The majority of the 5.3 million inhabitants of Slovakia are Slovak (85.8%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (9.7%) and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of Slovakia. Other ethnic groups include Roma, Czechs, Rusyns, Ukrainians, Germans, and Poles.

While both international organisations (the United Nations, the World Bank etc.) and the official Slovak statistics office offer population figures for ethnic groups, these figures seldom come close to agreement. Figures for the Roma population (for a variety of reasons) vary between 1 and 10% of the population. In the most recent survey carried out by the Slovak Government's Roma Plenipotentiary, the figure for the percentage of Roma was arrived at through interview with municipality representatives and mayors, according to how many Roma they think live in their jurisdictions. The figure arrived at by this means was in the region of 300,000 (about 5.6 %).Note however that in the case of the 5.6%, the above percentages of Hungarians and Slovaks are lower accordingly.

The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (60.3%) practice Roman Catholicism; the second-largest group consider themselves atheists (9.7%). About 8.4% are Protestants, and 4.1% are Orthodox. About 2,300 Jews remain of the estimated pre-WWII population of 120,000. The official state language is Slovak, and Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern region.

Despite its modern European economy and society, Slovakia has a significant rural element. About 45% of Slovaks live in villages with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, and 14% in villages with fewer than 1,000.

Population: 5 379 455 (2001 census)/ 5,430,033 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure: (2001 census) / (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 18,9% (male ?; female ?) / 17.8% (male 495,316; female 471,823)
15-64 years: 63,1% (male ?; female ?) /70.5% (male 1,903,335; female 1,924,065)
65 years and over: 18% (male ?; female ?) / 11.7% (male 238,912; female 396,582)

Median age: total: 35 years,male: 33.3 years, female: 36.7 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 0.14% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 10.1 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.43 years
male: 70.44 years
female: 78.64 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak

Ethnic groups: Slovak 85.8%, Hungarian 9.7%, Gypsy 1.7%, Czech 0,8%, other 2% (mainly Moravian, Silesian, Ruthenian and Ukrainian, German, Polish, Croatian) (2001 census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant (Evangelic Church of Augsburg Affiliation) 8.4%, Greek catholic 4.1%, Orthodox 4.1%, Reformed Christian Church 2.04%, other 6.37% (2004 survey)

Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian

Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

External link

• Statistics Office of The Slovak Republic

See also : Slovakia