Tatra Tiger

"Tatra Tiger" is a nickname that refers to the economy of Slovakia in period 2002 2007[1] and after 2010[2] following the ascendance of a right-wing coalition in September 2002 which engaged in a program of liberal economic reforms. The name "Tatra Tiger" derives from the local Tatra mountain range.

Minister of Finance Ivan Mikloš is widely regarded as the main architect of economic reforms.

In 2004 and 2005, Slovakia had one of the highest gross domestic product growth rates in the European Union after some of the Baltic countries, reaching 6%. In 2006, the year-over-year growth amounted to an unexpected 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, which helped to increase the overall annual economic growth expectation for 2006 from 6–6.5% to 8.2%. This 9.8% growth (a low estimate) can be partly ascribed to the launch of production at a new Peugeot SA plant. The growth came as a surprise to local analysts, given that another big foreign investor, Kia, launched its production in late 2006. In 4Q of 2007, the growth was 14.3%.

However, public polling shows that despite the resultant high growth rates, the public does not universally approve of the reforms, because they are associated with a drastic loss of government programs (reform of the previously government-run health system, complete reform of the pension system, etc.), the replacement of progressive taxation with a flat tax, rapid changes of laws and other legal regulations, and rising property prices. Moreover, unemployment jumped to very high levels immediately after the reforms began in 1998, although it decreased back to its 1998 level in 2006 and even below later on.

In the first quarter of 2009 the fall of GDP was −5.7% but in 2010 the GDP growth was 4.8% for the first quarter.

These days, Slovakia's GDP still grows faster than the EU average, in the period 2005–2011 Slovakia's GDP increased by 38.3% which is the highest growth of all EU countries.[3]

Statistics

Annual GDP growth rate

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Slovakia 1.4% 3.5% 4.6% 5.4% 5.3% 6.4% 8.5% 10.8% 5.7% −5.5% 5.1% 2.8% 1.5% 1.4% 2.6% 3.8% 3.3% 3.4%
Data from Eurostat

GDP per capita

In international dollars, at purchasing power parity (PPP) and Nominal GDP per capita. Numbers in brackets show the respective country's GDP per capita as a percentage of the European Union average (also measured at PPP).

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Slovakia (PPP) 12,344
(50%)
13,082
(52%)
13,889
(54%)
14,925
(55%)
16,142
(57%)
17,766
(60%)
19,850
(63%)
22,583
(68%)
24,306
(73%)
23,136
(73%)
24,549
(73%)
25,758
(73%)
26,629
(75%)
27,467
28,729
30,219
31,475
33,041
35,129
37,021
39,046
41,094
Data from International Monetary Fund
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Slovakia (Nominal) 3,832
3,976
4,620
6,330
8,027
9,129
10,683
14,349
18,048
16,567
16,634
18,223
17,294
18,205
18,668
16,197
16,564
17,627
19,581
20,155
21,506
22,821
Data from International Monetary Fund

See also

High-rise buildings at Mlynské Nivy, one of Bratislava's main business districts.

References

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