The Slovaks are descendants of a Slavic people who settled near the Danube between 400 and 500 ad. Slovaks comprise about 86% of the nation’s inhabitants; Hungarians, who constitute the largest minority group, comprise close to 11%; and Roma represent less than 2%. Small numbers of Czechs, Moravians, Silesians, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Poles, and Germans also live in Slovakia.The population is about 85% Slovak. Hungarians, concentrated in the southern border districts,form the largest minority. Czechs, Germans, and Poles are found throughout the nation, while Ruthenians are concentrated in the east and northeast. There is a sizable and comparatively mobile population of Gypsies , who are found mainly in the eastern part of the nation.

The majority of the 5.3 million inhabitants of the Slovak Republic are Slovak.Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority and are concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of Slovakia. Other ethnic groups include Roma, Czechs, Ruthenians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Poles. The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens practice Roman Catholicism; the second-largest group is Protestants.About 2,300 Jews remain of the around pre-WWII population of 120,000. The official state language is Slovak, and Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern region. contempt its modern European economy and society, Slovakia has a remarkable rural element. About 45% of Slovaks live in villages of less than 5,000 people, and 14% in villages of less than 1,000.