Introduction: Slovakia's roots can be traced to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. Subsequently, the Slovaks became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Following the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (Magyarization) resulted in a strengthening of Slovak nationalism and a cultivation of cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who were themselves ruled by the Austrians. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the...

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Economic Overview: Over the past 20 years, the Slovak Republic has made a successful transition from a centrally planned economy dominated by heavy industry to an open market dominated by a steadily growing services sector. It is now among the best-performing in the European Union, with a GDP per capita of approximately 70 per cent of the EU average.

Slovakia achieved consistently high rates of economic growth over the past decade, with real GDP growth peaking at 10.6 per cent in 2007. Growth remained strong at 6.2 per cent in 2008, but as an export oriented economy, Slovakia’s growth slowed in 2009 with the onset of the global financial ...

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