Download the Regional Strategy Report of BANSKÁ BYSTRICA, SLOVAKIA

The Banská Bystrica Region is one of the Slovak regions in the country of Slovakia in Europe.
It is located in the central part of Slovakia and has an area of 9,455 km². The region is predominated by mountains, the highest of them being the Low Tatras in the north, where the highest peak, Ďumbier (2.043 m), is located. Lower areas are located in the south, represented by the Southern Slovak Basin along the borders with Hungary.

The population density in the region is 69.5 inhabitants per km², which is much less than the country’s average. The largest towns are Banská Bystrica (capital city of the region), Zvolen, Lučenec and Rimavská Sobota. In 2007 653.697 inhabitants lived in the region, with a majority of Slovaks (83.7%) and a Hungarian minority (11.8%) along Hungarian border; small minorities are represented by Roma (2.3%) and Czechs(<1%).

The Slovak economy is considered an advanced economy which transformed from a centrally planned to a market-driven economy. Major privatisations  are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost in private hands, and foreign investment has risen. Slovakia has recently been characterized by sustained high economic growth. In 2006, Slovakia achieved the highest growth of GDP (8.9%) among the members of the OECD.

Unemployment, peaking at 19.2% at the end of 1999, decreased to 7.51% in October 2008. In addition to economic growth, migration of workers to other EU countries also contributed to this reduction. Slovakia adopted the euro in January 2009 as the 16th member of the Eurozone. In March 2008, the Ministry of Finance announced that Slovakia's economy is developed enough to stop being an aid receiver from the World Bank. Slovakia became an aid provider at the end of 2008.

Although Slovakia's GDP comes mainly from the tertiary (services) sector, the country's industry also plays an important role within its economy. The main industry sectors are car manufacturing and electrical engineering.

Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a crossroads for international trade traffic. Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway have crossed the territory of today Bratislava. Today Bratislava is the road, railway, waterway and airway hub.

The deposits of ore raw materials, like gold, silver, copper, and zinc are historically known to be found around Banská Bystrica, Banská Štiavnica and Kremnica. The non-metallic raw materials play an important role in the regional economy. There are several quarries of building stones in the region such as limestone, dolomite limestone, ceramic clay, brick earth, gravel and gravel sand, basalt and pearlite. Very important are also resources of wood, as about 49% of the area is covered with forest.