As an important transit corridor for international freight traffic, Slovakia connects Eastern European countries with Western European markets and thus plays a key role in the pan-European transport network.

The country’s strong automotive industry and other manufacturing sectors rely on reliable road transportation to receive raw materials and export finished products. Slovakia’s well-developed road network strengthens the country’s integration into global supply chains.

In 2021, it had a total length of 57,822 km, of which 545 km were motorways, 3,643 km were main or national roads, 13,964 km were secondary or regional roads, and 39,670 km were other roads. With revenues from road construction expected to grow to approximately 2.21 billion euros by 2025, a well-functioning infrastructure underscores a country’s importance.

According to forecasts, turnover in road freight transport will increase to around 5.35 billion euros by 2025. The volume of goods transported is expected to reach 15.19 billion tonne-kilometres by 2024. For the entire transport market in Slovakia, a freight volume of 27.78 billion tonne-kilometres is expected. The number of people employedin the transport industry in Slovakia is estimated at more than 4,600.

The motor of the Slovakian economy: the automotive industry. Photo: Adobe Stock

Dependent on energy imports

Slovakia is heavily dependent on energy imports. In 2022, 70 % of energy requirements were covered by imports. This is one of the reasons why Slovakia’s trade balance showed a deficit of 3.8 billion euros, after being balanced in the previous year. Slovakia plays an important role as an export country for road vehicles, telecommunications equipment and electrical machinery and apparatus. Road vehicles accounted for the largest share of Slovakian exports at 33.7%.

The main export partners were Germany (17 billion euros / 21%), the Czech Republic (12%) and Hungary (8.7%). Compared to the previous year, the total value of exports increased by more than 4 billion euro to 99 billion euro.

Germany (20.8 bn euro/14%), China (7.5%) and Russia (7.5%) were the main import partners. Slovakia’s main imports are road vehicles, electrical machinery and equipment, and oil and gas. In 2022, Slovakia imported goods worth around 103 billion euros. This represents a slight increase in imports compared to the previous year.

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