Efficiency of the economy in western Slovakia is far ahead from the economies of the middle and East of Slovakia. This is a trend that originated at the beginning of the 90’s with the start of the market mechanism instead of centrally planned economy. The indicators of economical level are continually worse in the direction from the west to the east. The second trend that is visible is the difference in economic development between rural and urban areas, with rural areas lagging apparently behind. Bratislava is an example of both trends, as it is the biggest town in Slovakia, located in the West of the country.
The capital region of Bratislava has a population of 600,000. It is the strongest economical region in Slovakia. GDP per capita exceeds the European Union average and an unemployment level of 2.5% that is considerably lower than the Slovak average of 11%. Furthermore, to strengthen the differences, the GDP per capita is six times higher than the one of the weakest economical region in Slovakia, Presov. And the unemployment rate in Presov region is 18,4%.
More than half of the inhabitants in Bratislava have a middle or higher-level education, and average salaries are twice as high as the Slovak average. The service sector is dominant and employs 72% of the workforce. In comparison, 21% of the workforce works in industry and 7% in agriculture. More than half of all foreign investment in Slovakia takes place in Bratislava. More than 40% of the country’s research and development potential is located in Bratislava. Industrial parks are also to be found in the region.
To read more about Bratislava’s economic performance, follow this link.
June 12, 2008 at 11:20 am
I believe that in case of small countries it is very common that the capital (usually also the biggest town) is the economic centre and most developed area of the country. It’s because the capital is not what the peripheral areas are – it has the most human capital, transportation links, infrastructure and so on. The capital of small countries is probably the only city that foreigners know… I think this is true in case of Slovakia (Bratislava) and as well Estonia (Tallinn), Latvia (Riga), Slovenia (Ljubljana) etc.
June 12, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Although Bratislava has still better and better results in economic development, we have serious problems with regions. The large regions of eastern Slovakia are characterized by economic underdevelopment and related social problems. These regions suffer from high unemployment, increasing emigration. Lack of human capital, modern infrastructure are significant environmental problems. Their residents are victims of poverty, isolation and in case of its large Roma population social exclusion and discrimination finally. Slovakia’s Prešov Higher Territorial Unit reports unemployment rates at around 25 percent and most of Roma are completely dependent on social welfare. The challenge is to provide Roma with development opportunities that can help break dependency on social welfare like for example access to school, provide parents more possibilities to work and not discriminate them in society.
June 2, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I think that this kind of economical centralization is not healthy for the economy of your country. Industrial centers should be spread all over the country ( or at least in 3 or 4 other cities) to guarantee a stable economy. Otherwise a lot of problems might rise ( think e.g. on traffic, ghettos etc)