Environment at a Glance: Slovak Republic
Table of contents
The OECD Environment at a Glance Country Notes are designed to support transparent, evidence-based information. They provide concise and descriptive overview of progress across major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity conservation. They feature selected environmental indicators, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The text of this country profile is complementary to and has benefited from the OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Slovak Republic 2024. See the Reader’s guide to the Environment at a Glance Country Notes for more information.
The Slovak Republic is a land‐locked Central European country with a small open economy, strongly integrated into the European Union (EU) market. Population and economic activity are concentrated in Bratislava and the Western regions, while substantial regional disparities remain high, and the Eastern part of the country continues to lag behind. The economy relies heavily on industrial exports (particularly cars), which increases its exposure to external shocks. After a deep contraction during the COVID-19 crisis, the economy rebounded in 2021 and has grown moderately since.
Slovakia spans two biogeographic regions: the Carpathian Mountains and the Pannonian Lowlands, allowing for a rich diversity of flora and fauna and a diversified landscape. The predominant ecosystems are forests, cultivated land and grasslands. Renewable natural resources are abundant. By contrast, domestic geological reserves are limited, apart for magnesite and construction materials. The country therefore depends largely on imports of fossil fuels, metals, and most other raw materials.
Slovakia is a unitary state composed of eight regions and 2 890 municipalities. Environment-related responsibilities are fragmented across institutions. The Ministry of Environment develops and implements environmental policies through its specialised agencies while the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are responsible for energy policy and forestry, respectively.
The per person production-based (i.e. produced within the territory) and demand-based (or footprint, i.e. including emissions incorporated in imported goods) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain below the OECD averages. While production-based emissions have declined, demand-based emissions have remained relatively stable during since 1995.
Slovakia met its GHG obligations under the first and second period of the Kyoto Protocol. Its emissions decreased at the same rate (-20%) as in the EU over 2010-20, though they rebounded faster in 2021, after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. The country also achieved its 2020 target for emissions not covered by the EU ETS (Emissions Trading System) (OECD, 2024[1]).
Total GHG emissions, excluding land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), decreased by 32.6% during 2000-24. The marked drop in recent years is due to a variety of factors, among which fuel switching from coal and oil to natural gas and economy restructuring towards less energy intensive production, such as in the machinery and automotive industry. Transport emissions also started to decline.
The emission profile has not changed significantly since 1990. Transport is the largest source of emissions, accounting for 23% of the total in 2024 (excluding LULUCF), followed by the industrial processes and product use sector (20%), mainly from processing mineral products, chemical production and steel and iron production, which are hard to decarbonise (emission reductions are mostly due to reduced production). Other important sources of emissions are fuel combustion in stationary sources, residential heating and fugitive methane emissions from transport, processing and distribution of oil and natural gas. Agriculture contributed 6% of total emissions in 2024, with most of the reduction taking place in the 1990s as a result of a reduction in livestock number and fertiliser use. The LULUCF sector is a net sink (Slovakia, 2026[2]).
Although fossil fuels make up the majority of total energy supply, they represent a smaller share of the energy mix than the OECD average, thanks to nuclear energy. Over the past decade, there was a shift from coal to renewables (mainly biofuels and waste), which still account for a moderate percentage of supply (10.7% in 2025). Slovakia has phased out coal mining and coal-fired power generation in 2023 (OECD, 2024[1]).
Despite improvements in energy efficiency and economic restructuring, the Slovak economy is 40% more energy intensive than the OECD-Europe average, due to its larger industrial base. Since 2014, energy consumption has risen steadily, except during the COVID-19 crisis, reaching in 2021 a level equivalent to 2010 (OECD, 2024[1]).
After strong reductions following industrial restructuring, fuel switching, stricter legislations and the implementation of abatement technologies, the decline in emissions has slowed since the mid-2010s. Slovakia met its 2020-29 emission reduction commitments under the EU NEC (National Emission Ceiling) Directive and is on track to meet its 2030 targets, only with additional measures for ammonia emissions. Improved manure management reduced ammonia emissions, but growth in inorganic nitrogen fertiliser use has increased emissions during 2011-18 (OECD, 2024[1]).
While the average annual population exposure to PM2.5 has been declining since 2000, it remains above the 2021 guideline value of 5 µg/m3 recommended by the World Health Organization and among the highest in OECD-Europe. The Central Slovak region is the most exposed and Bratislava the least. Solid fuel combustion for domestic heating, road transport and metal production are the main sources of particulate matter pollution (SHMU, 2021[3]). In addition to disparities across large regions, there are also several intra-regional high-exposure hotspots. These localised areas of elevated concentrations are shaped by specific geomorphological conditions, recurrent temperature inversions and structurally limited atmospheric ventilation in valley settlements. These factors constrain pollutant dispersion and contribute to persistently higher PM2.5 levels, even as national averages show gradual improvement.
Slovakia enjoys abundant freshwater resources and generally experiences low water stress. Nevertheless, climate change puts the southwest region, including the biggest sources of drinking water in Central Europe, at severe risk of drought. Freshwater abstractions have remained broadly stable in the past decade. Abstractions per person for public supply are among the lowest in the OECD, and only about 1% of renewable freshwater resources are abstracted annually, compared to about 11% in OECD-Europe (OECD, 2024[1]).
Population connected to public wastewater treatment plant increased from less than 60% in 2010 to about 72% in 2024. This rate is one of the lowest in the OECD and is even lower in small municipalities. In 2018, 93% of generated urban wastewater load was treated according to the requirements of the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, above the EU average of 82%. However, only a very small share of the population benefits from tertiary (advanced) treatment. Slovakia will face challenges in complying with more stringent requirements due to the large share of the population living in small municipalities and the expected population decline, which will affect the revenues from utilities and investment planning (OECD, 2024[1]).
