Slovakia Economy:
Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government made excellent progress during 2001-04 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and the government has helped facilitate a foreign investment boom with business-friendly policies, such as labor market liberalization and a 19% flat tax. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in 2001-04, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003-04, remains the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$78.89 billion (2004 est.)
GDP — real growth rate:
5.3% (2004 est.)
GDP — per capita:
purchasing power parity: $14,500 (2004 est.)
GDP — composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 30.1%
services: 66.4%
(2004)
Labor force:
2.2 million (3rd quarter, 2004 est.)
Labor force — by occupation:
agriculture: 5.8%, industry: 29.3%, construction: 9%, services: 55.9% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate:
13.1% (31 December 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 18.2% (1992)
Distribution of family income — Gini index:
26.3 (1996 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7.5% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
24% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $15.44 billion
expenditures: $16.7 billion including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Public debt:
46.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture — products:
Grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products
Industries:
metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products
Industrial production growth rate:
5.1% (2004 est.)
Electricity — production:
31.15 billion kWh (2003 est.)
Electricity — consumption:
28.89 billion kWh (2003 est.)
Electricity — exports:
8 billion kWh (2003 est.)
Electricity — imports:
6 billion kWh (2003 est.)
Oil — production:
1,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil — consumption:
82,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil — exports:
NA
Oil — imports:
NA
Oil — proved reserves:
4.5 million bbl (1 January 2002 est.)
Natural gas — production:
190 million cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas — consumption:
6.8 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas — exports:
0 cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas — imports:
6.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas — proved reserves:
7.5 billion cu m (1 January 2002 est.)
Current account balance:
$-1.4 billion (2004 est.)
Exports:
$29.24 billion (f.o.b. 2004 est.)
Exports — commodities:
vehicles 25.9%, machinery and transport equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4% (2004 est.)
Exports — partners:
Germany 34.4%, Czech Republic 14.7%, Austria 8.2%, Italy 5.8%, Poland 5.3%, US 4.5%, Hungary 4.3% (2004)
Imports:
$29.67 billion (f.o.b. 2004 est.)
Imports — commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 41.1%, intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%, chemicals 9.8%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2004 est.)
Imports — partners:
Germany 26.1%, Czech Republic 21.3%, Russia 9.1%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 4.9%, Italy 4.9% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$14.91 billion (2004 est.)
Debt — external:
$19.54 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid — recipient:
$2.2 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06 est.)
Currency:
Slovak koruna (SKK)
Exchange rates:
koruny per US$: 32.26 (2004 est.), 36.77 (2003 est.), 45.33 (2002 est.), 48.36 (2001 est.), 46.04 (2000 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
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