Grassalkovich Palace, seat of the President of Slovakia.
By Donna Welles.
Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic peacefully separated in 1993. Now the Slovak Republic is struggling with unemployment whereas the Czech Republic is not. Allow us to understand these nation states by way of the following economic indicators, (1) Population and Land Area, (2) GDP and Unemployment, (3) Bilateral Trade, and (4) Municipalities and Armed Forces pools.
Czech has roughly twice the population of Slovak Republic. In 2000, Czech had 10.3m people while Slovak had 5.4m. In 2014, Czech had 10.5m people, while Slovak had 5.4m. Czech is 77,230 km^2, which is roughly the size of the State of Maine. Slovak is 48,088 km^2, which is half the size of the State of Kentucky.
Czech has roughly twice the GDP of the Slovak Republic. In 2000, Czech’s GDP was $62b USD while Slovak’s was $29b. Since 2010, Czech’s GDP has contracted from $207b to $206b in 2014. Slovak’s GDP has expanded since 2010 to $100b from $89b. Slovak unemployment rates have been consistently higher than Czech unemployment rates since at least 2005. In 2005, Slovak rates were 16.2% while Czech’s were 7.9%. In 2010, Slovak rates were 14.4% while Czech’s were 7.3%. In 2013, Slovak rates were 14.2% while Czech’s were 7.0%.
Both countries have positive net trade balances. Slovak exports in 2013 totaled $85b while Slovak imports totaled $81b. Czech exports totaled $162b while Czech imports totaled $143b. Germany serves as both nations’ top import partner; including 26% of Czech imports and 16% of Slovak imports. The People’s Republic of China is Czech’s second top import partner while Czech is Slovak’s second top import partner. Germany serves as both nations’ top export partner; including 31% of Czech exports and 21% of Slovak exports. Slovak serves as Czech’s second top export partner while Czech serves as Slovak’s second top export partner.
Prague’s population has grown since 2000 to 1.3m people. Bratislava’s has contracted from 430,000 in 2000 to 406,000 in 2013. Armed Forces pools in both countries have diminished since 1995. Czech had 92,000 soldiers in 1995 while Slovak had 51,000. In 2013, Czech had 24,100 soldiers while Slovak had 15,850.
