensku po roku 1918 German minority in Slovakia after 1918 in Slovak 20 June 2008 Archived from the original on 20 June 2008 Retrieved 16 October 2010 Rock David Stefan Wolff 2002 Coming home to Germany The integration of ethnic Germans from central and eastern Europe in the Federal Republic New York Oxford Berghahn Dr Thomas Reimer Carpathian Germans history Mertsahinoglu com Archived from the original on 5 April 2023 Retrieved 16 October 2010 1 Archived 8 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine spectator sme sk Retrieved on 9 June 2019 Border killings remain unpunished decades later 2 Archived 26 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine upn gov sk Retrieved on 9 June 2019 Communist crimes in Slovakia Frankova Ruth 18 August 2017 Historians pin down number of 1968 invasion victims radio cz Archived from the original on 26 August 2017 Retrieved 30 August 2018 August 1968 Victims of the Occupation ustrcr cz Ustav pro studium totalitnich rezimu Archived from the original on 18 July 2011 Retrieved 23 June 2011 Images shed light on work of Czechoslovakia The Korea Times 26 July 2013 Bourne 1986 pp 270 271 Coltman 2003 pp 216 217 Bischof Gunter Karner Stefan Ruggenthaler Peter 2010 The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 Rowman amp Littlefield p 293 ISBN 978 0 7391 4304 9 Francev Vladimir 2015 Ceskoslovenske zbrane ve svete V miru i za valky in Czech Grada Publishing p 166 ISBN 978 80 247 5314 0 The Breakup of Czechoslovakia Slovakia Archived from the original on 10 October 2017 Retrieved 3 June 2011 Velvet divorce Dictionary reference com Archived from the original on 6 September 2015 Retrieved 3 June 2011 Czech Republic important partner for Slovakia Radio Slovakia International 19 June 2024 Michal Kovac President of the Slovak Republic 1993 1998 The Slovak Spectator 1 February 1999 Slovak Republic and the WTO World Trade Organization Organized crime terrorizes Slovak society The Slovak Spectator 26 February 1998 Slovakia s mafia pioneer The Slovak Spectator 17 March 2008 How the Mafias Came to Slovakia Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project 19 February 2019 The arrest of Vladimir Meciar The Economist 27 April 2000 Ex intelligence employee Lexa oversaw the 1995 abduction The Slovak Spectator 10 January 2018 Almost 30 years ago the Slovak president s son was kidnapped The trial may finally begin this year The Slovak Spectator 18 January 2024 New Meciar era privatisation details The Slovak Spectator 18 May 2009 Slovakia from black hole to neutron star EUobserver 29 August 2018 Divoke 90 roky Pozrite si zabudnute fotky z ery meciarizmu kedy si stat robil co chcel Hospodarske noviny 5 April 2017 Slovaks head to polls May 15 to elect president but why The Slovak Spectator 17 May 1999 The man who saved Slovakia in 1998 attempts a cinematic relaunch The Slovak Spectator 30 January 2023 Slovakia A story of reforms PDF Univerzita pre moderne Slovensko 2008 Schuster acceptable says West The Slovak Spectator 7 June 1999 Review of Slovakia s accession to the OECD PDF National bank of Slovakia February 2001 Nicolae Dragos Biea 2015 Economic growth in Slovakia Past successes and future challenges PDF Acta Oeconomica European Economy Economic Briefs 008 ed European Commission doi 10 2765 01942 ISBN 978 92 79 54469 9 ISSN 2443 8030 Archived PDF from the original on 29 August 2023 Retrieved 10 May 2023 Pogatsa Zoltan 2009 Tatra Tiger Growth Miracle or Belated Recovery Acta Oeconomica 59 4 Budapest Akademiai Kiado 377 390 doi 10 1556 AOecon 59 2009 4 1 ISSN 0001 6373 JSTOR 40729918 Ivan Gasparovic re elected President France 24 5 April 2009 Slovakia joins the euro European Commission ec europa eu Archived from the original on 8 March 2023 Retrieved 7 April 2021 Slovakia s economic success and the global crisis PDF CES commentary 2 February 2009 Energy crisis looms as all gas imports cease The Slovak Spectator 12 January 2009 New parliament meets Radicova becomes PM The Slovak Spectator 12 July 2010 Coalition splits government falls The Slovak Spectator 12 October 2011 Smer wins historic election victory The Slovak Spectator 11 March 2012 Kiska becomes president official results confirm The Slovak Spectator 30 March 2014 Refugee crisis affects Slovak politics The