Stats: Slovakia Population Declines for Fifth Year, Births Hit Record Low

Bratislava, April 5 (TASR) – Slovakia has faced a population decline for the fifth consecutive year, with the pace of the decrease accelerating further, according to the 2025 demographic development data from the Statistics Office. Mortality stabilised at long-term average levels, but the birth rate fell to a historic low, with even a positive migration balance failing to offset the overall population loss. At the end of 2025, Slovakia had a total population of 5,409,407, a year-on-year decrease of more than 10,000. Since the establishment of the Slovak Republic, the population had grown annually until the trend reversed in 2021, followed by five consecutive years of decline. The development in 2025 marked the second most significant population drop in the country's history, after 2021. "However, although Slovakia's population has been declining in recent years, the overall balance since 1993 remains positive. Over three decades of independence, the country's population has increased by nearly 73,000," said Zuzana Podmanicka, head of the population statistics department. According to the Statistics Office, the main factor behind the population decline in 2025 was natural decrease. During the year, around 42,000 live births were recorded, while more than 53,500 people died. Over the past six years, the country has lost nearly 51,000 inhabitants through natural change. "While in 2021 and 2022 the natural decrease was mainly driven by the coronavirus pandemic, in the past three years the key factor has been the critically low total fertility rate," Podmanicka added. In the past four years, the number of births has fallen annually by between 2,000 and more than 4,000 children. In line with this trend, the crude birth rate also reached record lows, falling to 776 births per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025. "The crude birth rate in Slovakia fell in 2025 to its lowest level in the past 100 years, lower even than during the Second World War," Podmanicka explained. The second factor affecting the total population is international migration. The migration balance (the difference between immigration to and emigration from Slovakia) has long remained positive. In 2025, nearly 6,400 people moved to Slovakia for permanent residence, while more than 4,900 emigrated. "The second highest number of people leaving the country since 1993 led to a renewed drop in the migration balance to just under 1,500 after two years. Since the establishment of the Slovak Republic, the number of immigrants has exceeded the number of emigrants every year, by between 900 and 7,100 people," the Statistics Office noted. However, in the past five years, foreign migration has no longer been sufficient to compensate for population losses caused by natural decrease. mf