Slovakia Travel Podcast with Zuzana Horváth

Location

Central Europe, south of Poland

Terrain

Rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south

Climate

Temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Elevation

Highest point

Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m

Lowest point

Bodrok River 94 m

Mean elevation

458 m

Area

Total

49,035 sq km

Land

48,105 sq km

Water

930 sq km

Size comparison

About 1.5 times the size of Maryland; about twice the size of New Hampshire

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Land borders

Total

1,587 km

Border countries

Austria 105 km; Czechia 241 km; Hungary 627 km; Poland 517 km; Ukraine 97 km

Natural resources

Lignite, small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land

Land use

Agricultural land

38% (2023 est.)

Arable land

27.2% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

0.4% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

10.4% (2023 est.)

Forest

40.3% (2023 est.)

Other

21.4% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Flooding

Note

Landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys

Population

Total

5,563,649 (2024 est.)

Male

2,684,747

Female

2,878,902

Nationality

Noun

Slovak(s)

Adjective

Slovak

Ethnic groups

Slovak 83.8%, Hungarian 7.8%, Romani 1.2%, other 1.8% (includes Czech, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Polish), unspecified 5.4% (2021 est.)

Languages

Languages

Slovak (official) 81.8%, Hungarian 8.5%, Roma 1.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified 5.7% (2021 est.)

Major-language sample(s)

Svetova Kniha Faktov, nenahraditelny zdroj zakladnej informacie. (Slovak)

Religions

Roman Catholic 55.8%, Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession 5.3%, Greek Catholic 4%, Reformed Christian 1.6%, other 3%, none 23.8%, unspecified 6.5% (2021 est.)

Median age

Total

43.1 years (2025 est.)

Male

41.3 years

Female

44.4 years

Life expectancy

Total population

77.2 years (2024 est.)

Male

73.7 years

Female

81 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

54% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

0.17% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

A fairly even distribution throughout most of the country; slightly larger concentration in the west in proximity to the Czech border

Largest cities

441,000 BRATISLAVA (capital) (2023)

Background

Slovakia traces its roots to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. The Slovaks then became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. After the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (known as "Magyarization") led to a public backlash that boosted Slovak nationalism and strengthened Slovak cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who fell administratively under the Austrian half of the empire. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved at the end of World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar period, Slovak nationalist leaders pushed for autonomy within Czechoslovakia, and in 1939, in the wake of Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland, the newly established Slovak Republic became a German client state for the remainder of World War II.

After World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and came under communist rule within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. In 1968, Warsaw Pact troops invaded and ended the efforts of Czechoslovakia's leaders to liberalize communist rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful Velvet Revolution swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia underwent a nonviolent "velvet divorce" into its two national components, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in 2004 and the euro zone in 2009.

Government

Parliamentary republic

Capital

Bratislava

Time zone

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

Slovenska republika

Independence

1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)

National day

Constitution Day, 1 September (1992)

Overview

High-income EU and eurozone economy; manufacturing and exports led by automotive sector; growth supported by private consumption and public investment from EU funds, tempered by trade risks; increased taxes and withdrawal of energy subsidies contributing to rising but manageable inflation; strong labor demand and influx of foreign labor offsets aging workforce

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$40,300 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$39,500 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$38,600 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

2.8% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

10.5% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

12.8% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

5.3% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

5.9% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

6.2% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Euros (EUR) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2024

0.924 (2024 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

0.925 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

0.95 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

0.845 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

0.876 (2020 est.)

Main industries

Automobiles; metal and metal products; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals, synthetic fibers, wood and paper products; machinery; earthenware and ceramics; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products; food and beverages; pharmaceutical

Agriculture

Wheat, sugar beets, maize, milk, barley, rapeseed, sunflower seeds, potatoes, soybeans, pork (2023)

Airports

116 (2025)

Railways

Total 3,627 km (2020) 1,585 km electrified

Internet domain

.sk

Internet users

Percent of population 90% (2024 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

7.63 million (2023 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

132 (2022 est.)

Environmental issues

Air pollution and acid rain; land erosion from agricultural and mining practices; water pollution

Fresh water

50.1 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

UNESCO Global Geoparks

Total global geoparks and regional networks

1

Global geoparks and regional networks

Novohrad-Nógrád (includes Hungary) (2023)