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flag Slovakia Slovakia: Economic and Political Outline

Economic Indicators | Foreign Trade in Figures | Sources of General Economic Information | Political Outline

Economic Indicators

Since 2000, Slovakia has been experiencing a sustained and steady GDP growth rate, notably induced by its integration into the European Union in May 2004. The taxation system is well-adapted to the needs of trade and the workforce is highly qualified. The country also benefits from an advantageous geographical location, being located at the crossroads of Central Europe. The budgetary deficit is in constant decrease, mainly due to the major structural reforms set in place in the preparation process to its integration into the eurozone.

However, the Slovak economy has been affected by the financial crisis of 2008-2009, followed by the crisis in the eurozone deepening in 2011. As a member of the eurozone since 2009, Slovakia suffered an overall slowing down of th eeconomy. After having registered growth of 4% in 2010, it contracted to 3% in 2011 (which nonetheless still remains one of the highest growth rates among the Central European countries) and should further slow down to 1% in 2012.

The Slovak economy is also negatively affected by weak domestic demand, with its construction sector in crisis and a continued decrease in consumer spending (-3% in 2011). Inflation rose to 4% in 2011 and unemployment continues to surge despite positive economic growth, reaching 13.4% in 2011. The country's debt is expected to reach 45% of GDP in 2012. Indeed, much of the Slovak foreign debt (45%) depends on the eurozone, with only exports driving growth. They should remain dynamic in 2012, depending on the economic dynamism of its European partners.

 
Main Indicators 2009201020112012 (e)2013 (e)
GDP (billions USD) 87.8287.45e97.24e101.20107.08
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) -4.84.03.3e3.34.3
GDP per Capita (USD) 16,18716,104e17,88918,59819,660
General Government Balance (in % of GDP) -6.4-6.7-4.2-3.4-2.9
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) 35.441.8e44.946.947.1
Inflation Rate (%) 0.90.73.6e1.82.9
Unemployment Rate (% of the Labor Force) 12.114.413.412.311.3
Current Account (billions USD) -2.82-3.02e-1.23e-1.10-0.73
Current Account (in % of GDP) -3.2-3.5e-1.3e-0.7-

Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database ; World Bank , Last Available Data

Note: (e) Estimated Data

Main Sectors of Industry

The agriculture sector is not much developed in Slovakia and it represents less than 3.5% of the GDP. The main agricultural products in the country are cereals, potatoes, sugar beets and grapes. The mountainous area of Slovakia has vast forests and pastures which are used for intensive sheep grazing, and it is rich in mineral resources including iron, copper, lead, and zinc.

The low importance of the agricultural sector also reflects the secondary and tertiary character of the Slovak economy.

The secondary sector represents about a third of the GDP. The heavy industry sector such as metal and steel are still in a restructuring phase. High value-added industries such as electronics, engineering and petro-chemicals are installed in the western part of the country. Some sectors, like the automobile and consumer goods, offer attractive investment opportunities to foreign investors.

The services sector represents about 60% of the GDP. It is dominated by trade and real estate. The development of tourism can also become an important sector for the Slovak economy in the next following years. Already in 2011 it was among the most dynamic sectors of the Slovak economy.

 
Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector Agriculture Industry Services
Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) 3.6 37.9 58.4
Value Added (in % of GDP) 2.7 35.3 62.1
Value Added (Annual % Change) 6.0 6.0 -7.3

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

 

Find more information about your business sector on our service Market reports.

 
Monetary Indicators 20042005200620072008
Euro (EUR) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD 32.2631.0229.7024.6921.36

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

 

Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency converter.

 
Learn more about Market Analyses about Slovakia on Globaltrade.net, the Directory for International Trade Service Providers.
 

Indicator of Economic Freedom

Score:
69.5/100
Position:
Moderately free
World Rank:
36/179
Regional Rank:
20/42

Distribution of Economic freedom in the world
Source: 2011 Index of Economic freedom, Heritage Foundation

Note: The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.

 

Country Risk

See the Country Risk Analysis Provided By Ducroire.

 

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Foreign Trade in Figures

Slovakia's strong industrial tradition, tax incentives, a still inexpensive and skilled workforce, its rapidly developing infrastructure boosted by an influx of EU funds and a fragile but real growth make the country a place of predilection for trade. Since 2009, the economic growth of Slovakia has been driven by its exports. These amounted to almost 2 billion euros in 2011 and should remain high in 2012. The share of foreign trade inthe  GDP of the country, which exceeded 100% in 2010, too remains very important.

Slovak trade balance is in deficit, mainly because of energy imports from Russia and the substantial imports of machinery and electrical and electronic equipment used in the automotive and energy sectors. Nevertheless, the dynamism of the tertiary sector is expected to eventually improve this situation.

