The number of Slovaks returning from abroad rises

The last time Slovakia registered a positive migration balance was in the crisis year of 2009.

Illustrative stock photo Illustrative stock photo (Source: TASR)

The number of people arriving in Slovakia exceeded the number of those leaving in 2016. Thanks to migration Slovakia’s population increased that year by almost 6,000 people. In 2017 it further increased to 15,000. The economic think tank, the Financial Policy Institute, running under the Finance Ministry came to this conclusion when analysing the data of health insurance companies.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

“The last time we registered a positive migration balance was in the crisis year of 2009,” Tomáš Rizman and Kristína Sacherová wrote in their analysis.

SkryťTurn off ads

The number of returning Slovaks has been increasing along with the arrival of new foreigners.

One in three arrivals to Slovakia in 2016 was a foreigner. The share of migrants from other countries coming to Slovakia over the past four years has increased by almost one-half. Most of them are citizens of the Ukraine and Serbia, and from non-European countries they mainly come from Vietnam, China and South Korea.

Without the arrival of citizens from other countries, the migration balance would still be negative. However, the trend is improving. While between 2010 and 2015, approximately 28,000 Slovaks returned home each year, this figure went up to 32,000 in 2016. The following year it again decreased slightly to 30,200.

Nevertheless, the number of people in the age group 18-28 leaving Slovakia is still slightly higher than the number of those who arrive.

Top stories

Slovakia marks 20 years since joining NATO.

Slovakia marks 20 years in the Alliance.


Daniel Hoťka and 1 more
Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad