FACTOID #151: The five countries with the highest coffee consumption are also the five countries whose citizens trust one another the most. Coincidence? Probably.
The President of Slovakia is the head of state of Slovakia. Most of his powers are ceremonial. When Slovakia permanently split from Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Prime Minister served as acting President. Then the President was elected by Parliament for a 5-year term. However, when in 1998 the Parliament was unable to choose a President, the Prime Minister and speaker of Parliament became acting Presidents. When after a year the Parliament still could not come to an agreement on the President, the constitution was changed so that the President would be elected by all the voters for a 5-year term. Presidential elections have been held in 1999 and 2004. In order to become President, a candidate must have 50% of the popular vote. If this does not happen in the first round, a runoff is held.
In 2004 Slovakia had a fertility rate of 1.25 (i.e., the average woman will have 1.25 children in her lifetime), which is one of the lowest numbers among EU countries.
Slovakia is a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004 and of NATO since March 29, 2004.
Slovakia is among the most attractive countries in the EU for foreign investors mainly because of its low labour costs (a 2005 survey by the prominent consultant firm Deloitte shows that Slovakia has the lowest labour costs in the European Union) and low tax rates.
Feeds |
Contact