The top three import partners are Germany, the Czech Republic and Russia. Its three main customers are Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. The European crisis has accentuated the country's exposure since more than a third of its exports depend on the eurozone.

 
Foreign Trade Indicators 20072008200920102011
Imports of Goods (million USD) 60,61673,91255,65066,15177,138
Exports of Goods (million USD) 58,51571,14256,08265,12779,362
Imports of Services (million USD) 6,4139,0667,9406,7736,987
Exports of Services (million USD) 6,9858,4146,2635,8136,527
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 8.93.38.48.0-
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 13.83.28.87.5-
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 87.885.3103.7105.7-
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 86.783.099.5102.5-
Trade Balance (million USD) -909-8991,374182-
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) -376-1,584-355-806-
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 174.5168.3203.2208.3-

Source: WTO - World Trade Organization ; World Bank , Last Available Data

 

Main Partner Countries

Main Customers
(% of Exports)
2010
Germany 19.2%
Czech Republic 13.7%
Poland 7.3%
France 6.8%
Austria 6.8%
See More Countries 46.1%
Main Suppliers
(% of Imports)
2010
Germany 16.1%
Czech Republic 10.3%
Russia 9.6%
South Korea 8.0%
China 6.2%
See More Countries 49.8%

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

 

Main Products

Main Exports
(% of Exports)
2010
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 14.2%
Television receivers, whether or not incorporating...Television receivers, whether or not incorporating radio-broadcast receivers or sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus; video monitors and video projectors 11.8%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 3.8%
Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s. 3.6%
Transmission apparatus for radio-telephony,...Transmission apparatus for radio-telephony, radio-telegraphy, radio-broadcasting or television, whether or not incorporating reception apparatus or sound recording or reproducing apparatus; television cameras; still image video cameras and other video camera recorders; digital cameras 2.1%
See More Products 64.5%
Main Imports
(% of Imports)
2010
Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles...Parts and accessories for tractors, motor vehicles for the transport of ten or more persons, motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and special purpose motor vehicles of heading 8701 to 8705, n.e.s. 7.4%
Parts suitable for use solely or principally with...Parts suitable for use solely or principally with transmission and reception apparatus for radio-telephony, radio-telegraphy, radio-broadcasting, television, television cameras, still image video cameras and other video camera recorders, radar apparatus, radio navigational aid apparatus or radio remote control apparatus, n.e.s. 6.8%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 4.7%
Petroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbonsPetroleum gas and other gaseous hydrocarbons 4.3%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 2.6%
See More Products 74.1%

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import export flows.

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Sources of General Economic Information

Ministries
Ministry of the Economy
Ministry of Finance
Statistical Office
Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic
Central Bank
National Bank of Slovakia
Stock Exchange
Bratislava Stock Exchange (in Slovak)
Search Engines
Zoznam
Pages.sk
Dmoz.org
Economic Portals
Slovakia information portal

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Political Outline

Executive Power
The President is the head of state and is elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term. Following the parliamentary elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed Prime Minister by the President for a four-year term. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and enjoys the executive powers which include implementation of the law in the country and running the day-to-day affairs. The cabinet is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
Legislative Power
The legislature is unicameral in Slovakia. The parliament, called National Council, consists of 150 seats; its members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The executive branch of government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of the National Council, often expressed through a vote of confidence. Legislative power is vested in the National Council. The Prime Minister cannot dissolve the parliament, but the President can do so if circumstances require this. The people of Slovakia enjoy considerable political rights.
Main Political Parties
Slovakia has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party normally has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties need to work with each other to form coalition governments. The major political parties in the country are:

SNS (Slovak National Party), – a centre-right party based on principles of Christianity, Nationalism and Socialism;
KDH (Christian Democratic Movement), – Christian democrats;
Smer-SD (Direction - Social Democracy), – generally considered to be a left-of-centre political party;
SMK (Hungarian Coalition Party) , – a party of the ethnic Hungarian minority;
LS-HZDS (People's Party - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia), – a social democratic party;
SDKU-DS (Slovak Democratic and Christian Union - Democratic Party), – a Christian democratic party.
Current Political Leaders
President: Ivan GASPAROVIC (since June 2004) – non-partisan, but nominated by political parties
Prime Minister: Robert FICO (since 4 April 2012) - SMER - sociálna demokracia
Next Election Dates
Presidential:July 2014
National Council: In 2014
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:
27/179
Evolution:
8 places up compared to 2010

Source: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2011, Reporters Without Borders

Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7
Civil Liberties:
1/7

Map of freedom 2010

Note: The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

 

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