Slovakia
GANG INFORMATION
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Slovak Republic
Geography
Area: 48, 845 sq. km. (about twice the size of New Hampshire).
Land boundaries (total): 1,524 km. Austria 91 km.; Czech Republic
215 km.; Hungary 677 km.; Poland 444 km.; Ukraine 97 km.
Cities: Capital--Bratislava.
Terrain: Landlocked with high mountains in the north, low mountains
in the center, hills to the west, Danube River basin in the south.
Climate: Temperate; average temperature in January 26.5°F;
in July 68°F. Annual precipitation 24"-40".
Elevation: Lowest point, Bodrok River 94 m. Highest point, Gerlachovsky
Stit 2,655 m.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Slovak(s).
Population (May 2001 census*): 5,379,455. Bratislava (428,672),
Kosice (236,093), Zilina (156,361), Nitra (163,540), Presov (161,782),
Banska Bystrica (111,984).
Annual population growth rate (2001 est.): 0.13%.
Ethnic groups (2001): Slovaks 85.8%, Hungarians 9.7%, Roma 1.7%,
Czechs 0.8%, Ruthenians 0.4%, Ukranians 0.2%, other 1.4%. Unofficial
estimates place the Roma population between 6%-10%.
Religions (2001): Roman Catholic 69%, Protestant 9%, Greek Catholic
4%, Orthodox 0.9%, other 0.6%, unknown 3.5%, 13% report no affiliation.
Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian, Ruthenian, Romany, and
Ukrainian. Education: Literacy--99%.
Health: Life expectancy (2001)--78 yrs. females; 70 yrs. males.
Work force (2.1 million in 2001): Industry, construction, commerce--61%;
financial, commercial, health services--18%; government and education--15%;
agriculture--6%.
Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy.
Independence: The Slovak Republic was established January 1, 1993
(former Czechoslovak Republic established 1918).
Constitution: Signed September 3, 1992.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister
(head of government), cabinet. Legislative--National Council of
the Slovak Republic (150 seats). Judicial--Supreme Court, Constitutional
Court.
Political parties: Distribution of the 150 parliamentary seats
is SMER (Direction) 50 seats; Slovak Democratic and Christian
Union (SDKU) 31 seats; Slovak National Party (SNS) 20 seats; Hungarian
Coalition Party (SMK) 20 seats; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
(HZDS) 15 seats; Christian-Democratic Movement (KDH) 14 seats.
Other parties include Alliance of New Citizens (ANO); Communist
Party of Slovakia (KSS); Freedom Forum (SF); People's Union (LU).
Suffrage: Universal at 18 years.
Administrative divisions: Eight administrative regions, 79 districts.
Economy
GDP (2004): $43.07 billion.
GDP growth rate (2005): 5.5%.
Nominal GDP per capita (2005): $16,100.
Unemployment (June 2005): 11.4%.
Natural resources: Antimony, mercury, iron, copper, lead, zinc,
magnesite, limestone, lignite.
Agriculture: Products--grains, potatoes, poultry, cattle, hogs,
sugar, beets, hops, fruit, forest products.
Industry: Types--iron and steel, chemicals, automobiles, light
industry, food processing, engineering, building materials.
Trade (2005): Exports--$32.39 billion: vehicles, iron and steel,
machinery and energy equipment, plastics, fiber optics. Imports
(2005)--$34.48 billion: mineral fuels and oils, machinery, audio/video
equipment, vehicles. Partners--Germany, Czech Republic, Austria,
United States, Hungary, Italy, Poland.
Foreign investment (1989-2005): Cumulative--$13.696 billion. Sources
of direct foreign investment--Netherlands 24.3%; Germany 19.4%,
Austria 14.1%; Italy 7.5%, United States (8th largest investor)
4.0%**. Sectors of direct foreign investment (through 2004-end)--industry
38.4%; banking and insurance 22.2%; wholesale and retail trade
13.1%; production of electricity, gas, and water 10.5%; transportation
and telecommunications 9.2%.
*Figures are based on immediate city's (not region) Permanent
Resident Population.
