Western Slovakia

Not to be confused with Western Slovenia.

Western Slovakia (Slovak: Západné Slovensko) is a subdivision of Slovakia as defined by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). It is one of the four classified NUTS-2 statistical regions of Slovakia. The region incorporates the western parts of the country excluding the Bratislava Region, and encompasses an area of 14,992 km² (5,788 sq mi). It incorporates three kraje–Nitra, Trnava and Trenčín. It has a population of more than 1.8 million, and is the most populated of the four regions of Slovakia.

Western Slovakia Západné Slovensko
Region
Country	Slovakia
Area [1]
• Total	14,992 km2 (5,788 sq mi)
Population  (2024)[2]
• Total	1,802,517
• Density	120/km2 (310/sq mi)
GDP [3]
• Total	€38.634 billion (2023)
NUTS code	SK02
HDI (2022)	0.843[4] very high · 2nd

Classification

The country of Slovakia is organized into 12 regions (kraje) for administrative purposes.^[5] The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) organizes the country into four broader level sub-divisions.^[6][7] These are classified as a NUTS-2 statistical regions of Slovakia, and incorporate one or more regions within it.^[8][9] The regions form the NUTS-3 territorial units under them.^[5]

Geography

Western Slovakia incorporates the western parts of the country excluding the Bratislava Region, encompassing an area of 14,992 km² (5,788 sq mi).^[1] The region is located in Central Europe, and is completely land locked as Slovakia does not have access to sea.^[10] It shares land borders with Czechia in the north, Austria in the west, and Hungary in the south. It is bordered by Central Slovakia on the east, and the Bratislava Region on the west.^[11] Western Slovakia is dominated by mountains and valleys that extend from the Western Carpathians.^[12] The region is home to Žitný ostrov, the largest river island in Europe, extending from Bratislava to Komárno. Spread over 1,900 km² (730 sq mi), it lies between the Danube, its tributaries Little Danube and Váh.^[13]

Prešov Košice Žilina Banská Bystrica Trenčín Nitra Trnava Bratislava

Sub-regions

Western Slovenia incorporates incorporates three kraje–Nitra, Trnava and Trenčín.^[8]

Sub-divisions

Name[8]	Official Name[1]	NUTS code[8]	Area[1]	Population (2021)[14]
Trnava	Trnavsky kraj	SK021	4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi)	566,008
Trenčín	Trenčíansky kraj	SK022	4,502 km2 (1,738 sq mi)	577,464
Nitra	Nitriansky kraj	SK023	6,344 km2 (2,449 sq mi)	677,900
Western Slovakia	Západné Slovensko	SK02	14,992 km2 (5,788 sq mi)	1,821,372

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1970 1,679,965 —     1980 1,804,038 +7.4% 1991 1,859,413 +3.1%	Year Pop. ±% 2001 1,870,007 +0.6% 2011 1,838,936 −1.7% 2021 1,821,372 −1.0%
Source: Census of Slovakia[15][14]

Western Slovakia had a population of over 1.8 million in 2024, and is the most populated of the four regions of Slovakia.^[2] The region has a high Human Development Index, and is more developed than the other two larger regions of Slovenia (Central and East Slovenia).^[4] It also has the lowest rate of unemployment across the country.^[16] However, the population has been shrinking, and is on a downward trend since the late 2000s.^[2][15] The average of the resident population has been increasing, with increased life expectancy, decreased rate of birth, and exodus of young people to the capital region and abroad. Western Slovakia has seen the greatest drop in school enrollment compared to the other regions in the late 2020s.^[16]