Map of Slovakia
Slovakia is a country in Europe with its capital at Bratislava, home to about 5.41 million people across 49,034 km². The interactive map below plots 7 cities and towns, 2 rivers and 1 mountain summits recorded for Slovakia in YearMaps.
- Population
- 5.41 million
- Area
- 49,034 km²
- Capital
- Bratislava
- Continent
- Europe
Interactive Map of Slovakia
Centred on Bratislava at 48.1500° N, 17.1170° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's mostly mountainous territory spans about 49,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), hosting a population exceeding 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, while the second largest city is Košice.
The Slavs arrived in the territory of the present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries. From the late 6th century, parts of modern Slovakia were incorporated into the Avar Khaganate. In the 7th century, the Slavs played a significant role in the creation of Samo's Empire. When the Avar Khaganate dissolved in the 9th century, the Slavs established the Principality of Nitra before it was annexed by the Principality of Moravia, which later became Great Moravia. When Great Moravia fell in the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Principality of Hungary at the end of the 9th century, which later became the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. In 1241 and 1242, after the Mongol invasion of Europe, much of the territory was destroyed, but was recovered largely thanks to Hungarian king Béla IV. During the 16th and 17th centuries, southern portions of present-day Slovakia were incorporated into provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman-controlled areas were ceded to the Habsburgs by the turn of the 18th century. The Hungarian declaration of independence in 1848 was followed in the same year by the Slovak Uprising through the establishment of the Slovak National Council. While the uprising did not achieve its aim, it played an important role in cementing a Slovak national identity. The Hungarian wars of independence eventually resulted in a compromise that established the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
During World War I, the Czechoslovak National Council successfully fought for independence amidst the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the state of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed in 1918. The borders were set by the Treaty of Saint Germain in 1919 and by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. Czechoslovakia incorporated the territory of present-day Slovakia which was entirely part of the Kingdom of Hungary. In the lead up to World War II, local fascist parties gradually came to power in the Slovak lands, and the first Slovak Republic was established in 1939 as a one-party clerical fascist client state under the control of Nazi Germany. In 1940, the country joined the Axis when its leaders signed the Tripartite Pact.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Slovakia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Slovakia
Slovakia traces its roots to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. The Slovaks then became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. After the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (known as "Magyarization") led to a public backlash that boosted Slovak nationalism and strengthened Slovak cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who fell administratively under the Austrian half of the empire. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved at the end of World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar period, Slovak nationalist leaders pushed for autonomy within Czechoslovakia, and in 1939, in the wake of Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland, the newly established Slovak Republic became a German client state for the remainder of World War II. After World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and came under communist rule within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. In 1968, Warsaw Pact troops invaded and ended the efforts of Czechoslovakia's leaders to liberalize communist rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful Velvet Revolution swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia underwent a nonviolent "velvet divorce" into its two national components, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in 2004 and the euro zone in 2009.
- Location
- Central Europe, south of Poland.
- Climate
- Temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters.
- Terrain
- Rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south.
- Highest point
- Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m.
- Lowest point
- Bodrok River 94 m.
- Coastline
- 0 km (landlocked)
- Land borders
- Total: 1,587 km; border countries: Austria 105 km; Czechia 241 km; Hungary 627 km; Poland 517 km; Ukraine 97 km.
- Major rivers
- Dunaj (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth.
- Natural resources
- Lignite, small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 38% (2023 est.); arable land: 27.2% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 0.4% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 10.4% (2023 est.); forest: 40.3% (2023 est.); other: 21.4% (2023 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Flooding.
- Geographic note
- Landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys.
- Languages
- Slovak (official) 81.8%, Hungarian 8.5%, Roma 1.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified 5.7% (2021 est.)
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 55.8%, Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession 5.3%, Greek Catholic 4%, Reformed Christian 1.6%, other 3%, none 23.8%, unspecified 6.5% (2021 est.)
- Ethnic groups
- Slovak 83.8%, Hungarian 7.8%, Romani 1.2%, other 1.8% (includes Czech, Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Polish), unspecified 5.4% (2021 est.)