**Government of Slovakia official statistic. A recent U.S. Embassy
survey found that, taking into account investments of U.S. subsidiaries
in Europe, U.S. investment is more than 15% of the total.
PEOPLE
The majority of the 5.4 million inhabitants of the Slovak Republic
are Slovak (85.8%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority
(9.7%) and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions
of Slovakia. Other ethnic groups include Roma, Czechs, Ruthenians,
Ukrainians, Germans, and Poles. The Slovak constitution guarantees
freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (69%) practice
Roman Catholicism; the second-largest group is Protestants (9%).
About 2,300 Jews remain of the estimated pre-WWII population of
120,000. The official state language is Slovak, and Hungarian
is widely spoken in the southern region.
Despite its modern European economy and society, Slovakia has
a significant rural element. About 45% of Slovaks live in villages
of less than 5,000 people, and 14% in villages of less than 1,000.
HISTORY
Slovak history can find its roots in the Great Moravian Empire,
founded in the early ninth century. The territory of Great Moravia
included all of present western and central Slovakia, the Czech
Republic, and parts of neighboring Poland, Hungary, and Germany.
Saint Cyril and Methodius, known for the creation of a Cyrillic
alphabet, came to Great Moravia in the early tenth century as
missionaries to spread Christianity upon the invitation of the
king. The empire collapsed after only eighty years as a result
of the political intrigues and external pressures from invading
forces. Slovaks then became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where
they remained for the next 1,000 years. Bratislava became the
Hungarian capital for nearly two and a half centuries when the
Turks overran Hungary in the early 16th century.
Revolutions inspired by nationalism swept through Central Europe
in 1848, which led to the codification of the Slovak language
by Ludovit Stur in 1846 and later the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian
monarchy in 1867. As language and education policies favoring
the use of Hungarian, which came to be known as Magyarization,
grew stricter, Slovak nationalism grew stronger. Slovak intellectuals
cultivated closer cultural ties with the Czechs, who were themselves
ruled by the Austrians. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian
State after WWI, the concept of a single Czecho-Slovakian unified
state came to fruition. Tomas Masaryk signed the Pittsburgh Agreement,
declaring the intent of the Czech and Slovaks to found a new state
in May 1918, and a year later become Czechoslovakia’s first
president.
After the 1938 Munich agreement that forced Czechoslovakia to
cede territory to Germany, Slovakia declared its autonomy. Slovakia
became a Nazi puppet state led by the Catholic priest Jozef Tiso.
During this period, thousands of Slovak Jews and Roma were sent
to concentration camps to perish in the Holocaust. The Slovak
National Uprising, a resistance movement against the fascist Slovak
state, occurred in 1944 with the participation of Slovaks, Russians,
Jews, and some allied forces but was put down by Nazi forces.
At the conclusion of WWII, the reunified Czechoslovakia was considered
within the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. The communist
party, supported by the U.S.S.R., took over political power in
February 1948 and began to centralize power. The next four decades
were characterized by strict communist rule, interrupted only
briefly during the Prague Spring of 1968. The Slovak born Communist
leader Alexander Dubcek presided over a thawing of communist power
and proposed political, social, and economic reforms in his effort
to make "socialism with a human face" a reality. Concern
among other Warsaw Pact governments that Dubcek had gone to far
prompted an invasion and Dubcek’s removal from his position.
The 1970s were characterized by the development of a dissident
movement. On January 1, 1977 more than 250 human rights activists
signed a manifesto called Charter 77, which criticized the government
for failing to meet its human rights obligations. On November
17th, 1989, a series of public protests, known as the "Velvet
Revolution," began and led to the downfall of communist rule
in Czechoslovakia. Dissident groups, such as Charter 77 in the
Czech Republic and Public Against Violence in Slovakia, united
to form a transitional government and assist with the first democratic
elections since 1948. Several new parties emerged to fill the
political spectrum.
