From the year 2015 Slovakia has recorded an unprecedented increase in the number of foreigners and as of 31 December 2019 a total of 143 075 foreigners living in the Slovak Republic, which is only 2,62% of the overall population. In absolute numbers, this means that between the years 2015 and 2019 the increase is 58 288 foreigners, predominantly citizens of third countries.

The monitoring report written by Zuzana Stevulova and Daniel Kaba is a part of a project named SDGs and Migration – Multipliers and Journalists Addressing Decision Makers and Citizens in the EU, financed by EU though the DEAR programme. It aims to compare the situation and development in the migration area bearing in mind the priorities and goals of the 2030 Agenda. It is focused on the period 2015 – 2019, so not on the situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2018, Slovakia chose six national priorities implementing the 2030 Agenda, which should bring the seventeen goals of sustainable development to a national extent. These priorities include: education for a decent life; heading towards informed and environmentally sustainable economics in changing demography and the changing global environment; decreasing poverty and social inclusion; sustainable dwellings, regions and country in a context of climate change; rule of law, democracy and safety; good health. The topic of migration, however, is not mentioned separately among national priorities.

In the monitoring report, you can read more about the social, economic and political integration of migrants in the Slovak Republic in the reporting period 2015 – 2019, as well as about the regulations to the arrival of migrants from third countries to the Slovak Republic.

The greater part is devoted to interventions related to the refugee crisis in connection with humanitarian aid and development cooperation because Slovakia responded to migration in development cooperation mainly in the context of the refugee crisis and, to a lesser extent, with assistance to internally displaced persons in Ukraine and South Sudan.

Slovak Aid’s humanitarian and post-humanitarian projects deal almost exclusively with assistance to refugees (Lebanon), internally displaced persons (Syria, Ukraine, South Sudan) or returnees (Iraq). In terms of development cooperation, the Slovak Republic is mainly involved in Kenya – contributing to the reduction of rural displacement and urban migration.

You can download and read the Ambrela’s monitoring report called Monitoring paper on Agenda 2030 implementation and migration management in Slovakia (2015 – 2019) in English language here.