Economy, Agriculture

Although subsistence agriculture traditionally dominated the Slovak economy, this sector declined during the Communist period, when industry was promoted as Slovakia’s principal economic activity.

Cultivated fields occupy 30 percent of land in Slovakia. Wheat, barley, maize, sugar beets, and potatoes are the country’s principal crops. Viticulture (the cultivation of grapes for wine production) is practiced on mountain slopes, and some tobacco is grown in the Vah River valley. The breeding of livestock, including pigs, cattle, sheep, and poultry, is also important.