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Slovakia's location

Slovakia is a small country in Central Europe, with an area of 49 thousand kmIndeks górny 2², which is approximately the equivalent size to two large Polish voivodeships. It is our smallest neighbour. Like the Czech Republic, it has no diresct access to the sea, meaning that it is a landlocked country. The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava.

The border between Slovakia and Poland is 541 km in length and runs entirely along the Carpathian mountains, including along their highest ridges in the Tatra, Beskid and Pienin mountains. Despite its small surface area, Slovakia borders as many as five countries (the significantly larger Czech republic borders only four) – besides Poland, they are the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and the Ukraine.

Natural conditions

In contrast to the upland Czech Republic, Slovakia is a mountain country. The Carpathians occupy the largest part of the country's area, including:

• The Beskids – along the border with Poland and the Czech Republic;

• The Tatras and the Pienins – along the border with Poland;

• The Low Tatras – a range of tall mountains in the centre of the country; „the smaller brother” (2043 metres above sea level) of the main Tatra mountain range with an almost identical geological structure, which consist mainly of hard granites and crystalline shales as well as soft limestone karst;

• The Slovak Ore Mountains – a medium‑sized mountain range in the South of the country; volcanic rocks and forms occur in their western part, for example the Pol'ana calderacalderacaldera (1458 metres above sea level); the eastern part, called Slovak Paradise is built of limestone karst full of various rock forms, for example, large caves.

In addition to the strongly undulating mountain terrain, flat areas stretch along Slovakia's southern borders. In the centre, a limestone plateau which is known as the Slovak Karst is located. To the South‑West is the Danubian Lowland, which is a part of the Little Hungarian Plain. The Eastern Slovak Lowland, which is part of the Great Hungarian Plain, is located in the South‑East. Lowlands occupy a total of less than 20% of Slovakia's surface area.

Almost the whole of the Slovakian region belongs to the Danube basin and the Black Sea basin. The Danube itself – the second largest river in Europe (after the Volga) – has a length of 172 km in Slovakia, flows through Bratislava and further on is a border river with Hungary. Most of the other Slovakian rivers flow from the mountains in a general southern direction. The longest is the Vah with a length of 403 km.

Climate of Slovakia In Slovakia there is a temperate, warm transitional climate, but in large areas it is a mountainous type of this climate. In the east of the country there are influences of continental air masses and the climate there is a bit more acute. Long and cold winters are common. In the south, on the Danube, in the summer it is much warmer than in Poland due to the greater solar radiation.

The population of Slovakia

Almost 5.5 million people live in Slovakia, about as many as in our Masovian Voivodeship. The average population density is 110 inhabitants per 1 kmIndeks górny 2², which is somewhat lower than in Poland. Slovakia's low population is a result of the dominant mountanous terrain, which makes settling difficult. The population mainly lives on lower terrains – lowlands or river valleys. The greatest concentration of the population occurs in the South‑West of the country.

Slovakia's economy

Slovakia's free‑market economy is a dynamic and one of the fastest‑growing economies in Europe. Slovakia, after the Czech Republic and Slovenia, is the third most economically developed country in the former Communist Bloc. There are clear differences in economic development between the eastern, poorer part of the country, and the western part, which is richer.

Main sectors of the Slovakia's economy

The following sectors have the highest value in the overall GDP of Slovakia (2018 data):

The share of agriculture in Slovakia's GDP amounts to 2.69%. The problem is the lack of improvement in the food self‑sufficiency of Slovakia. Domestic production covers 60% of the demand for agri‑food products.

Slovakia has a large tourist potential, which is positively influenced by natural conditions - the location from 95 m (Streda nad Bodrogom) to 2 656 m above sea level. (Gerlachovský štít, the highest peak of the Carpathians), rivers, lakes and thermal springs.

Keywords

Bratislava, Slovak paradise, the Danube

Glossary