Teenage development

Slovakia is soon to celebrate its 15th birthday. It is now regarded as a country that has successfully transformed itself into a modern economy, with impressive annual growth in GDP of around 7 pctThe country has already stolen a march on its CEE neighbours by becoming a member of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (in the region, only the Baltic states have also joined), and is planning to enter the Eurozone at the beginning of 2009.Slovakia has a population of 5.38 mln, of which 450,000 live in the capital Bratislava. The only other city in the country with more than 100,000 people is Kosice (235,000 inhabitants) in the relatively impoverished east of the country. Banska Bystrica, which lies between, is Slovakia’s third city, with 81,300 people. Unemployment is high, standing at around 12.8 pct (only Poland has a higher rate in the EU). On the other hand, average salaries are the lowest in the CEE region. The office sector Bratislava is the only city in the country which is