Czechoslovakia's division -- basic data ten years later.

(From Czech News Agency)

PRAGUE, Dec 1 (CTK) - Given Slovakia's slower pace of integration into NATO and OECD it is often stressed that Slovakia is still lagging behind its former partner in Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic.

Judging by economic criteria, the discrepancies between the two countries have really intensified over the past ten years in the spheres of employment, salaries, investment and the exchange of rate of the currency. However, in recent years Slovakia started closing the gap and the two countries are now both heading for the EU.

This is a comparison of some spheres of political and social life in the two countries after Czechoslovakia's split in 1993:

President - The independent Czech Republic has only had one president since its establishment, Vaclav Havel. In Slovakia the post has been held by two men - Michal Kovac and Rudolf Schuster. The second Slovak president was elected in 1999 in direct elections and this form of vote is also being supported in the Czech Republic. Nevertheless, Havel's successor will be still elected by parliament in January 2003.

Parliament - Parliaments were formed in both countries in January 1993 from the previous bodies called national councils. Unlike Slovakia, the Czech Republic has a bicameral parliament, composed of the Chamber of Deputies with 200 members and the Senate with 81 members. The Slovak National Council is made up of 150 deputies.

Government - There have been five cabinets in both countries over the past ten years. In the Czech Republic cabinets have been formed by Vaclav Klaus (1993-1997), Milos Zeman (1998-2002), Josef Tosovsky (a caretaker cabinet in 1997-1998) and now Premier Vladimir Spidla.