President: Ivan Gasparovic Prime minister-elect: Robert Fico
Population
15,223,680
5,483,088
Life Expectancy
75.940 years
76.030 years
Capital City
Quito
Bratislava
Largest city
Guayaquil (population: 1,952,030)
Bratislava (population: 423,737)
Human Development Index
0.807
0.872
GDP per capita
$8,600 US
$23,600 US
Literacy Rate
91%
99.6%
Corruption Perception Index
2
5
Percentage of Women in Parliament
25%
19.3%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
4.200%
13.500%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
24 May 1822 (from Spain)
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Religions
Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census)
Languages
Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)
Exports
petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004)
External Debt
$10,050,000,000 $
$72,940,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000
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
0.900%
1.080%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
6
Location
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Central Europe, south of Poland
Area
283,561 km sq
49,035 km sq
Coastline
2,237 km
0 km
Climate
tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
