Mezei István: Urban development in Slovakia (Pécs-Somorja, 2010)
3. The settlement structure of Slovakia
The settlement structure of Slovakia the importance of the energy industry, building material industry, timber industry, textile industry, etc., which employed the remaining 35.18% of the workers, accounted for 28.59% of industrial products and possessed 40.05% of the industrial means. The most important change in the relationship between the individual industries was in the food industry, which lost its leading position of 1950. The proportion of the value produced by it decreased from 37.5% to 13.90%. In spite of this it retained an important role because it had to produce the most essential food for the population of the country. It was the function of the southern, agricultural regions of Slovakia to supply the country with food. The largest centre of the food industry was Nové Zámky. There were some changes regarding the proportions between the industrial sectors, because, due to the development of information technology and computer industry from the mid-1970s, the electro-technical industry began to develop more rapidly than the other sectors. The oil processing industry was also extremely successful in the plants of Slovnaft, in spite of the small amount of available Slovak raw material, since they were based on Soviet crude oil imports. Centrally controlled industrialization called forth the conscious choice of factories. When making a decision, it was also taken into consideration whether the necessary raw materials were available or not, and also if the particular industry would improve the backward situation of the particular area. It was a political decision, rather than market demand, that played a decisive role in choosing the place for industrial activities. This led to an industrial investment boom, which was typical of the whole of (Czecho)Slovakia, just like all the other communist countries, in the decades of communism. What are the main characteristic features of the location of industries? Mariot (1988) has elaborated a calculation method that makes it possible to show the concentration of industry in Slovakia. He considered the five largest factories of the particular industrial sectors according to the gross production values and named their locations. His calculations resulted in four main groups. 70
