About Slovakia

Background
The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I allowed the Slovaks to join the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.

Population
5,439,448 (July 2005)

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 465,304/female 443,967)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 1,929,448/female 1,947,735)
65 years and over: 12% (male 244,609/female 408,385) (2006)

Population growth rate
0.15% (2006)

Birth rate
10.65 births/1,000 population (2006)

Net migration rate
0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006)

Infant morality rate
total: 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)

Total fertility rate
1.33 children born/woman (2006)

Ethnic groups
Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Roma 1.7%, Ruthenian/Ukrainian 1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Religions
Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census)

Languages
Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)

GDP - real growth rate
6.1% (2005)

GDP - per capita
$16,300 (2005)

Unemployment rate
11.7% (2005)

Population below poverty line
21%