In the mid-1990s some 675,813 pupils were enrolled at some 2,481 primary schools, and around 327,387 secondary pupils were enrolled at some 720 secondary and vocational schools. Institutes of higher education include the Comenius University of Bratislava (1919), and Šafárik University (1959) in Košice. In the mid-1990s around 69,042 students were enrolled in higher education.

Culture

Slovak culture has historically been overshadowed by Czech achievements, a situation not helped by the traditional rural and peasant basis of Slovak life. However, Slovak literature has a notable independent existence, with particular strength in lyric poetry. There is also a strong folk music tradition, which has engendered a regionally based school of classical music composition. The Slovak National Library is in Martin, while the chief museums are the Slovak National Museum and the Slovak National Gallery, both in Bratislava.

Economy

Slovakia has historically been less developed economically than neighbouring Czech regions, a pattern perpetuated throughout the period of united Czechoslovakia. Though Slovakia immediately won international recognition, it also inherited a disadvantaged economy when it became an independent nation in 1993. While still part of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia contributed only one-tenth of the federal budget and one-quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP). In part, this can be attributed to the republic's late industrialization (it began to build industry only after 1948). This industrialization, often military-related and heavily dependent on the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and other Eastern European countries, received a great blow following the demise of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and other structural arrangements between the former Communist states in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In order to smooth the transition from the former Czechoslovakia, the Czech and Slovak governments agreed to maintain a common currency and a customs union, as well as an open border. While the customs union and open border were implemented, the two republics began using separate currencies on February 8, 1993. Trade between them fell sharply.
Slovakia was automatically granted membership of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development following separation from the Czech Republic. Despite tax holidays and other policies to encourage foreign investment, Slovakia remained a recipient of substantial economic aid from the IMF and the European Union. By mid-1994, unemployment approached 15 per cent, with inflation at 14 per cent.