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People of Slovakia
A few facts about the Slovak population:
- There were 5,439,448 people living in Slovakia in July 2006.
- Of the total, 17% of the population are children aged 14 and below (male 465,304/female 443,967).
- Adults between the ages of 15 and 64 account for 71% of the population (male 1,929,448/female 1,947,735), and people over the age of 65 account for the remaining 12% of the population (male 244,609/female 408,385).
- The overall median age is 35.8 (male 34.2/female 37.6).
- The population growth rate is low at -0.15% per year, and the fertility rate is 1.33 children per woman..
- Life expectancy at birth averages 74.73; (males reach 70.76 years and female reach 78.89 years).
- The average population density is low at 109 inhabitants per km sq
Ethnic Groups:
According to the latest estimates 85.7% of Slovakia’s population are Slovak. The second largest ethnic group consists of Hungarians who are mainly concentrated in the southern areas of the country and make up 9.7% of the population. There are also 1.6% Roma, 1% Czechs (who have the option of dual citizenship), 0.3% Ukrainians, 0.3% Rutheanians, 0.1% Germans and 0.1% Poles. Various other nationalities account for the remaining population.
Religion:
About 69% of the Slovak population are Roman Catholic. There are also about 10.8% Protestant (7% Augsburg Lutheran) and 4% Byzantine Catholics. 2% of people living in Slovakia are members of the Reformed Christian Church, and 1% are Orthodox. Other registered groups include Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, Brethren Church members, Seventh-Day Adventists, Apostolic Church members, Evangelical Methodists, and members of the Christian Corps in Slovakia and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. There are about 2,310 members of the Jewish community. There are also about 30 unregistered groups in the country such as: Hare Krishnas, Shambaola Slovakia, Shri Chinmoy, Zazen International Slovakia, Zen Centermyo Sahn Sah, the Church of Scientology, the Baha'i Faith, the Society of Friends of Jesus Christ (Quaker), Nazarenes, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (mormon). About 13% of Slovak people define themselves as having no religion.
Language:
The official language of Slovak Republic is Slovak. The language belongs to western Slavic group and is written using the Roman alphabet. The difference between Slovak and Czech language is small and the two are mutually intelligible. Slovak lacks the e, u°, and r in Czech but adds ä, l', ô, and r. As in Czech, q, w, and x are found only in foreign words. According to the 2001 census, the Slovak language is spoken by 83.9% of the population. Hungarian is spoken by 10.7% of the population, Roma by 1.8%, Ukrainian by 1%, with the remaining 2.6% being unspecified.
Famous Slovaks:
- Ján Kollár (1793-1852), writer, poet, Slavist, and archaeologist, was a Slovak patriot who championed the Slav struggle against foreign oppression.
- Ludovít Stúr (1815-56) is the founder of the Slovak literary language and modern Slovak literature.
- Pavel Josef Safacrík (1795-1861) was the founder of scientific Slavic studies; his Slavonic Antiquities had great scholarly influence.
- Andrej Hlinka (1864-1938) led the Slovak Catholic autonomist movement.
- Pavel Hviezdoslav (1849-1921), the greatest Slovak poet, translated foreign poetry, refined the language, and contributed to Slovak awakening.
- Juraj Jánošík (1688-1713), The Robin Hood of the Slovaks, fought the Hungarians.
- Milan Rastislav Stefánik (1880-1919), military leader, astronomer, and ally of Tomáš Masaryk, represented the Slovaks in their struggle for liberty.
- Alexander Dubcek (1921-92) was first secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party (1968-69). His attempt to increase civil liberties led to the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact in 1968, and the suppression of the Prague Spring". In 1989 he was elected the Federal Assembly's first speaker.
- Jozef Bonk (1949-1968), a student from Hôrky who died resisting the Russian invasion in 1968
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