After the 1992 elections, Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic
Slovakia (HZDS), based on its appeal on fairness to Slovak demands
for autonomy, emerged as the leading party in Slovakia. In June
1992, the Slovak parliament voted to declare sovereignty and the
federation dissolved peacefully on January 1, 1993. Meciar's party--the
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS)--ruled Slovakia the
first 5 years as an independent state. His authoritarian style
as Prime Minister created international concerns about the democratic
development of Slovakia. In the 1998 elections, Movement for a
Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) received about 27% of the vote, but
went into the opposition, unable to find coalition partners.
A reform-oriented coalition formed a government led by Mikulas
Dzurinda, the chairman of the Slovak Democratic and Christian
Union (SDKU). The first Dzurinda government made political and
economic reforms that enabled Slovakia to enter the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), close virtually
all chapters in European Union (EU) negotiations, and make the
country a strong candidate for North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) accession. However, the popularity of the governing parties
declined sharply, and several new parties gained relatively high
levels of support in public opinion polls.
In the September 2002 parliamentary election, a last-minute surge
in support for the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU)
gave Dzurinda a mandate for a second term. He formed a government
with three other center-right parties: the Hungarian Coalition
Party (SMK), Christian Democrats (KDH), and Alliance of New Citizens
(ANO). The main priorities of the coalition were ensuring a strong
Slovak performance within NATO and the EU, fighting corruption,
attracting foreign investment, and reforming social services,
such as the health care system. Following a summer 2003 parliamentary
shake-up, the government lost its narrow parliamentary majority
and controlled only 69 of the 150 seats; however, the coalition
was relatively stable because of the parties' similar political
philosophies and conflicts between opposition parties.
Slovakia officially became a member of NATO on March 29, 2004
and joined the EU on May 1, 2004. The government strongly supported
Slovakia's NATO and EU accession and continued the democratic
and free market-oriented reforms begun by the first Dzurinda government.
Parliamentary elections were held June 17, 2006. Robert Fico
became Prime Minister, leading a coalition of SMER (Direction),
the Slovak National Party (SNS), and the Movement for a Democratic
Slovakia (HZDS).
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral
National Council of the Slovak Republic. Delegates are elected
for 4-year terms on the basis of proportional representation.
The Slovak political scene supports a wide spectrum of political
parties, including several social democratic parties and the nationalistic
Slovak National Party.
In January 1999, Parliament passed a constitutional amendment
allowing for direct election of the president. Kosice Mayor Rudolf
Schuster was elected president in a May 1999 run-off with former
Prime Minister Meciar and took office on June 15, 1999. On April
17, 2004, Ivan Gasparovic, a former Meciar deputy, was elected
president; he was inaugurated on June 15, 2004. Virtually all
executive powers of government belong to the prime minister, but
the president does serve as commander-in-chief of the armed forces,
can grant pardons, and has the right to return legislation to
Parliament. Parliament, however, can override this veto with a
simple majority of the 150 members of Parliament.
The country's highest appellate forum is the Supreme Court; below
that are regional, district, and military courts. In certain cases
the law provides for decisions of tribunals of judges to be attended
by lay judges from the citizenry. Slovakia also has a special
Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional issues. The
13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a
slate of candidates nominated by Parliament.
In 2002, Parliament passed legislation that created a Judicial
Council. This 18-member council, composed of judges, law professors,
and other legal experts, is now responsible for the nomination
of judges. All judges, except those of the Constitutional Court,
are appointed by the president from a list proposed by the Judicial
Council. The Council also is responsible for appointing Disciplinary
Senates in cases of judicial misconduct.
Principal Government Officials
President--Ivan Gasparovic
Prime Minister--Robert Fico
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Jan Kubis
Ambassador to the United States--Rastislav Kacer
Ambassador to the United Nations--Peter Burian
Ambassador to NATO--Igor Slobodnik
Ambassador to the European Union--Maros Sefcovic
The Slovak Republic has an embassy in the United States, located
at 3523 International Court, NW, Washington, DC, 20008.
Slovakia maintains a permanent mission to the United Nations
in New York and 11 honorary consulates in Chicago, Cleveland,
Detroit, Denver, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis,
Pittsburgh, and San Francisco. Slovakia opened consulates general
in New York in September 2003 and in Los Angeles in April 2005.
