Disputes - international: rebels and refugees contribute to border instabilities with Sierra Leone
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Slovakia
Introduction
Slovakia
Background: In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Historic, political, and geographic factors have caused Slovakia to experience more difficulty in developing a modern market economy than some of its Central European neighbors.
Geography Slovakia
Location: Central Europe, south of Poland