Slovakia

oYear Founded: 1993

oPopulation: over five million

oPrimary Language: Slovak

oEthnic Make-up: 85.8% Slovaks,
9.5% Hungarians,
1.9% Roma,
2.8% other minority groups

oPolitical System: Parliamentary republic

oYear Entered the European Union: 2004

oRepresentative of the European Union (include party): Maroš Šefčovi

oType of Economy: The Slovak economy is considered a tiger economy, with the country dubbed the Tatra Tiger. Slovakia has achieved a difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern, high-income market economy. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in private hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy is characterized by sustained high economic growth.

oCurrency: Euro

oCurrent Exchange rate for American Currency: Slovakia has a small, open economy, and therefore needs high export efficiency. After the fall of communism, Slovak companies had major problems selling their products abroad since restructuring and privatization brought significant changes to the structure of the economy

oGDP: 2008 estimate
- Total $109.677 billion (59th)
- Per capita $22,241, (41st)

oPercentage of Trade within the European Union: More than 85.1% of its trade is with EU members

oUnemployment Rate: 8.4% (2008)

oChief Exports: Vehicles 25.9%,
Machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%,
Base metals 14.6%,
Chemicals and minerals 10.1%,
Plastics 5.4% (2004)

oKey Imports: Machinery and transport equipment 41.1%,
Intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%,
Fuels 12.3%,
Chemicals 9.8%,
Miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003)

oMajor Religions: Roman Catholic 68.9%,
Protestant 10.8%,
Greek Catholic 4.1%,
Other or unspecified 3.2%,
None 13%

oSurrounding Countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Ukraine

oLiteracy Rate: Total population: 99.6%
Male: 99.7%
Female: 99.6%

oOne Interesting Fact: The most famous American of Slovak descent is probably pop artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987), whose parents immigrated from Miková in north-eastern Slovakia.