The
Bratislava Region is the wealthiest and economically most important region in
Slovakia, despite being the smallest by area and having the second smallest population of
the eight Slovak regions. The majority of governmental institutions, including the Ministry of Finance and the
central bank, as well as many Slovak private companies and subsidiaries of multinational companies in Slovakia have their headquarters in
Bratislava. More than 75% of Bratislava's population works in the
service sector, mainly composed of
trade,
banking,
IT,
telecommunication industry,
tourism and others.[1] Major factories in Bratislava include the
Slovnaft oil refinery and the
Volkswagen Bratislava plant. The
Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSSE), the organiser of the public market of securities, was founded on March 15, 1991.[2]
The
Bratislava Region is the wealthiest and economically most prosperous region of Slovakia, despite being the smallest by area and having the second smallest population of
the eight Slovak regions. It accounts for about 26% of the Slovak
GDP.[6] The GDP per capita (
PPP) is 188% (2016) of the
EU average which is the fifth highest of all regions in the EU member states.[7] Statistics are though deformed by centralisation in Slovakia, where almost all governmental institutions as well as private companies in the country have their headquarters in the capital and by lower number of official inhabitants as compared to estimates.
The
primary sector is represented only with a share of 0.9% in the region, that is, one fifth of the share observed at the national level (4.5%). The
secondary sector accounts for 20.3%, that is 11.5 percentage points under the share in the
Slovakia.
Foreign investments
More than 60% of all direct foreign investments in
Slovakia are located in the
Bratislava Region.
A car manufacturer
Volkswagen Slovakia was established in Bratislava in 1991 subsequent to acquiring Škoda Auto and has expanded since.[8] Currently, its production focuses on
sport utility vehicles, which represent 68% of all production.
VW Touareg is finished and
Porsche Cayenne and
Audi Q7 are partially built there.[9][10][11]
In recent years
service and
high-tech oriented businesses are thriving in Bratislava. Many global companies, including
IBM,
Dell,
Lenovo,
AT&T,
SAP, and
Accenture, are building their
outsourcing and service centres or have plans to build in the near future here.[12][13]
Overview of biggest companies
Other important companies and big employers with headquarters in Bratislava include:[14]
Historically, Bratislava was among the most industrialized and developed cities within the
Kingdom of Hungary and most of this heritage was destroyed during the 20th and 21st centuries. Despite Bratislava region being the first region in Slovakia where trade and services have overtaken industrial production there are several major industrial facilities in the city.[15] The main sectors include the chemical, automotive, engineering, electrotechnical and food-processing industries. Major industrial facilities include:
Slovnaft oil refinery,
Volkswagen Bratislava factory and the
Port of Bratislava.
Construction boom
The
Slovak economy's strong growth in the 2000s has led to a boom in the construction industry, and several major projects have been completed in or are planned for Bratislava.[16] Areas attracting developers include the Danube riverfront, with two major projects already under construction: River Park[17] in the Old Town, and
Eurovea[18] near the
Apollo Bridge. Other locations under development include the areas around the main railway and bus stations,[19] around the former industrial zone near the Old Town,[20] and in the boroughs of Petržalka[21] and Ružinov. It is expected that investors will spend €1.2 billion on new projects by 2010.[22] See also
List of tallest buildings in Bratislava.
Education
Around 38% of all university educated people in the country are concentrated in Bratislava. The potential of the qualified population with a university or college education is utilised to the level of 94%.