King: Albert II Prime Minister-designate: Elio di Rupo
President: Ivan Gasparovic Prime minister-elect: Robert Fico
Population
10,438,353
5,483,088
Life Expectancy
79.650 years
76.030 years
Capital City
Brussels
Bratislava
Largest city
Brussels (population: 1,019,020)
Bratislava (population: 423,737)
Human Development Index
0.948
0.872
GDP per capita
$38,200 US
$23,600 US
Literacy Rate
99%
99.6%
Corruption Perception Index
7.3
5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
36.2%
19.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Albert Frere ($2.4bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
7.700%
13.500%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
4 October 1830 (a provisional government declared independence from the Netherlands); 21 July 1831 (King LEOPOLD I ascended to the throne)
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Religions
Roman Catholic 75%, other (includes Protestant) 25%
Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census)
Languages
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)
Exports
machinery and equipment, chemicals, diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004)
External Debt
$1,399,000,000,000 $
$72,940,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6802 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Slovak koruny (SKK) per US dollar - 21.05 (2008 est.), 24.919 (2007), 29.611 (2006), 31.018 (2005), 32.257 (2004) note: on 1 January 2009 Slovakia adopted the euro as legal tender
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.300%
1.080%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
6
Location
Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
