Editing Slovakia (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Slovakia}}

{{further|List of Slovaks}}{{Largest cities|country=Slovakia|stat_ref=[https://www.scitanie.sk/obyvatelia/zakladne-vysledky/pocet-obyvatelov/SR/SK0/OB Štatistický úrad Slovenskej republiky – 31 December 2020]|div_name=Region|city_1=Bratislava|div_1=Bratislava Region{{!}}Bratislava|pop_1=475,503|img_1=Bratislava Panorama R01.jpg|city_2=Košice|div_2=Košice Region{{!}}Košice|pop_2=229,040|img_2=View over Old Town from St. Elisabeth Cathedral Bell Tower - Kosice - Slovakia (36428414991).jpg|city_3=Prešov|div_3=Prešov Region{{!}}Prešov|pop_3=84,824|img_3=Presov Slovakia 1086.JPG|city_4=Žilina|div_4=Žilina Region{{!}}Žilina|pop_4=82,656|img_4=Katedrála Najsvätejšej Trojice Zilina 6SM.jpg|city_5=Nitra|div_5=Nitra Region{{!}}Nitra|pop_5=78,489|city_6=Banská Bystrica|div_6=Banská Bystrica Region{{!}}Banská Bystrica|pop_6=76 018|city_7=Trnava|div_7=Trnava Region{{!}}Trnava|pop_7=63,803|city_8=Trenčín|div_8=Trenčín Region{{!}}Trenčín|pop_8=54,740|city_9=Martin, Slovakia{{!}}Martin|div_9=Žilina Region{{!}}Žilina|pop_9=52,520|city_10=Poprad|div_10=Prešov Region{{!}}Prešov|pop_10=49,855|city_11=Prievidza|div_11=Trenčín Region{{!}}Trenčín|pop_11=45,017|city_12=Zvolen|div_12=Banská Bystrica Region{{!}}Banská Bystrica|pop_12=40,637|img_12=|city_13=Považská Bystrica|div_13=Trenčín Region{{!}}Trenčín|pop_13=38,641|city_14=Nové Zámky|div_14=Nitra Region{{!}}Nitra|pop_14=37,791|city_15=Michalovce|div_15=Košice Region{{!}}Košice|pop_15=36,704|city_16=Spišská Nová Ves|div_16=Košice Region{{!}}Košice|pop_16=35,431|city_17=Komárno|div_17=Nitra Region{{!}}Nitra|pop_17=32,967|img_17=|city_18=Levice|div_18=Nitra Region{{!}}Nitra|pop_18=31,974|city_19=Humenné|div_19=Prešov Region{{!}}Prešov|pop_19=31,359|city_20=Bardejov|div_20=Prešov Region{{!}}Prešov|pop_20=30,840}}[[File:Population density in Slovakia.png|thumb|Population density in Slovakia. The two biggest cities are clearly visible, Bratislava in the far west and Košice in the east.]]

The population is over 5.4 million and consists mostly of [[Slovaks]]. The average population density is 110 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup>.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/slovakia/|title=Europe:: Slovakia — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|access-date=28 July 2019|archive-date=19 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319021658/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/slovakia|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the 2021 census, the majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are [[Slovaks]] (83.82%). [[Hungarians in Slovakia|Hungarians]] are the largest [[minority group|ethnic minority]] (7.75%). Other [[ethnic group]]s include [[Romani people|Roma]] (1.23%),<ref>{{cite web|title=Roma political and cultural activists estimate that the number of Roma in Slovakia is higher, citing a figure of 350,000 to 400,000|url=http://www.slovakia.org/society-roma.htm|publisher=Slovakia.org|access-date=25 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822033250/http://www.slovakia.org/society-roma.htm|archive-date=22 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Czechs]] (0.53%), [[Rusyns]] (0.44%) and others or unspecified (6.1%).<ref>{{cite web|title=Census 2021|url=https://www.scitanie.sk/zilinsky-kraj-s-najvyssim-podielom-slovenskej-narodnosti|publisher=scitanie.sk|access-date=20 January 2022|archive-date=20 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520011916/https://www.scitanie.sk/zilinsky-kraj-s-najvyssim-podielom-slovenskej-narodnosti|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, the [[median age]] of the Slovak population was 41 years.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/slovakia/|title=The World FactBook – Serbia|date=12 July 2018|work=[[The World Factbook]]|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=19 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319021658/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/slovakia|url-status=live}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>