ECONOMY
Since the establishment of the Slovak Republic in January 1993,
Slovakia has continued the difficult transformation from a centrally
planned to a modern market-oriented economy. This reform slowed
in the 1994-98 period due to the crony capitalism and irresponsible
fiscal policies of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's government.
While economic growth and other fundamentals improved steadily
during Meciar's term, public and private debt and trade deficits
soared, and privatization, often tarnished by corrupt insider
deals, progressed only in fits and starts. Real annual GDP growth
peaked at 6.5% in 1995 but declined to 1.3% in 1999. Much of the
growth in the Meciar era, however, was attributable to high government
spending and over-borrowing rather than productive economic activity.
The economy grew 5.5% in 2004, the strongest growth in Central
Europe for the fourth consecutive year, and is predicted to expand
by more than 5% annually in 2005-2007. Headline consumer price
inflation dropped from 26% in 1993 to an average rate of 7.5%
in 2004, though this was boosted by hikes in subsidized utilities
prices ahead of Slovakia’s accession to the European Union.
In July 2005, the inflation rate dropped to 2.0% and is projected
at less than 3% in 2005 and 2.5% in 2006.
The current account deficit, a long-standing problem, shrank to
$1.4 billion, or 3.4% of GDP in 2004, from its recent peak at
$1.9 billion, or 8.8% of GDP in 2001. A drop in the trade deficit
accounted for most of the improvement. In 2004, Slovakia's trade
deficit amounted to 3.4% of GDP, up from 1.9% of GDP in 2003,
but much less than the gap of 10.3% in 2001. The foreign trade
balance is now largely influenced by strong growth in capital
good imports related to foreign investments in the country. This
trend will likely begin to reverse in 2006 when those investments
begin production and selling abroad. Slovakia’s total foreign
debt was $23.7 billion at the end of 2004, up $5.4 billion from
the 2003. The increase in the level of debt was caused largely
by exchange rate losses of the dollar.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovakia has increased dramatically.
Cheap and skilled labor force, low taxes, a 19% flat tax for corporations
and individuals, no dividend taxes, liberal labor code and a favorable
geographical location are Slovakia’s main advantages for
foreign investors. FDI grew by 600% from 2000 to around $13.6
billion or $2,540 per capita by the end of 2004.
Germany is Slovakia's largest trading partner, purchasing 28.7%
of Slovakia's exports and supplying 23.8% of its imports in 2004.
Other major partners include the Czech Republic (13.2% imports
and 13.3% exports), Italy (5.6% and 6.4%), Russia (9.4% and 1.2%),
and Austria (4.3% and 7.8%). Slovakia imports nearly all of its
oil and gas from Russia and its export markets are primarily OECD
and EU countries. More than 75% of its trade is with EU members
(73% imports and 85% exports). Slovakia’s exports to the
United States made up 4.8% of its overall exports in 2004, while
imports from the U.S. account for 1.6% of its total purchases
abroad.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The armed forces of the Slovak Republic number about 28,000 uniformed
personnel and are made up of Land Forces, Air and Air Defense
Forces and a joint Training and Support Forces Command. Land forces
consist of two mechanized infantry brigades, one with two mech
battalions (BMP-1) and a tank company (T-72) and the other with
two mech battalions (BMP-2) and a mechanized Immediate Reaction
Battalion. Each maneuver brigade is or is planned to be task organized
with combat support units, such as an artillery battalion, an
engineer battalion, a logistics support battalion, and an air
defense battery. Other land forces include a separate NBC battalion,
engineer battalion, ISTAR company, signal battalion and command
support battalion. Air and Air Defense Forces are comprised of
a fighter wing of MiG-29s, a wing of Mi-24 attack and Mi-17 utility
helicopters, and a SAM brigade. Military police and a special
operations regiment are under the command of the General Staff.
The armed forces are among the most respected national institutions
according to national opinion polls.
