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Slovakia - GENERAL INFORMATION
 
Population - Local time - Languages - Religion - Political system - Climate - Tourism - Food



Population



Main Cities Population
Bratislava   450  
Kosice   239  
Presov   92  
Nitra   87  
Zilina   86  
Banska   66  



Total population (millions): 5.4
Source: World Bank 2004

Urban population: 58%
Source: World Bank 2004

Average annual population growth: 0.0%
Source: World Bank 2004

Surface area (km²) : 49,01


Population origin

Origin of the population% Of the population
Slovak85
Hungarian10
Gypsy2
Czech1
Other2


Local time


It is %T:%M %A in Bratislava


GMT+1 in winter, GMT+2 in summer


Languages


Official language: Slovak
Business languages: Slovak, German and English.

Free translation tools in Slovakia :
Slovnik.cz
Free English-Slovak-English dictionary

Ectaco
Free English-Slovak-English dictionary



Religion


Religious practises : Catholics 60%
Protestants 8.5%
Orthodox 4%
Others 17.5%.


Political system


The Republic of Slovakia is a sovereign, democratic and constitutional State of parliamentary type. It was created on January 1st, 1993 following the split of the Czechoslovak Union. The head of the Slovak Republic is the President who is elected by the Slovak National Council for a 5-year term. He has to be elected by 3/5th of the Council members. The National Council is composed of 150 members, elected for 4 years. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic, and in case of presidency recess, the constitution plans to transfer some of the presidential powers to the government. Since, August 1996, the Slovakian Republic is split into 8 regions and 79 departments. The local autorities are elected for 4 years.
Head of State: President Ivan Gasparovic (HZD, Movement for Democracy) since June, 15 2004.
Prime Minister: Mikulas Dzurinda, since October, 30 1998.


Climate

 


Tourism

Number of visitors in Slovakia 2002 2003 2004 World rank
Number of visitors (1000) 1399   1387   1401   n.a.
Source : World Tourisme Organization, data available in November 2005

 

Tourist sites


- Beautiful mountains and forests can be found in the central and in Northern part of the country.
-Saint Martin cathedral, in the lower part of the city and the Austrian citadel that overlap the Danube with its bridge and its panoramic tower, are the old symbols of the power of the Slovak capital, Bratislava.

For more information about tourism in Slovakia , check out the following web site(s) :
Slovak Tourism Board


Food


Traditional dishes


The Slovak food is influenced by Hungarian, Austrian and German recipes. The Slovaks offer numerous specialties such as a big variety of soups, vegetable-based dishes, smoked pork meats and numerous pasta-based dishes.
The culinary specialties may vary from one region to another.
One of the most popular dishes is the Bryndzov?halusky: potatoes covered with roasted bacon and ewe cheese .
The kapustnica: vegetable soup with mushrooms and small pieces of smoked pork. It is traditionally served at important occasions such as weddings or at Christmas.
Sunkova rolka chrenovou: it is an appetizer with small pieces of ham, dipped into a raifort sauce and served with a wild berries brandy (borovicka).
For dessert, you can enjoy the Slovak pancakes (palacinky) with a chocolate sauce, some jam or soft white cheese with grapes. Finally, you can enjoy the Makove sulance, a dessert fried vermicelli-based with poppy seeds and sugar sprinkled on top.
Finally, you can enjoy your dinner with a plum brandy: the slivovica.

Food-related taboos


There are no culinary taboos in the Slovak cooking.

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Last modified in October 2005
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