President: Ivan Gasparovic Prime minister-elect: Robert Fico
Population
523,568
5,483,088
Life Expectancy
71.000 years
76.030 years
Capital City
Praia
Bratislava
Largest city
Praia (population: 113,364)
Bratislava (population: 423,737)
Human Development Index
0.705
0.872
GDP per capita
$4,000 US
$23,600 US
Literacy Rate
76.6%
99.6%
Corruption Perception Index
5.1
5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
18.1%
19.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
21.000%
13.500%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
5 July 1975 (from Portugal)
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Religions
Roman Catholic (infused with indigenous beliefs), Protestant (mostly Church of the Nazarene)
Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census)
Languages
Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)
Exports
fuel, shoes, garments, fish, hides
vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004)
External Debt
$657,700,000 $
$72,940,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Cape Verdean escudos (CVE) per US dollar - 73.84 (2008 est.), 81.235 (2007), 87.946 (2006), 88.67 (2005), 88.808 (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
0.500%
1.080%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
6
Location
Western Africa, group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal
Central Europe, south of Poland
Area
4,033 km sq
49,035 km sq
Coastline
965 km
0 km
Climate
temperate; warm, dry summer; precipitation meager and very erratic
