The good times for the Slovak economy are exemplified by rising real incomes. Importantly, the gains in prosperity have also spread beyond the country’s economic heart in Bratislava, even though considerable disparities between regions still exist. Slovakia has experienced only limited external economic imbalances in recent years.
The current account deficit remained relatively contained in the past few years and, due to increasing export capacities, it has in fact been shrinking lately. Unit labour costs have until recently favoured the competitiveness of Slovak producers. The koruna has participated in the exchange rate mechanism II since November 2005.