- Economy
- High-income EU and eurozone economy; manufacturing and exports led by automotive sector; growth supported by private consumption and public investment from EU funds, tempered by trade risks; increased taxes and withdrawal of energy subsidies contributing to rising but manageable inflation; strong labor demand and influx of foreign labor offsets aging workforce.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Slovakia in Numbers
- Population
- 5.41 million
- GDP
- US$154.5 billion
- GDP per person
- US$28,544
- Life expectancy
- 78.4 years
- Population growth
- -0.15% a year
- Population density
- 113 per km²
- Urban population
- 53.2%
- Surface area
- 49,030 km²
- Forest cover
- 40.3%
- Arable land
- 27.1%
- Access to electricity
- 100.0%
- Internet users
- 89.8%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Slovakia in Depth
History
The oldest surviving human artefacts from Slovakia are found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom and are dated at 270,000 BCE, in the Early Paleolithic era. These ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia.
Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era (200,000–80,000 BCE) come from the Prévôt (Prepoštská) cave in Bojnice and from other nearby sites. The most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium (c. 200,000 BCE), discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia.
Geography
Slovakia lies between latitudes 47° and 50° N, and longitudes 16° and 23° E. The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. Among these mountain ranges are the high peaks of the Fatra-Tatra Area (including Tatra Mountains, Greater Fatra and Lesser Fatra), Slovak Ore Mountains, Slovak Central Mountains or Beskids. The largest lowland is the fertile Danubian Lowland in the southwest, followed by the Eastern Slovak Lowland in the southeast. Forests cover 41% of Slovak land surface.
The Tatra Mountains, with 29 peaks higher than 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) AMSL, are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains.
Economy
Slovakia has a high-income developed economy. In 2026, with a population of only 5 million, it ranked as the 47th richest country with a per capita gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity of $49,376, and the 58th largest economy in the World with a GDP of $167,730 billion. Its GDP per capita equalling 74% of the average of the European Union in 2023. Major privatisations are completed, the banking sector is almost completely in private hands, and foreign investment has risen.
In 2024, more than 80% of Slovak exports went to the European Union, and more than 65% of Slovak imports came from other European Union member states. Main export partners are Germany (23% of total exports), Czech Republic (12.4%), Poland (8.3%) and Austria (5.7%).
Demographics
The population is over 5.4 million and consists mostly of Slovaks. The average population density is 110 inhabitants per km2. According to the 2021 census, the majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are Slovaks (83.8%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (7.8%). Other ethnic groups include Roma (1.2%), Czechs (0.5%), Rusyns (0.4%) and others (1.9) or unspecified (5.4%).
The largest waves of Slovak emigration occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1990 US census, 1.8 million people self-identified as having Slovak ancestry.
In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Slovakia is one of 22 countries with a GHI score of less than 5.
The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Slovakia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Slovakia: Key Facts
| Official language | Slovak |
|---|---|
| Head of state | Peter Pellegrini |
| Head of government | Robert Fico |
| Form of government | parliamentary republic |
| Calling code | +421 |
| Internet domain | .sk |
| Highest point | Gerlachovský štít |
| Lowest point | Bodrog |
| Established | 1 January 1993 |
Facts from Wikidata Q214 (CC0).
History of Slovakia: Empires and States
The atlas records 23 polities whose mapped territory included part of Slovakia, from Vandals in 337 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| Vandals | 337–409 CE | A small part |
| Samo's Empire | 623–660 CE | Most |
| Principality of Nitra | 814–839 CE | Most |
| Great Moravia | 840–897 CE | Nearly all |
| Magyars | 896–910 CE | A large part |
| Nitra | 898–910 CE | Most |
| Principality of Hungary | 911–999 CE | Nearly all |
| Kingdom of Hungary | 1000–1539 CE | Nearly all |
| Kingdom of Poland | 1003–1017 CE | Nearly all |
| Kingdom of Bohemia | 1305–1313 CE | Nearly all |
| The Holy Roman Empire | 1305–1458 CE | Nearly all |
| House of Habsburg | 1450–1458 CE | Nearly all |
| Vassalage of Electorate of Brandenburg to Holy Roman Empire | 1450–1458 CE | Nearly all |
| Kingdom of Spain | 1540–1555 CE | Nearly all |
| The Spanish Empire | 1540–1555 CE | Nearly all |
| Habsburg Monarchy | 1556–1805 CE | Nearly all |
| Austrian Empire | 1806–1867 CE | Nearly all |
| Austria-Hungary | 1868–1918 CE | Nearly all |
| Hungarian Republic | 1919–1940 CE | A large part |
| Czechoslovakia | 1919–1991 CE | Nearly all |
| Nazi Germany | 1939–1944 CE | Nearly all |
| Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | 1945–1990 CE | Nearly all |
| Slovakia | 1992–2024 CE | Nearly all |
Historical Maps of Slovakia
Slovakia on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Slovakia
"SK" redirects here. For the Canadian province, see Saskatchewan; for the Republic of Korea, see South Korea.
Slovakia (Slovak: Slovensko) or the Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika) is a country in Central Europe. The main reasons to visit Slovakia are its natural beauty, vivid history and great opportunities for relaxation (and due to the small size of the country, it is quite easy to combine all three).
Slovakia has nine national parks, which cover a relatively large portion of the country and feature the tallest part of the Carpathian Mountain Range, the High Tatras, which offer great opportunities for mountain and winter sports as well as great vistas. Geologically, a sizable part of Slovakia is made out of limestone, which in combination with many springs and rivers has resulted in formation of numerous caves (12 open to the public, several of which are UNESCO listed) and the beautiful rocky formations, canyons and waterfalls of the Slovak Paradise and Slovak Karst.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Slovakia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Slovakia
7 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bratislava | 423,737 | Bratislavský | National capital |
| 2 | Košice | 236,563 | Košický | Admin-1 capital |
| 3 | Prešov | 94,718 | Prešov | Populated place |
| 4 | Žilina | 87,625 | Žilinský | Populated place |
| 5 | Banská Bystrica | 82,336 | Banskobystrický | Admin-1 capital |
| 6 | Trnava | 69,785 | Trnavský | Populated place |
| 7 | Zvolen | 44,502 | Banskobystrický | Populated place |
Highest Mountains in Slovakia
1 mountain recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gerlach | 2,655 m | 8,711 ft | Europe |
Rivers in Slovakia
2 rivers recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.
| Name | Type | Also Flows Through |
|---|---|---|
| Danube | River | Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia |
| Morava | River | Czechia, Austria |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Slovakia
7 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity | 1993 | Cultural | (iv) (v) |
| 2 | Levoča, Spiš Castle and the associated cultural monuments | 1993 | Cultural | (iv) |
| 3 | Vlkolínec | 1993 | Cultural | (iv) (v) |
| 4 | Caves of Aggtelek Karst and Slovak Karst | 1995 | Natural | (viii) |
| 5 | Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve | 2000 | Cultural | (iii) (iv) |
| 6 | Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe | 2007 | Natural | (ix) |
| 7 | wooden churches of the Slovak Carpathians | 2008 | Cultural | (iii) (iv) |
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Slovakia
4 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Europe | 11.24M km² | Continent | Europe |
| 2 | Carpathian Mountains | 220,248 km² | Range/mtn | Europe |
| 3 | Alföld | 100,263 km² | Plain | Europe |
| 4 | Tatra Mountains | 56 km² | Range/mtn | Europe |
Countries Bordering Slovakia
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Europe
Slovakia: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Slovakia?
- The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava.
- What is the population of Slovakia?
- Slovakia has a population of about 5.41 million, the #123 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Slovakia?
- Slovakia covers 49,034 km², ranking #132 by area, with about 110 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Slovakia in?
- Slovakia is in Europe.
- Which countries border Slovakia?
- Slovakia shares a land or maritime border with Hungary, Poland, Austria, Ukraine, Czechia.
- What is the largest city in Slovakia?
- Bratislava is the largest city in Slovakia, with a metropolitan population of about 423,737.
- What is the highest mountain in Slovakia?
- The highest summit recorded for Slovakia in YearMaps is Gerlach at 2,655 m (8,711 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.