The lower December´s foreign trade deficit contributed to a year-on-year improvement in the annual balance.

In the final month of the previous year, the Slovak Republic’s foreign trade balance recorded a deficit of nearly EUR 163 million, despite a significantly higher year-on-year growth in exports and a slight drop in imports. For the entire last year, the trade balance recorded a surplus of EUR 2.7 billion according to preliminary results, which was almost EUR 64 million higher year on year.

According to preliminary results, goods worth¹⁾ EUR 8.2 billion were exported from Slovakia from Slovakia in December 2025, representing a year-on-year increase by 7%. Exports rose year on year in 11 months of the past year, with the December growth rate being the second highest after March. The value of imports in December declined by 0.5% to EUR 8.4 billion. Throughout 2025, imports were lower year on year in four months.

The trade balance ended December 2025 with a deficit of EUR 162.7 million, however, this represents an improvement of EUR 580.4 million compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The more favorable result was attributed mainly to a year-on-year decrease in the negative balance of trade in miscellaneous manufactured goods and mineral fuels, as well as an increase in the surplus in trade in manufactured goods.

Within the export structure, 9 out of 10 traded sections showed year-on-year growth. The most significant impact on the overall development was an almost 5% increase in the value of exported goods in the Machinery and Transport Equipment section (SITC 7), which includes car exports. On the import side, 5 out of 10 categories declined year-on-year. The decrease was driven primarily by a drop of more than 28% in the Mineral Fuels section, which includes oil, electricity, and natural gas (SITC 3).

Development of foreign trade in 2025

Preliminary data indicated that Slovakia’s foreign trade ended 2025 with a surplus of EUR 2.7 billion, marking an increase by EUR 63.7 million compared to the previous year. The modest year-on-year improvement was primarily driven by a significantly lower deficit in December, as the cumulative balance from January to November had shown weaker performance than in 2024. Since 2010, following the revision of the methodology, goods exports have generally exceeded imports, with the only exception being 2022, when imports exceeded exports by a record EUR 4.5 billion.

According to preliminary data, the export of goods from Slovakia for the entire past year increased by 3.7% to nearly EUR 111 billion. Imports into the SR rose by 3.8% to over EUR 108 billion. Both export and import values thus again exceeded the EUR 100 billion mark and simultaneously reached their highest level since 2010.

In 2025, the EU traditionally remains the main trading partner for the Slovak exporters, accounting more than 78% of export value directed there. Imports from EU member states represented over 63%. Exports to the EU increased year-on-year by more than 4%, while imports rose by over 2%. Exports to the non-EU countries were more than 1% higher compared to the previous year. Imports from these countries rose by approximately 7%.

With the EU member states, Slovakia recorded a surplus of over EUR 18 billion in 2025, representing an increase of more than EUR 2 billion compared to 2024. Conversely, trade with non-EU countries ended with a deficit of almost EUR 16 billion, which deepened by over EUR 2 billion compared to the previous year.

Machinery and transport equipment as the main driver of export and import growth

Out of ten sections in the export structure in 2025, eight recorded year-on-year growth. The most significant influence on this development was the most traded section in foreign trade – Machinery and Transport Equipment (SITC 7), which also includes car exports. The value of goods exported in this section was higher year-on-year for ten months in 2025, resulting in an overall annual increase of more than 3%. This segment represented over 61% of Slovak exports.

Growth was also observed in imports, which rose by 3.8% year-on-year in 2025. Increased imports were recorded in seven out of ten categories, with the most significant contribution to growth coming from the Machinery and Transport Equipment section (SITC 7), which includes imports of automotive components.

Adjusted detailed data for January to November 2025

In total for the 11 months of last year, exports increased by 3.5% compared to the corresponding period in 2024, reaching EUR 102.6 billion. Imports rose by 4.1% to EUR 99.7 billion. The foreign trade balance was positive at EUR 2.9 billion. For the corresponding period in 2024, the balance had a surplus of EUR 3.4 billion.