Since the establishment of the Slovak Republic in January 1993, Slovakia has undergone a transition from a centrally planned economy to a free market economy, a process which some observers were to believe was slowed in the 1994–98 period due to the crony capitalism and other fiscal policies of Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar's government.

Two governments of the "liberal-conservative" Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda (1998–2006) pursued policies of macroeconomic stabilization and market-oriented structural reforms.

FDI inflow grew more than 600% from 2000 and cumulatively reached an all-time high of, US$17.3 billion in 2006, or around $18,000 per capita by the end of 2006.

In October 2005 new investment stimuli introduced – more favorable conditions to IT and research centers, especially to be located in the east part of the country (where there is more unemployment), to bring more added value and not to be logistically demanding.

Origin of foreign investment 1996–2005 – the Netherlands 24.3%; Germany 19.4%, Austria 14.1%; Italy 7.5%, United States (8th largest investor) 4.0%.

Foreign investment sectors – industry 38.4%; banking and insurance 22.2%; wholesale and retail trade 13.1%; production of electricity, gas and water 10.5%; transport and telecommunications 9.2%.

Since the enlargement of the European Union, foreign companies have been looking for the cheapest labour, but instead of joining forces, governments in the region compete to offer the lowest possible level of taxes.

When Slovakia joined the European Union in 2004, it became the first OECD country to introduce a full flat tax rate of 19% on both corporate profits and income or consumer goods.

[23] Slovak service sector grew rapidly during the last 10 years and now employs about 69% of the population and contributes with over 61% to GDP.

Slovakia's tourism has been rising in recent years, income has doubled from US$640 million in 2001 to US$1.2 billion in 2005.

Heavy industry (including coal mining and the production of machinery and steel) was built for strategic reasons because Slovakia was less exposed to the military threat than the western parts of Czechoslovakia.

Growing wheat, rye, corn, potatoes, sugar beets, grains, fruits and sunflowers.

Many global companies, including IBM, Dell, Lenovo, AT&T, SAP, Amazon, Johnson Controls, Swiss Re and Accenture, have built outsourcing and service centres in Bratislava[35] and Košice (T-Systems, Cisco Systems, Ness, Deloitte[36]).

In the process of transition to a knowledge economy, it particularly lacks investment into education and a broader application of IT.

The World Bank urges Slovakia to upgrade information infrastructure and reform the education system.