Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue.
8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj): Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, and Zilinsky.
Population:
5,422,366 (July 2002 est.)
Languages:
Slovak (official), Hungarian
Geographic coordinates:
48° 40' N, 19° 30' E
Area total:
48,845 sq. km
Land area:
48,800 sq. km
Water area:
45 sq. km
Total land boundaries:
1,524 km
Borders with neighbor countries:
Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation extremes:
Bodrok River 94 m - Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m
Internet country code:
.sk
Currency:
Euro (EUR)
Name - conventional long form:
Slovak Republic
Name - conventional short form:
Slovakia
Name - local long form:
Slovenska Republika
Name - local short form:
Slovensko
Independence:
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Constitution:
ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993, changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president, amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership