| Country name | conventional long form: Slovak Republic conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska republika local short form: Slovensko etymology: may derive from the medieval Latin word "Slavus" (Slav), which had the local form "Sloven", used since the 13th century to refer to the territory of Slovakia and its inhabitants |
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | name: Bratislava geographic coordinates: 48 09 N, 17 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the name was adopted in 1919 after Czechoslovakia gained its independence and may derive from later transliterations of the 9th century military commander, Braslav, or the 11th century Bohemian Duke Bretislav I; alternatively, the name may derive from the Slovak words "brat" (brother) and "slava" (glory) |
| Administrative divisions | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banska Bystrica, Bratislava, Kosice, Nitra, Presov, Trencin, Trnava, Zilina |
| Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
| National holiday | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) |
| Constitution | history: several previous (preindependence); latest passed by the National Council 1 September 1992, signed 3 September 1992, effective 1 October 1992 amendments: proposed by the National Council; passage requires at least three-fifths majority vote of Council members; amended many times, last in 2020 |
| Legal system | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; note - legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Slovakia dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Zuzana CAPUTOVA (since 15 June 2019) head of government: Prime Minister Eduard HEGER (since 1 April 2021); Deputy Prime Ministers Stefan HOLY, Veronika REMISOVA, Richard SULIK (all since 21 March 2020) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 16 March and 30 March 2019 (next to be held March 2024); following National Council elections (every 4 years), the president designates a prime minister candidate, usually the leader of the party or coalition that wins the most votes, who must win a vote of confidence in the National Council election results: Zuzana CAPUTOVA reelected president in second round; percent of vote - Zuzana CAPUTOVA (PS) 58.4%, Maros SEFCOVIC (independent) 41.6% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Council or Narodna Rada (150 seats; members directly elected in a single- and multi-seat constituencies by closed, party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 29 February 2020 (next to be held March 2024) election results: percent of vote by party - OLaNO-NOVA 25%, Smer-SD 18.3%, Sme-Rodina 8.2%, LSNS 8%, PS-SPOLU 7%, SaS 6.2%, Za Ludi 5.8%, other 21.5%; seats by party - OLaNO-NOVA 53, Smer-SD 38, Sme-Rodina 17, LSNS 17, SaS 13, Za Ludi 12, PS-SPOLU 0; composition - men 120, women 30, percent of women 20% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic (consists of the court president, vice president, and approximately 80 judges organized into criminal, civil, commercial, and administrative divisions with 3- and 5-judge panels); Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic (consists of 13 judges organized into 3-judge panels) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judge candidates nominated by the Judicial Council of the Slovak Republic, an 18-member self-governing body that includes the Supreme Court chief justice and presidential, governmental, parliamentary, and judiciary appointees; judges appointed by the president serve for life subject to removal by the president at age 65; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the National Council of the Republic and appointed by the president; judges serve 12-year terms subordinate courts: regional and district civil courts; Special Criminal Court; Higher Military Court; military district courts; Court of Audit; |
| Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Alojz HLINA] Bridge or Most-Hid [Bela BUGAR] Direction-Social Democracy or Smer-SD [Robert FICO] For the People or Za Ludi [Andrej KISKA] Freedom and Solidarity or SaS [Richard SULIK] Kotleba-People's Party Our Slovakia or LSNS [Marian KOTLEBA] Ordinary People and Independent Personalities - New Majority or OLaNO-NOVA [Igor MATOVIC] Party of the Hungarian Community or SMK [Jozsef MENYHART] Progressive Slovakia or PS [Michal TRUBAN] Slovak National Party or SNS [Andrej DANKO] Together or SPOLU [Miroslav BEBLAVY] We Are Family or Sme-Rodina [Boris KOLLAR] |
| International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Radovan JAVORCIK (since 18 January 2021) chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438 email address and website: emb.washington@mzv.sk https://www.mzv.sk/web/washington-en consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Bridget A. BRINK (since 20 August 2019) embassy: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava mailing address: 5840 Bratislava Place, Washington DC 20521-5840 telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338 FAX: [421] (2) 5441-8861 email address and website: consulbratislava@state.gov https://sk.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red derive from the Pan-Slav colors; the Slovakian coat of arms (consisting of a red shield bordered in white and bearing a white double-barred cross of St. Cyril and St. Methodius surmounting three blue hills) is centered over the bands but offset slightly to the hoist side note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia |
| National symbol(s) | double-barred cross (Cross of St. Cyril and St. Methodius) surmounting three peaks; national colors: white, blue, red |
| National anthem | name: "Nad Tatrou sa blyska" (Lightning Over the Tatras) lyrics/music: Janko MATUSKA/traditional note: adopted 1993, in use since 1844; music based on the Slovak folk song "Kopala studienku" |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