Slovak Spectator 28 December 2015 Prime Minister Robert Fico Smer The Slovak Spectator 22 March 2016 Jan Kuciak s last story Italian mafia s tentacles reach into Slovak politics Politico 28 February 2018 The Murders of Slovak Journalist Jan Kuciak and Partner Marina Kusnirova Represent a Serious Threat to Media Freedom in Europe Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom 1 March 2018 Enough of Smer people chanted in streets The Slovak Spectator 16 March 2018 Peter Pellegrini to become new prime minister Who is he The Slovak Spectator 15 March 2018 Walker Shaun 31 March 2019 Slovakia s first female president hails victory for progressive values The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Archived from the original on 15 September 2023 Retrieved 15 July 2020 It s official Matovic assigned to form the new government The Slovak Spectator 4 March 2020 Q amp A Will there be another Covid 19 wave in Slovakia What about vaccines The Slovak Spectator 22 September 2023 In 2020 Slovakia suffered its worst death toll since the end of WW2 The Slovak Spectator 11 February 2020 Worse than the financial crisis Economic recession and the very first drop in wages The Slovak Spectator 9 September 2020 Slovak premier government resign over Russian vaccine deal Associated Press 30 March 2021 Slovakia s prime minister is the first world leader to step down over covid controversy The Washington Post 29 March 2021 Igor Matovic stepped down as PM The Slovak Spectator 30 March 2021 Slovak president appoints Heger prime minister ending political crisis Reuters 1 April 2021 Energy crisis will force Slovak economy into a recession in 2023 The Slovak Spectator 28 December 2022 Slovakia comes out as one of Ukraine s biggest supporters The Slovak Spectator 25 April 2022 Slovakia s government collapses after a lost no confidence vote The Slovak Spectator 15 December 2022 Slovakia gets technocratic caretaker government until September s early election Associated Press 15 May 2023 Slovakia s Fico appointed prime minister for fourth time Reuters 25 October 2023 Slovakia s Fico announces halt of military aid to Ukraine Politico 26 October 2023 Slovakia to increase electricity supplies to Ukraine during colder months Slovak president says The Kyiv Independent 5 July 2024 PM Fico shot as he speaks to supporters in Handlova The Slovak Spectator 15 May 2024 Fico s Judas government should have backed Ukraine shooting suspect says Politico 23 May 2024 President Pellegrini Slovak interests matter to me more than praise from media and world leaders The Slovak Spectator 15 June 2024 Slovakia The World Factbook CIA 2007 Archived from the original on 19 March 2021 Retrieved 26 April 2008 Az dve patiny uzemia Slovenska pokryvaju lesy etrend sk Archived from the original on 29 August 2017 Retrieved 29 August 2017 Narodne parky na Slovensku lamnia sk Archived from the original on 10 October 2017 Retrieved 26 August 2017 Verejnosti voľne pristupne jaskyne ssj sk Archived from the original on 2 June 2023 Retrieved 19 August 2017 Nie ste prihlaseny Vodstvo Jazera rieky rybniky Slovenska Slovakregion sk Archived from the original on 25 February 2021 Retrieved 10 September 2013 Based on the Climate article from www slovensko com Archived from the original on 26 October 2007 Retrieved 10 September 2013 List of Parties Archived from the original on 24 January 2011 Retrieved 8 December 2012 National Biodiversity Strategy of Slovakia PDF Archived from the original PDF on 21 July 2008 Retrieved 8 December 2012 Regionalni geografie Slovenska elektronicka ucebnice geography upol cz Archived from the original on 26 May 2023 Retrieved 28 September 2019 Dinerstein Eric et al 2017 An Ecoregion Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm BioScience 67 6 534 545 doi 10 1093 biosci bix014 ISSN 0006 3568 PMC 5451287 PMID 28608869 Tlacova agentura Slovenskej republiky TASR sk www tasr sk Archived from the original on 12 January 2008 Retrieved 28 September 2019 Grantham H S et al 2020 Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40 of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity Supplementary Material Nature Communications 11 1 5978 Bibcode 2020NatCo 11 5978G doi 10 1038 s41467 020 19493 3 ISSN 2041 1723 PMC 7723057 PMID 33293507
