President serves a 5-year term. The Prime Minister recommends cabinet members to the president. The Slovak National Council has 150 members who serve 4-year terms. The voting age is 18. Slovakia’s military branches are Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense Forces and Civil Defense Force.
Slovakia continues the transition to a modern market economy. Many large firms and organizations are in state control. Slovakia has glass, ceramics, steel, paper and printing, chemical, textile and cement factories. The economy rate grew 4.4% in 1998 and is still growing. Slovakia has a high unemployment rate (around 13%) and suffers from inflation. Germany and Czech Republic are the biggest trade partners. The currency is a Slovak Crown (SK).
Most of the families have cars, but the gas is expensive so they use public transportation – buses, streetcars and trains. New superhighways are built. Education is free at public institutions. Kids start to go to school at age 6. Public universities charge no tuition but the admission is limited and very competitive. The oldest of Slovakia’s 13 universities is Comenius University in Bratislava. Healthcare is free. Nearly all people have access to physicians and medical advances have lowered the infant mortality rate. Slovakia’s tourism industry has grown since independence. By the late 1990s the country was receiving more than 500,000 visitors each year.