Populácia Slovenska po štvrťstoročí transformácie

Population of Slovakia After a Quarter of Century of Transformation

Miloš Bačík

In: Geografické informácie (Geographical Information), Ročník (Volume) 18, Číslo (Issue) 1, 2014, p. 5-18, ISSN 1337-9453

DOI: 10.17846/GI.2014.18.1.5-18

Abstract

Within the demographic context of Slovakia, the period after 1990 is connected with several specifics. The trajectory of reproduction processes’ trends is changing due to the influence of political and economic transformation. Low or almost no increase in population becomes the common denominator of population growth. While we recorded the highest population increase during the previous social system, this growth has significantly slowed down in a recent history of a forming democratic society, but on the other hand it realistically reflects the number of conditioning factors. “Exploitation" and "unemployment" were eliminated during socialist era and planned economy set conditions for sustainable economic growth and ensuring social security of the population. General impression that the population growth would stabilize at a permanently favourable level due to these conditions was being formed. However, the reality was much more complex. While the majority of population processes during the socialist era, whether the birth rate, the death rate (except for infant mortality), the abortion rate, the marriage and divorce rates, was characterized by adjective "high", after 1989, the adjective "high" with the exception of divorce rate was replaced by the term "declining". The fundamental transformation of the political system was followed by changes in the economic system and social circumstances. They were later reflected in the increase of inequality (especially in the income), unemployment and the existence of poverty as a serious socio-pathological phenomenon versus fortune of well-off classes.

Keywords: population, birth rate, marriage rate, divorce rate, abortion rate, mortality

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