With 481 kg of municipal waste generated1 per person in 2024, Slovakia was slightly below the OECD-Europe average. Although separate collection has improved in the past decade, municipal waste generation increased faster than GDP, and a large share of this waste still ends up in landfills. Data quality issues call into question apparent progress in recycling (EC, 2023[4]).
Domestic material consumption (DMC) and material footprint per person are below the respective OECD averages. DMC fell after 2008, improving the material productivity of the economy, which is well above the OECD average. As in many OECD countries, non-metallic minerals account for the largest share of DMC, driven by construction materials.
With about 40% of its territory covered by forests, Slovakia is among the most forested countries in Europe. Infrastructure development is the predominant driver of land-use change and has come largely at the expense of agri-ecosystems. Built-up areas have been growing, and their share in total land is higher than the EU and the OECD averages (OECD, 2024[1]).
Slovakia is home to about 11 300 plant and 28 800 animal species. Approximately 28% of the habitat types and 425 species protected under EU law are found in Slovakia.
The conservation status of most habitats and species is unfavourable. Approximately 60% of habitats and 75% of species of European interest are in a poor or bad state (EEA, 2021[5]). The share of habitats with an unfavourable conservation status is lower than the EU average, while the share of species with an unfavourable status is higher.
Numerous plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. According to the Red List, almost one quarter of Slovakia’s vertebrates are threatened, including 44% of amphibians, 42% of reptiles and 24% of birds. Approximately 7% of the country’s known invertebrate species face extinction.
The main pressures on biodiversity include unsustainable agricultural practices, invasive alien species, forestry (e.g. high volume of logging in some forest areas), infrastructure development, which contributes to habitat fragmentation and soil sealing, and natural processes such as erosion and secondary succession (OECD, 2024[1]).
Slovakia has an extensive protected area network. With over 37% of its territory designated for protection, it has already exceeded the 2030 target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of protecting 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas. Slovakia’s protected area coverage is significantly higher than the OECD average. However, only a limited number of sites have strict management objectives (International Union for the Conservation of Nature -IUCN - categories I and II) and its network is not functioning optimally, with a complex system of different types, often low level of protection. Management plans are also lacking for most protected areas or are not implemented effectively due to lack of capacity (OECD, 2024[1]).
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
In real terms, revenues from environmentally related taxes (ERT) increased until 2019, driven by road fuel consumption, while inflation eroded fuel taxes. ERT remained broadly stable before falling in 2022. Revenue from energy taxes includes a surcharge on electricity to finance feed-in tariffs for renewables and co-generation, and subsidies for electricity generation from domestic coal. The decrease in 2022 reflects the fall in revenue from the surcharge, as high market prices have led to a reduction in support for electricity and combined heat and power producers. As a share of GDP, revenue from ERT remains close to the OECD-Europe average. Like most countries, the bulk of these taxes has an energy base, followed by transport (OECD, 2024[1]).
In total, 69.5% of GHG emissions in the Slovak Republic were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate2 (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in the Slovak Republic consist of emissions trading system (ETS) permit prices, which cover 43% of GHG emissions in CO2 equivalent. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, covered 32.7% of emissions in 2023. Direct fossil fuel subsidies cover 10% of emissions. Net Effective Carbon Rates are highest in the road transport sector, which accounts for 15.9% of the country's total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is on average negative in the buildings sector. The buildings sector accounts for 10.9% of GHG emissions (OECD, 2024[6]).
The share of environmentally related government research and development (R&D) budget in total budget has fluctuated since 2000, to stand at 4.1% in 2024. The share of renewables in total public energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) has fluctuated even more widely and is now at less than 10%.
Slovakia is not a major player in environmentally related inventions, but the share of environmentally related inventions is in line with the OECD average, though decreasing in recent years.
The Slovak Republic’s development co-operation programme is based on its own transformative experience of building independent state institutions, developing a market economy and fulfilling the principles of democracy. Most of the Slovak Republic’s official development assistance (ODA) is delivered multilaterally through EU institutions. Climate and the environment do not feature prominently among the priorities of the country’s development programme. However, a new strategy adopted in 2025 aims at strengthening the mainstreaming of environmental and climate objectives. The multilateral nature of Slovakia’s ODA is reflected in the low shares of bilateral ODA targeting climate and biodiversity, at 7.7% and 2.9% in 2023-24, respectively (OECD, 2026[7]).
References
[4] EC (2023), The early warning report for Slovakia, European Commission, Brussels, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018SC0424.
[5] EEA (2021), Conservation status of habitat types and species: Datasets from Article 17, Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC reporting, European Environmental Agency.
[7] OECD (2026), Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/slovak-republic_f7504622-en.html.
[1] OECD (2024), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Slovak Republic 2024, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/108238e8-en.
[6] OECD (2024), Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down, OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b44c74e6-en.
[3] SHMU (2021), A brief overview of the development of PM10 air pollution from 2005 to 2020, Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, Bratislava, https://www.shmu.sk/File/Infridgement_podklady_fin4opr.pdf.
[2] Slovakia (2026), National Greenhouse Inventory Document, https://unfccc.int/documents/656443.
Further reading
EEA (2023), Member States' greenhouse gas (GHG) emission projections (accessed 24 October 2023).
MoE/SEA (2023b), State of the Environment Report of the Slovak Republic 2021, Ministry of Environment of Slovak Republic/Slovak Environment Agency, https://www.enviroportal.sk/spravy/detail/11741. An updated version is available in Slovak only (https://www.sazp.sk/novinky/envirorezort-vydal-jubilejnu-30-spravu-o-stave-zivotneho-prostredia released on 14/12/2023)
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