*Slovakia, Economy
Overview:
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia into two independent states - the Czech
Republic and Slovakia - on 1 January 1993 has complicated the task of moving
toward a more open and decentralized economy. The old Czechoslovakia, even
though highly industrialized by East European standards, suffered from an
aging capital plant, lagging technology, and a deficiency in energy and many
raw materials. In January 1991, approximately one year after the end of
communist control of Eastern Europe, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic
launched a sweeping program to convert its almost entirely state-owned and
controlled economy to a market system. In 1991-92 these measures resulted in
privatization of some medium- and small-scale economic activity and the
setting of more than 90% of prices by the market - but at a cost in
inflation, unemployment, and lower output. For Czechoslovakia as a whole
inflation in 1991 was roughly 50% and output fell 15%. In 1992 in Slovakia,
inflation slowed to an estimated 8.7% and the estimated fall in GDP was a
more moderate 7%. In 1993 the government anticipates up to a 7% drop in GDP,
with the disruptions from the separation from the Czech lands probably
accounting for half the decline; inflation, according to government
projections, may rise to 15-20% and unemployment may reach 12-15%. The
Slovak government is moving ahead less enthusiastically than the Czech
government in the further dismantling of the old centrally controlled
economic system. Although the governments of Slovakia and the Czech Republic
had envisaged retaining the koruna as a common currency at least in the
short run, the two countries ended the currency union in February 1993.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $32.1 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
-7% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
$6,100 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.7% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
11.3% (1992 est.)
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
$3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
machinery and transport equipment; chemicals; fuels, minerals, and metals;
agricultural products
partners:
Czech Republic, CIS republics, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Italy,
France, US, UK
Imports:
$3.6 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
machinery and transport equipment; fuels and lubricants; manufactured goods;
raw materials; chemicals; agricultural products
partners:
Czech Republic, CIS republics, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland,
Hungary, UK, Italy
External debt:
$1.9 billion hard currency indebtedness (December 1992)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%
Electricity:
6,800,000 kW capacity; 24,000 million kWh produced, 4,550 kWh per capita
(1992)
*Slovakia, Economy
Industries:
brown coal mining, chemicals, metal-working, consumer appliances,
fertilizer, plastics, armaments
Agriculture:
largely self-sufficient in food production; diversified crop and livestock
production, including grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, hogs,
cattle, and poultry; exporter of forest products
Illicit drugs:
the former Czechoslavakia was a transshipment point for Southwest Asian
heroin and was emerging as a transshipment point for Latin American cocaine
(1992)
Economic aid:
the former Czechoslovakia was a donor - $4.2 billion in bilateral aid to
non-Communist less developed countries (1954-89)
Currency:
1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru
Exchange rates:
koruny (Kcs) per US$1 - 28.59 (December 1992), 28.26 (1992), 29.53 (1991),
17.95 (1990), 15.05 (1989), 14.36 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Slovakia, Communications
Railroads: 3,669 km total (1990)
Highways:
17,650 km total (1990)
Inland waterways:
NA km
Pipelines:
natural gas 2,700 km; petroleum products NA km
Ports:
maritime outlets are in Poland (Gdynia, Gdansk, Szczecin), Croatia (Rijeka),
Slovenia (Koper), Germany (Hamburg, Rostock); principal river ports are
Komarno on the Danube and Bratislava on the Danube
Merchant marine:
the former Czechoslovakia had 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 290,185
GRT/437,291 DWT; includes 13 cargo, 9 bulk; may be shared with the Czech
Republic
Airports:
total:
34
usable:
34
with permanent-surface runways:
9
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
5
Telecommunications:
NA
*Slovakia, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense, Railroad Units
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 1,407,908; fit for military service 1,082,790; reach
military age (18) annually 47,973 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
8.2 billion koruny, NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense
expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce
misleading results
*Slovenia, Geography
Location:
Southern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Austria and Croatia
Map references:
Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
20,296 km2 land area:
20,296 km2
comparative area:
slightly larger than New Jersey
Land boundaries:
total 999 km, Austria 262 km, Croatia 455 km, Italy 199 km, Hungary 83 km
Coastline:
32 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
200 m depth or to depth of exploitation
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
dispute with Croatia over fishing rights in the Adriatic and over some
border areas; the border issue is currently under negotiation; small
minority in northern Italy seeks the return of parts of southwestern
Slovenia
Climate:
Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot
summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east
Terrain:
a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to
Italy, mixed mountain and valleys with numerous rivers to the east
Natural resources:
lignite coal, lead, zinc, mercury, uranium, silver
Land use:
arable land:
10%
permanent crops:
2%
meadows and pastures:
20%
forest and woodland:
45%
other:
23%
Irrigated land:
NA km2
Environment:
Sava River polluted with domestic and industrial waste; heavy metals and
toxic chemicals along coastal waters; near Koper, forest damage from air
pollutants originating at metallurgical and chemical plants; subject to
flooding and earthquakes