I. Geography

Slovakia sits in the heart of Europe, straddling the north-western end of the Carpathian Mountains and forming a clear physical barrier between the plains of Poland to the north and Hungary to the south. St. John's Church in the Kremnické Vrchy mountains is considered the geographical centre point of the old continent. The spectacular High Tatra alpine range runs along Slovakia's north-eastern border, shared with Poland. Gerlachovský (2655m/8708ft) is the highest of the mighty Tatra peaks. The Danube River forms the border with Hungary. Slovakia also shares borders with the Czech Republic in the north-west, Austria in the south-west and Ukraine in the east.

About one-third of the territory is covered with lowlands and the rest is occupied by the Kartpaty Mountains ranges an basins.

Slovakia lies in the temperate climate zone at the border between the Atlantic an the continental part of Europe. The climatic conditions of the lowlands differ from those prevailing in the mountainous areas. The lowland are dry and warm, with a more settled character to the weather, while the mountain zones are colder and damper with rather changeable weather patterns.

With its total area of 49,035 square km Slovakia is a middle-sized European country (rank within Europe: 27). The population of the Slovak Republic is 5,379,445 people (26th May, 2001) which ranks it as the 22nd largest in Europe. The population density is 109 people pre square km.

The majority of the population is represented by the Slovak nationality (4,615,000 people - 85,8 %). The largest minority is the Hungarians (520,000 - 9,7 %) living mostly in the southern districts from Bratislava to Trebišov. Slovakia has undergone several emigration waves in the past. During the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century particularly, economics prevailed as the reason to emigrate. Today, about 2,7 million Slovaks have left their homeland.

At present, the economy of the Slovak Republic has been undergoing a tough process of transformation, aiming toward the attainment of membership in the European Union. The most prosperous industries are those producing construction materials, glass, shoes, electrical engineering item and the wood-processing and pulp and paper industries. Another potential source of the Slovak economy is tourism, with agrotourism holding great promise.