Slovakia is located in Central Europe. It shares borders with Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and the Ukraine. It has an area of 48,845 square kilometres. Its capital city is Bratislava.

Slovakia had a population of 5,423,567 in July 2004 with an estimated growth rate of 0.14%. Slovac is the national language, however Hungarian is also widely spoken. The main religion is Roman Catholic.

The climate in Slovakia is temperate with cool summers and cold, cloudy and humid winters. The terrain consists of rugged mountains in the central and the northern part while it has lowlands in the south.

Slovakia gained independence in 1993 when Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is now governed as a parliamentary democracy. The Executive branch of the government is composed of a President, Prime Minister and the Cabinet, which is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The President is elected by direct, popular vote.

Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. Originally industrial development was concentrated especially in the raw material and energy-intensive fields of metallurgy, the armaments industry, the energy industry and the chemical industry. Following the radical changes of 1989, however, heavy industry virtually collapsed. The service sector, by contrast, registered strong growth as a result of the founding of small private enterprises. The agricultural sector, which has traditionally been poorly developed, experienced a modest upswing. The currency of Slovakia is Slovak koruna.

The development of franchising in Slovakia is just in its infancy.

There is no specific franchise law in Slovakia.