transitional government note: following a successful referendum on independence for the Autonomous Region of Eritrea on 23-25 April 1993, a National Assembly, composed entirely of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, was established as a transitional legislature; a Constitutional Commission was also established to draft a constitution; ISAIAS Afworki was elected president by the transitional legislature; the constitution, ratified in May 1997, did not enter into effect, pending parliamentary and presidential elections; parliamentary elections were scheduled in December 2001, but were postponed indefinitely; currently the sole legal party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Religions
Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Roman Catholic 68.9%, Protestant 10.8%, Greek Catholic 4.1%, other or unspecified 3.2%, none 13% (2001 census)
Languages
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)
Exports
vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004)
External Debt
$72,940,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
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
1.080%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
6
Location
Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
Central Europe, south of Poland
Area
117,600 km sq
49,035 km sq
Coastline
2,234 km
0 km
Climate
hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually, heaviest June to September); semiarid in western hills and lowlands
