The Slovak Republic, located in central Europe, features an advanced economy with one of the fastest growth rates in the European Union and OECD. Slovakia joined the EU in 2004 and the eurozone on 1 January 2009. Capital Bratislava, Area Total 49,035 km2, Population 5,379,455, GDP $88.2 billion. Religion The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Sixty percent of Slovaks identify themselves as Roman Catholics, 9.6 percent as nonreligious or atheist, 6 percent as Protestant, 5 percent as Eastern Orthodox, while 19 percent chose "other" to identify themselves.