Slovakia – information about the country

Country name	Slovakia
Official name	Slovak Republic
Capital	Bratislava
Continent	Europe
Area	49,033 km2
Population	5,415,949 (2013)
Foundation of a state	1/1/1993
The highest mountains	Gerlachovský štít 2655 m
Longest rivers	Danube 2850 km (in the country 172 km), Váh 389 km
State system	a pluralist republic with a unicameral parliament
The biggest cities	Bratislava (capital) 455,000, Košice 242,000, Nitra 95,000
Official language	Slovak
Ethnicity/National Composition	Slovaks 83.5%, Hungarians 10.7%, Roma 4%, Czechs 0.8%, others 1%
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic 60.5%, Protestant 8%, Greek Catholic 3.3%, Orthodox 0.7%, Atheist and no religion 9.5%, other 18%
Currency	1 crown (Sk) = 100 haliers
gross domestic product (GDP)	US$24,142 (2012)
Average life expectancy of the population	74.73 years (2006)
Structure of GDP	agriculture, forestry and fishing 7%, mining and industry 38%, construction 4%, services 51%

Slovakia – neighboring states

State	Capital	Area	Population
Czechia	Prague	78,866 km2	10,513,800
Hungary	Budapest	93,032 km2	9,906,000
Poland	Warsaw	312,685 km2	38,502,396
Austria	Vienna	83,858 km2	8,504,850
Ukraine	Kyiv	603,700 km2	45,426,200

Country overview

According to Abbreviationfinder, Slovakia is a landlocked state in Central Europe. Common borders in the northwest with the Czech Republic, in the north with Poland, in the east with Ukraine, in the south with Hungary, in the southwest with Austria.

The capital is Bratislava. Currency – euro. The official language is Slovak. Religion – Catholicism.

The landscape is mountainous. The climate is moderate. Summer is warm, winter is cold. Carpathian mountains, including the Tatras and Beskids in the north, beautiful oak and beech forests. Danube valley in the south.

The territory of Slovakia covers part of the Western and environs of the Eastern Carpathians and the Middle Danube and Potyskoi lowlands, from which the wide valleys of Ves, Grozdi, Gornad extend northwards. These valleys are densely populated. The mountain ranges opposite are sparsely populated, and sometimes almost deserted. The largest mountain ranges are the High Tatras and Low Tatras, the highest point of which is Mount Gerlachovsky Shtit (2655 m).

Slovakia is attractive for tourists because of its beautiful nature. These are primarily mountains, caves and cultural and historical attractions, such as medieval castles and cities. These are folk architecture, resorts and ski resorts. According to some data, the country has the highest concentration of castles per person. The country is visited by more than 1.6 million tourists a year.

Favorite places for tourists include the capital Bratislava and the High Tatras with the city of Poprad. Travelers also visit other mountainous regions – the Low Tatras with the bases of Jasna Chopok, Donovaly, the Slovak Paradise National Park, the Liptov foothill regions with thermal water parks in Besenova and the Liptovska Mara reservoir and Spish with the famous Spisska Castle and Levoča, whose historical center is listed by UNESCO. In addition to the Bratislava castle, Zvolensky castle, Krasnaya Gvorka, Chakhtitsky castle, Trenchinsky castle are also known. Of the resorts, tourists first visit Piestany, Trencianske Teplice, Rajecka Teplice, Bardejovske Kupel.

The majority of tourists are citizens of Slovakia themselves (59.1%), tourists from the Czech Republic make up about 13.4%, Poland 4.8%, Germany 3.7%, Austria 1.7%, Hungary 1.7%, Ukraine 1%. The citizens of Slovakia themselves most often rest in Croatia (127,500), Turkey (82,465), Greece (73,715), Bulgaria (63,592), Italy (53,121), Egypt (46,942).

Interesting facts

The Slavs settled in the territory of Slovakia in the 5th century AD, during the Great Migration.

Thanks to transverse valleys and low passes, important routes from Poland to Hungary pass through Slovakia. But longitudinal valleys and paths unite the west, center and east of Slovakia. The transitional geographical position and the small size of the Slovak ethnic territory (40,000 km2) led to the fact that it did not represent a separate state and was part of the Kingdom of Hungary or was united with the Czech Republic.

The most popular sports in Slovakia are football, handball, tennis, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, athletics, boxing, slalom kayaking, cycling. Winter sports include ice hockey and skiing (biathlon).

Country data

Location: Europe

Time zone: CET

Total area: 49,035 km²

Land area: 48,105 km²

Water area: 930 km²

Length of the state border: 1,474 km

Bordering countries:
Austria: 91 km
Poland: 420 km
Czech Republic: 197 km
Ukraine: 90 km
Hungary: 676 km

Coastline: 0 km

Capital: Bratislava

Regions: 8
Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky

Electric current: 220 V / 50 Hz

Telephone code: 00 421 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m

Population

Population: approx. 5.4 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 0% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 110

Life expectancy: 73 (male), 81 (female)

Official language: Slovak, Hungarian

Religions:

• 62% Roman Catholic
• 13% atheists
• 8% Protestants
• 17% other

Climate

The summer months (June-August) are mostly warm, with temperatures of 24-30 ° C. In winter (December-February) the average temperature is -5 ° C to 0 ° C. Occasionally it can get colder in the valleys.

You have to expect rain all year round as there is no specific rainy season.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Euro (EUR)

Classification: 1 euro = 100 cents

ATMs: Available in many cities.

International credit cards: These are accepted by many hotels and shops.

Regulations: National and foreign currencies can be imported and exported in unlimited amounts.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

Travel advice

There is currently no country-specific safety notice for Slovakia.

Economy

Since Slovakia broke away from the state union with the Czech part in 1993, economic development has stalled.

The step into the free market economy brought a great change for all areas of industry. The economy is still troubled by the high unemployment rate of around 13%.

Industries: building materials, chemistry, electronics, power generation, vehicle construction, wood processing, food production, mechanical engineering, metal processing, paper production, textiles

Natural resources: lignite, iron ore, copper, manganese, agricultural land, salt

Land use:

• Usable land: 31%
• Grain cultivation: 3%
• Pasture area: 17%
• Forests: 41%
• other: 8%

Plants

Large parts of the country are still covered with forest. Above all spruce, linden and maple trees can be found here.

There are many species of plants and grass that are typical of Europe and also some rare species in clearings and meadows.

Animals

Many animal species that lived in the region a hundred years ago have become extinct or have been severely decimated.

The red deer is one of the most common large living wild animals.

The protection of the animal world has been given a higher priority again in the last decade thanks to new laws.