Slovakia's ambitious roadmap for defense reform is the Force
2015 Long-Term Plan, which strikes a well-reasoned balance between
requirements and resources and envisions a professionalized, combat-capable
force of 18,000 uniformed personnel. Slovakia has about 580 personnel
deployed to coalition and NATO-led operations in Afghanistan,
Iraq and Kosovo, as well as UN-led peace support operations (PSOs)
worldwide. Defense spending was 1.82% of GDP in 2005.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Slovakia officially became a member of the NATO on March 29, 2004
and joined the EU in May 2004. Slovakia has been an active participant
in U.S.- and NATO-led military actions and a stalwart partner
in the war on terrorism, with military engineering brigades on
the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Slovakia participates in a
joint Czech-Slovak peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
Slovakia is a member of the United Nations and participates in
its specialized agencies. It is a member of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization
(WTO), and the OECD. It also is part of the Visegrad Four (Slovakia,
Hungary, Czech Republic, and Poland), a forum for discussing areas
of common concern. Upon the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993,
Slovakia and the Czech Republic entered into a Customs Union,
which facilitates a relatively free flow of goods and services.
Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries. There
are 35 embassies and 26 honorary consulates in Bratislava.
U.S.-SLOVAKIA RELATIONS
The fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia in 1989 and
the subsequent split of the two republics on January 1, 1993,
allowed for renewed cooperation between the United States and
Slovakia. The election of a pro-Western, reformist government
in late 1998 further boosted close ties between the countries.
The United States delivered more than $200 million after 1990
to support the rebuilding of a healthy democracy and market economy
in Slovakia, primarily through programs administered by the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID). Slovakia and the
United States retain strong diplomatic ties and cooperate in the
military and law enforcement areas. The U.S. Department of Defense
programs have contributed significantly to Slovak military reforms.
Millions of Americans have their roots in Slovakia, and many
retain strong cultural and familial ties to the Slovak Republic.
President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major
role in the establishment of the original Czechoslovak state on
October 28, 1918, and President Wilson's Fourteen Points were
the basis for the union of the Czechs and Slovaks. Tomas Masaryk,
the father of the Czechoslovak state and its first president,
visited the United States during World War I and used the U.S.
Constitution as a model for the first Czechoslovak Constitution.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Rodolphe "Skip" M. Vallee
Deputy Chief of Mission--Larry Silverman
Political Officer--Debra Hevia
Economic Officer--William Laitinen
Commercial Officer--Sanford Owens
Consul--Robin Haase
Management Officer--vacant
Public Affairs Officer--vacant
General Services Officer--Samuel Dykema
Defense Attaché--Lt. Col. Jack Wallace
Office of Defense Cooperation--Major Brad Hocevar
The U.S. Embassy in Slovakia is located at Hviezdoslavovo namestie
4, 811 02 Bratislava (tel: 421-2-5443-0861 or 421-2-5443-3338;
fax: 421-2-5443-0096). Duty hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The embassy is closed on U.S. and Slovak holidays.
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides
Consular Information Sheets, Travel Warnings, and Public Announcements.
Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include
information on entry requirements, currency regulations, health
conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political
disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country.
Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends
that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Public Announcements
are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about
terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas
that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers.
Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau
of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system:
202-647-3000. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings
also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page:
http://travel.state.gov. Consular Affairs Tips for Travelers publication
series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning
a safe trip abroad, are on the Internet and hard copies can be
purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may
be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202)
647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call
202-647-4000.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department
of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S.
passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778).
Customer service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are
available Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time,
excluding federal holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.
A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm
give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations
or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety
for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information
for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280)
is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.
Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency
and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest
to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a
country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country,
see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this
publication).
U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous
areas are encouraged to register their travel via the State Department’s
travel registration web site at https://travelregistration.state.gov
or at the Consular section of the U.S. embassy upon arrival in
a country by filling out a short form and sending in a copy of
their passports. This may help family members contact you in case
of an emergency.
Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov,
the Department of State web site provides timely, global access
to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background
Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key
officers of Foreign Service posts and more.
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance
and market information offered by the federal government and provides
trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process,
and more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade
information from the Federal government. The site includes current
and historical trade-related releases, international market research,
trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access
to the National Trade Data Bank.