The largest waves of Slovak emigration occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1990 US&nbsp;census, 1.8&nbsp;million people self-identified as having Slovak ancestry.<ref>"[https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imsk/slovakia.html The Slovaks in America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507031904/https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imsk/slovakia.html |date=7 May 2022 }}". European Reading Room, Library of Congress.</ref>{{needs update|reason=There have been 3 censuses conducted since 1990, data from 2010 or 2020 would be more accurate|date=January 2022}}

In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Slovakia is one of 22 countries with a GHI score of less than 5.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2024 GHI Rank |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=Global Hunger Index (GHI) – peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels |language=en}}</ref>

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Slovak language}}
{{See also|History of the Slovak language}}
[[File:Slovak alphabet.png|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[Slovak alphabet]] has 46 letters, of which 3 are [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] and 18 contain [[diacritic]]s.]]

The [[official language]] is [[Slovak language|Slovak]], a member of the [[Slavic languages|Slavic language family]]. [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] is widely spoken in the southern regions, and [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]] is used in some parts of the Northeast. [[Minority language]]s hold co-official status in the municipalities in which the size of the minority population meets the legal threshold of 15% in two consecutive censuses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/1999/184/20121001.html|title=Zákon 184/1999 Z. z. o používaní jazykov národnostných menšín|last=Slovenskej Republiky|first=Národná Rada|year=1999|publisher=Zbierka zákonov|language=sk|access-date=3 December 2016|archive-date=13 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213235528/https://www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/1999/184/20121001.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Slovakia is ranked among the top EU countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages. In 2007, 68% of the population aged from 25 to 64 years claimed to speak two or more foreign languages, finishing second highest in the European Union. The best known foreign language in Slovakia is [[Czech language|Czech]]. [[Eurostat]] report also shows that 98.3% of Slovak students in the upper secondary education take on two foreign languages, ranking highly over the average 60.1% in the European Union.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-24092009-AP/EN/3-24092009-AP-EN.PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124065821/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-24092009-AP/EN/3-24092009-AP-EN.PDF|archive-date=24 January 2013|title=Eurostat report on foreign languages September 2009|publisher=Epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu|access-date=25 November 2012}}</ref> According to a [[Eurobarometer]] survey from 2012, 26% of the population have knowledge of English at a conversational level, followed by German (22%) and Russian (17%).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/index.cfm/ResultDoc/download/DocumentKy/56932 |title=Europeans and their languages |website=European Commission |access-date=28 July 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027063743/https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The deaf community uses the [[Slovak Sign Language]]. Even though spoken Czech and Slovak are similar, the Slovak Sign language is not particularly close to [[Czech Sign Language]].{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Slovakia}}

{{Multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 190px
| image1            = Levoča (2).jpg
| caption1          = Basilica of St. James in [[Levoča]]
| image2            = Dóm svätej Alžbety a Kaplnka sv. Michala, Košice, Slovensko.jpg
| caption2          = [[St. Elisabeth Cathedral]] in Košice, the largest church in Slovakia
}}

The [[Constitution of Slovakia|Slovak constitution]] guarantees [[freedom of religion]]. In 2021, 55.8% of population identified themselves as [[Roman Catholic]]s, 5.3% as [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], 1.6% as [[Calvinism|Calvinists]], 4% as [[Slovak Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholics]], 0.9% as [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]], 23.8% identified themselves as [[Atheism|atheists]] or non-religious, and 6.5% did not answer the question about their belief.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roman Catholics represents 56% of the population |url=https://www.scitanie.sk/en/roman-catholics-represents-56-percent-of-the-population |website=SODB 2021 |publisher=Štatistický úrad slovenskej republiky |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407062041/https://www.scitanie.sk/en/roman-catholics-represents-56-percent-of-the-population |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2004, about one third of the church members regularly attended church services.<ref>{{cite web|last=Manchin|first=Robert|title=Religion in Europe: Trust Not Filling the Pews|publisher=Gallup|year=2004|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/13117/religion-europe-trust-filling-pews.aspx|access-date=4 December 2009|archive-date=20 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120155549/http://www.gallup.com/poll/13117/religion-europe-trust-filling-pews.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Slovak Greek Catholic Church]] is an Eastern rite [[sui iuris]] Catholic Church. Before World War&nbsp;II, an estimated 90,000 Jews lived in Slovakia (1.6% of the population), but most were murdered during the [[Holocaust]]. After further reductions due to postwar [[aliyah|emigration]] and assimilation, only about 2,300 Jews remain today (0.04% of the population).<ref>{{cite web|last=Vogelsang|first=Peter|author2=Brian B. M. Larsen |title=Deportations|work=The Danish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies|year=2002|url=http://www.holocaust-education.dk/holocaust/deportationer.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810055334/http://www.holocaust-education.dk/holocaust/deportationer.asp|archive-date=10 August 2011|access-date=26 April 2008}}</ref>

