This article is about the demographic features of the population of Slovakia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The majority of the 5.4 million inhabitants of Slovakia are Slovak (85.5%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (9.7%) and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of Slovakia where they form the absolute majority of the population (due to the Slovak-Hungarian border being drawn in the Treaty of Trianon cutting through 90% Hungarian populated territories). Other ethnic groups include Roma (1.7%), Czechs, Rusyns, Ukrainians, Germans, Poles, and Jews (about 2,300 remain of the estimated pre-WWII population of 120,000).

While both international organizations (the United Nations and the World Bank) 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 that in the case of the 5.6%, however, the above percentages of Hungarians and Slovaks are lower accordingly. The official state language is Slovak, and Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern regions.

The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (69%) practice Roman Catholicism; the second-largest group consider themselves atheists (13%). About 6.9% are Protestants, and 0.9% are Orthodox. There are 5,000 Muslims in Slovakia.

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.

[edit] CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Population of Slovakia, Data of FAO, year 2009 ; Number of inhabitants in millions.

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

[edit] Population

5 379 455 (2001 census)/ 5,439,448 (July 2006 est.)

[edit] Age structure

(2001 census) / (2006 est.)
0-14 years: 18,9% (male ?; female ?) / 16.7% (male 465,304; female 443,967)
15-64 years: 63,1% (male ?; female ?) /71.3% (male 1,929,448; female 1,947,735)
65 years and over: 18% (male ?; female ?) / 12% (male 244,609; female 408,385)

[edit] Median age

total: 35.8 years,male: 34.2 years, female: 37.6 years (2006)

[edit] Population growth rate

0.15% (2006 est.)

[edit] Birth rate

10.6 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

[edit] Death rate

9.8 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

[edit] Net migration rate

1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

[edit] 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: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

[edit] Infant mortality rate

total: 7.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male 8.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female 5.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

[edit] Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.73 years
male: 70.76 years
female: 78.89 years (2006 est.)

[edit] Total fertility rate

1.33 children born/woman (2008 est.)

[edit] Nationality

noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak

[edit] Ethnic groups

Slovak 85.5%, Hungarian 9.7%, Romani (Gypsy) 1.7%, Czech 0.8%, other 2% (mainly Moravian, Silesian, Rusyn, Serbian, Ukrainian, German, Polish, Croatian, Turkish and Vietnamese).

[edit] Religions

Roman Catholicism in Slovakia 69%, atheist 13%, Protestant (Evangelic Church of Augsburg Affiliation) 6.9%, Greek catholic 4.1%, Orthodox 0.9%, Reformed Christian Church 2.04%, other 6.37% (2004 survey).

[edit] Languages

Slovak (official), Hungarian, Romani, Rusyn and Polish.

[edit] Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.6%

[edit] External links

• Statistics Office of The Slovak Republic

See also : Slovakia