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Number of Slovaks Living Abroad Has Risen Significantly Since 1991
Friday 05 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 5 (TASR) - The estimated number of Slovaks living abroad is 2.237 million, according to data compiled by statistics offices, associations of Slovaks living abroad, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and consulates in 2008, TASR was told by the Office of Slovaks Living Abroad on Friday.
The biggest increase in the number of Slovaks abroad between 1991 and 2008 was recorded in Great Britain, where the figure grew by around 89,000 to approximately 90,000.
The Czech Republic saw the second-biggest upsurge, with the number of Slovaks increasing by 60,000 between 1991-2008 to 375,000. Approximately 40,000 Slovaks moved to Germany, upping the total figure to 60,000. Ireland accepted around 29,000 Slovaks during the given period, while the number of Slovaks in Austria doubled to 30,000. Italy was home to 15,000 Slovaks in 2008, with almost all of them arriving after 1991.
A significant increase in the number of Slovak citizens was seen in Belgium as well - by 6,000 to 8,000, and in the Netherlands and Spain, where there are around 6,000 Slovaks now.
Around 7,000 Slovaks have moved to Cyprus, approximately 5,300 live in Israel, and around 3,000 have moved to Australia to bring the total to 15,000. Switzerland, Sweden, Russia and Slovenia have registered increases of around 2,000 Slovaks each.
There are also countries in which the number of Slovaks has fallen, however, especially Poland (from 20,000 to 15,000), Romania (from 21,000 to 18,000) and Serbia (from 64,000 to 60,000). Croatia has seen its number of Slovaks fall from 6,000 to 5,000, and South Africa has reported a drop from 2,000 to 600.
When it comes to people of Slovak origin who are citizens of the country in which they live, the highest number live in Hungary - as many as 110,000. Canada comes next with 100,000.
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