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SLOVAKIA

(August 2001)

Slovak Republic (Slovenská Republika), state of central Europe. It confines to north with Poland, to east with Ukraine, to south with Hungary, to southwest with Austria and northwest with the Czech Republic. Together with this last  constituted Czechoslovakia, divided in the two independent republics the 1st January  1993. The country has a surface of 49.035 kmsq. The capital city is Bratislava. The city of Bratislava, capital of the country, has a population of 449.547 inhabitants (1999); other center of relief is Kosice.

The Slovakia is administratively divided in four regions, that also include the autonomous territory of the capital city Bratislava. The regions, divided in 38 districts, don't possess powers defined by the constitutional arrangement. The four administrative divisions are the Western Slovakia, the Central Slovakia, the Eastern Slovakia and Bratislava.

The Slovakia has a population of 5.414.937 inhabitants, with an average density of 110 unities for sq. km. The western regions of the country are more densely populated.

The country is inhabited in prevalence from Slovaks (85%), a population of Slavic origin. Absorbed to the beginning of the X century from the Magiaris of Hungary, from which got independence in the XIX century, they were devoted for a long time to the agriculture, characteristic that created during the history tensions with the Czech neighbors. The Slovakia also entertains a minority group of around 570.000 Hungarians (that represent 10% of the population), around 300.000 gypsies and small communities of Polish, German, Russians and Ukranians. Between the Slovak majority and the Hungarian minorities tensions of ethnic origin are sometimes verified.