Slovakia Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government made excellent progress during 2001-04 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and the government has helped facilitate a foreign investment boom with business-friendly policies, such as labor market liberalization and a 19% flat tax. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in 2001-04, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 15% in 2003-04, remains the economy's Achilles heel. Slovakia joined the EU on 1 May 2004.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $78.89 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.3% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 30.1%
services: 66.4% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
2.2 million (3rd quarter, 2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 5.8%, industry 29.3%, construction 9%, services 55.9% (2003)

Unemployment rate:
13.1% (31 December 2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 5.1%
highest 10%: 18.2% (1992)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
26.3 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7.5% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $15.44 billion
expenditures: $16.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:
46.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products

Industries:
metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products

Industrial production growth rate:
5.1% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
31.15 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
28.89 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
8 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
6 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
1,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
82,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Oil - proved reserves:
4.5 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
190 million cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
6.8 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
6.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
7.504 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-1.4 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$29.24 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
vehicles 25.9%, machinery and electrical equipment 21.3%, base metals 14.6%, chemicals and minerals 10.1%, plastics 5.4%% (2004 est.)

Exports - partners:
Germany 35.7%, Czech Republic 13.4%, Austria 8.6%, Italy 5.6%, US 4.8%, Poland 4.8%, Hungary 4.3% (2004)

Imports:
$29.67 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 41.1%, intermediate manufactured goods 19.3%, fuels 12.3%, chemicals 9.8%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 10.2% (2003)

Imports - partners:
Germany 29.6%, Czech Republic 17.1%, Russia 9.5%, Austria 7.1%, Italy 5.4%, Hungary 4.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$14.91 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$19.54 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$2.2 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06)

Currency (code):
Slovak koruna (SKK)

Exchange rates:
koruny per US dollar - 32.257 (2004), 36.773 (2003), 45.327 (2002), 48.355 (2001), 46.035 (2000)