The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. Amongst them are the high peaks of the Tatra mountains, which are a popular skiing destination and home to many scenic lakes and valleys as well as the highest point in Slovakia, the Gerlachovskı[?] at 2,655 m. In the southwestern part are found the only lowlands, along Slovakia's major river, the Danube.
The Slovak climate is temperate, with relatively cool summers and cold, cloudy and humid winters.
Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The Dzurinda government made excellent progress in 2001 in macroeconomic stabilisation and structural reform. Major privatisations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in 2001, despite recession in key export markets.
Revival of domestic demand, partly due to a rise in real wages, offset slowing export growth to help drive the economy to its strongest expansion since 1998. Solid domestic demand is expected to boost economic growth to 3.4% in 2002, and about 4% in 2003. Unemployment, rising to 19.8% at the end of 2001, remained the economy's Achilles' heel. Slovakia is seeking to become a member of the European Union in May 2004.
The majority of the inhabitants of the Slovak Republic are ethnically Slovak (86%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (10%) and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of Slovakia. Other ethnic groups include Roma, Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Poles.
The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (69%) practice Roman Catholicism; the second-largest group are Protestants (9%). About 2,300 Jews remain of the estimated pre-WWII population of 120,000. The official state language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic languages, but Hungarian is also widely spoken in the south and enjoys a co-official status in some regions.
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