Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Reto Stöckli

Slovakia: population and ages

Slovakia: 5.46 million people on 1 January 2026.

The population peaked in 2023 at 5.52 million and is now 1.2% below that peak.

Figures for 2026 are UN projections (medium variant). Estimates end in 2023.

Population, 1 January 2026
5,455,816
Median age
42.8
Births in 2026
47,925
Deaths in 2026
57,002
Life expectancy at birth
78.8
Children per woman
1.57
Under 15
15.5%
65 and over
19.3%
Population pyramid, Slovakia, 1 January 2026MaleFemale0102030405060708090100+025K25K50K50K
Population pyramid, Slovakia, 1 January 2026 Projection

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Population over time

In mid-1950 there were 3.47 million people, so the population is now 1.6 times as large.

The UN projects 47,900 births and 57,000 deaths in 2026, 9,080 more deaths than births.

Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 2020.

Population, 1950 to 2100Projected from 202402M4M6M1950197520002025205020752100
2026 Slovakia: 5.5M

Ages

The median age is 42.8, which is 11.7 years above the world’s 31.1.

15% of the people are under 15 and 19% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

People aged 65 and over have outnumbered children under 15 since 2019.

Women have 1.6 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 3.6 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 78.8 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 60.8.

Median age, 1950 to 2100Projected from 202402040601950197520002025205020752100SlovakiaWorld
2026 Slovakia: 43World: 31

See how the pyramid changes from 1950 to 2100

Births, deaths and the years ahead

For mid-2050 the UN projects 4.94 million people, 9.4% fewer than now, with a median age of 49.3.

Births and deaths per year, 1950 to 2100Projected from 2024020K40K60K80K100K120K1950197520002025205020752100DeathsBirths
2026 Births: 47.9KDeaths: 57K

Compare Slovakia with other countries

Development and urbanisation

In 2025, 15% of the people lived in cities, 39% in towns and semi-dense areas and 46% in rural areas. For 2050 the UN projects 16% in cities.

Degree of urbanisation: one rule for every country, a city has at least 50,000 people at 1,500 or more per km². National definitions of “urban” differ.

IndicatorLatest valueYear
People using the internet89.8%2024
Access to electricity100.0%2024
99.8%2024
97.5%2024
99.0%2024
Human Development Index0.8802023

Each value is the latest one published, with the year it refers to. Countries publish in different years. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (ITU, SDG 7.1.1, UNESCO UIS), UNDP, Human Development Report, UN, World Urbanization Prospects 2025.

Longevity, ageing and the future

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 78.3 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 19.8 more years for women and 16.1 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 29.6 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 52.2.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 3.43 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 2.33 million to 4.55 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, life tables, probabilistic projections, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

International migrants

In mid-2024, 324,000 international migrants lived here, 5.9% of the population.

In mid-2024, 390,000 people from here lived in other countries.

Largest countries of origin
CountryPeople
Ukraine122,257
Czechia97,359
Hungary17,710
Romania10,613
United Kingdom9,987
Largest countries of destination
CountryPeople
Czechia231,387
Austria50,437
Hungary24,748
Switzerland24,437
Canada12,340

Counted by country of birth. A migrant stock counts people living outside their country at mid-year, not journeys or yearly moves. Sources: International Migrant Stock 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

Cities

Cities of 50,000 people or more here, by the UN degree of urbanisation: 7.

CityPopulation 2025
Bratislava288,533
Košice216,740
Prešov76,161
Žilina65,278
Banská Bystrica59,336
Trnava55,695
Nitra54,146

Sources: World Urbanization Prospects 2025, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

All cities

Data and sources

Slovakia every ten years
YearPopulation (1 July)Median ageBirthsDeathsLife expectancyChildren per woman
19503,465,74726.0100,28840,02760.83.61
19604,124,44226.788,65731,71670.33.02
19704,525,87127.380,28742,54969.72.41
19804,976,65627.995,36950,93170.42.32
19905,266,07830.379,35055,25970.82.08
20005,379,99933.054,79953,14273.11.29
20105,391,85136.160,52953,02575.51.43
20205,455,02440.256,66359,73576.91.59
20305,401,39244.444,48859,94379.51.58
20405,192,01048.043,31967,30081.11.59
20504,936,48849.342,42269,01482.61.60
20604,635,02049.335,68269,44484.01.61
20704,271,28850.433,32270,24985.31.62
20803,926,99250.532,32162,78686.51.62
20903,656,44050.328,54452,40187.71.63
21003,427,21651.426,03348,39288.81.63

Rows from 2024 on are UN projections (medium variant), shown in italics.

The UN estimates every country and area within its present borders for every year since 1950, also for years before it became independent or took its present shape. Figures for earlier years therefore describe the people who lived on today’s territory.

Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

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