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.
Area: 49,035 km2
Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Natural resources: lignite, small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land
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.)note: data represent population by nationality; Romani populations are usually underestimated in official statistics and may represent 7–11% of Slovakia's population
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)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
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.)
Capital: Bratislava
Government type: parliamentary republic
Chief of state: President Peter PELLEGRINI (since 15 June 2024)
Head of government: Prime Minister Robert FICO (since 25 October 2023)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime ministerelections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election first round held on 23 March 2024 with a runoff on 6 April 2024 (next to be held in 2029); following National Council elections (every 4 years), the president designates a prime minister candidate, usually the leader of the party or coalition that wins the most votes, who must win a vote of confidence in the National Councilelection results: 2024: Peter PELLEGRINI elected president in the second round; percent of vote in second round Peter PELLEGRINI 53.1%; Ivan KORCOK 46.9%; percent of vote in first round - Ivan KORCOK (independent) 42.5%; Peter PELLEGRINI (Hlas-SD) 37%; Stefan HARABIN (independent) 11.7%, other 8.8%; 2019: Zuzana CAPUTOVA elected president in second round; percent of vote - Zuzana CAPUTOVA (PS) 58.4%, Maros SEFCOVIC (independent) 41.6%
Description: legislature name: National Council (Narodna rada Slovenskej republiky)legislative structure: unicameralchamber name: National Council (Národná rada)number of seats: 150 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 9/30/2023parties elected and seats per party: Smer - Social Democracy (Smer-SD) (42); Progressive Slovakia (PS) (32); Hlas (“Voice”) - SD (27); Coalition OĽaNO and Friends, 'For the People' and 'Christian Union' (16); Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) (12); Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) (11); Slovak National Party (SNS) (10)percentage of women in chamber: 23.3%expected date of next election: September 2027
Information derived by "The World Factbook 2021. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2021. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/"