There are 18 state-registered religions in Slovakia, of which 16 are Christian, one is Jewish, and one is the [[Baháʼí Faith]].<ref name="Hukelova">{{Cite news|url=http://theconversation.com/slovak-president-vetoes-controversial-law-heaping-hostility-on-muslims-in-central-europe-70546|work=The Conversation|author=Miroslava Hukelova|title=Slovak president vetoes controversial law heaping hostility on Muslims in Central Europe|date=5 January 2017|access-date=20 January 2019|archive-date=13 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213235523/https://theconversation.com/slovak-president-vetoes-controversial-law-heaping-hostility-on-muslims-in-central-europe-70546|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, a two-thirds majority of the Slovak parliament passed a new bill that would obstruct [[Islam]] and other religious organisations from becoming state-recognised religions by doubling the minimum followers threshold from 25,000 to 50,000; however, Slovakia's then-president [[Andrej Kiska]] vetoed the bill.<ref name="Hukelova"/> In 2010, there were an estimated 5,000 [[Muslim]]s in Slovakia representing less than 0.1% of the country's population.<ref>[http://www.cas.sk/clanok/176603/na-slovensku-je-5-tisic-moslimov-bude-v-nasej-krajine-mesita/ Na Slovensku je 5-tisíc moslimov: Bude v našej krajine mešita? | Nový Čas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022184023/https://www.cas.sk/clanok/176603/na-slovensku-je-5-tisic-moslimov-bude-v-nasej-krajine-mesita/ |date=22 October 2020 }}. Cas.sk (11 August 2010). Retrieved on 4 February 2017.</ref> Slovakia is the only member state of the European Union to not have any [[mosque]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pluska.sk/spravy/zo-zahranicia/slovensko-je-poslednou-krajinou-unie-kde-nie-je-mesita.html |title=Slovensko je poslednou krajinou únie, kde nie je mešita |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=15 November 2014 |website=Pluska |publisher=7 PLUS, s.r.o. |access-date=5 April 2014 |language=sk |archive-date=7 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407074932/http://www.pluska.sk/spravy/zo-zahranicia/slovensko-je-poslednou-krajinou-unie-kde-nie-je-mesita.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Slovakia}}
[[File:Univerzita Komenského.jpg|thumb|left|[[Comenius University in Bratislava|Comenius University]] headquarters in [[Bratislava]]]]

The [[Programme for International Student Assessment]], coordinated by the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]], currently ranks [[education in Slovakia|Slovak secondary education]] the 30th in the world (placing it just below the United States and just above Spain).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf |title=Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale at OECD |access-date=16 October 2010 |archive-date=29 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229020307/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
Education in Slovakia is compulsory from age 6 to 16. The education system consists of elementary school which is divided into two parts, the first grade (age 6–10) and the second grade (age 10–15) which is finished by taking nationwide testing called Monitor, in Slovak and math. Parents may apply for social assistance for a child that is studying on an elementary school or a high-school. If approved, the state provides basic study necessities for the child. Schools provide books to all their students with usual exceptions of books for studying a foreign language and books which require taking notes in them, which are mostly present in the first grade of elementary school.

After finishing elementary school, students are obliged to take one year in high school.

After finishing high school, students can go to university and are highly encouraged to do so. Slovakia has a wide range of universities. The biggest university is [[Comenius University]], established in 1919. Although it is not the first university ever established on Slovak territory, it is the oldest university that is still running. Most universities in Slovakia are public funded, where anyone can apply. Every citizen has a right to free education in public schools.

Slovakia has several privately funded universities, however public universities consistently score better in the ranking than their private counterparts. Universities have different criteria for accepting students. Anyone can apply to any number of universities.