Market Research Companies in Slovakia

Key figures for researchers

Population

5.41 million (5,409,407 at the end of 2025)¹

Aged 65 and over

17% of the population (2021 census, first results)²

Population by nationality

Slovak 83.8%, Hungarian 7.75%, Roma 1.23%, Czech 0.53%, Rusyn 0.44% (2021 census)³

Roma nationality

67.2 thousand people as first nationality, plus 89 thousand as a second nationality (2021 census)⁴

Mother tongue

Slovak almost 82%, Hungarian 8.5%, Romani 1.8% (2021 census)⁵

Largest cities

Bratislava 480,902, Košice 222,286 (31 December 2025)⁶

Internet users

89.8% of individuals (2024)⁷

Online population

about 94% of people aged 16–74; 71.2% of internet users shop online (2025)⁸

Mobile subscriptions

140 per 100 people (2024)⁹

Research guide

Research landscape

Slovakia is a small, open EU market where research is often run alongside the Czech Republic and other Central European countries. Full-service agencies work alongside specialist qualitative and B2B firms, field and CATI suppliers and online panel providers. Bratislava, the capital, is the main business centre; Košice, Prešov and Žilina are the other common locations for city samples and focus groups.

Slovak research agencies are represented by SAVA (Slovenská asociácia výskumných agentúr), which in 2019 took a joint position with ESOMAR and WAPOR against a proposed extension of the pre-election poll blackout from 14 to 50 days. A common quality reference is the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, revised in 2025 (fifth edition) and endorsed by more than 60 associations in over 50 countries.

Languages and fieldwork

Slovak is the fieldwork language for almost all studies: in the 2021 census, almost 82% of the population gave Slovak as their mother tongue, 8.5% Hungarian and 1.8% Romani. By nationality, 83.8% declared Slovak and 7.75% Hungarian (422,065 people), the largest minority. Studies targeting the Hungarian community may need a Hungarian questionnaire or bilingual interviewers.

The Roma population is counted in two ways in the census: 67.2 thousand people declared Roma as their first nationality (1.23% of the population), and a further 89 thousand gave it as a second nationality. A national sample covers 8 regions (kraje): Bratislava, Trnava, Trenčín, Nitra, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Prešov and Košice. Quotas or weighting by region and settlement size are common.

Which methods work

Connectivity is high: 89.8% of individuals use the internet and there are 140 mobile subscriptions per 100 people. In 2025, about 94% of people aged 16 to 74 were online, and 71.2% of internet users bought something online. Online surveys using access panels work for most consumer targets, and mobile-friendly questionnaires are essential.

Older people are less well covered online: in 2025, nearly 42% of people aged 75 to 89 used the internet, and 17% of the population was aged 65 and over in the 2021 census. Telephone (CATI) and face-to-face interviews remain used for older or offline audiences, Roma and rural communities, B2B decision makers and public sector studies. Focus groups are usually held in the larger cities.

Timing

Public holidays have changed recently: Constitution Day (1 September) has been a working day since 2024 and 17 November since 2025, and under the State Holidays Act (No 241/1993), 8 May and 15 September are not days off in 2026 only. The remaining days off are 1 and 6 January, Good Friday and Easter Monday, 1 May, 5 July, 29 August, 1 November and 24, 25 and 26 December. Check the current list with your agency before fixing dates for 2027.

Avoid the Christmas period: in the 2026/2027 school year, the school Christmas holiday runs from 23 December 2026 to 7 January 2027. Spring holidays are staggered by region in 2027: 15–19 February (Banská Bystrica, Žilina and Trenčín), 22–26 February (Košice and Prešov) and 1–5 March (Bratislava, Nitra and Trnava). Summer holidays run from 1 July to 31 August 2027: families and business respondents are harder to reach, so allow more fieldwork time.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the GDPR and Act No 18/2018 Coll. on the Protection of Personal Data (in force since 25 May 2018). The supervisory authority is the Office for Personal Data Protection of the Slovak Republic (Úrad na ochranu osobných údajov) in Bratislava.

Under the Act, a child must be at least 16 years old to consent to information society services, and processing for scientific research or statistical purposes is allowed with safeguards such as data minimisation and pseudonymisation. The birth number (rodné číslo) may be used only if the purpose cannot be achieved without it, and must not be made public. Ask your agency which lawful basis it uses, how respondents are informed, where the data is hosted and how identifiable data, recordings or video will be shared with you.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, regions and city sizes, method, languages (Slovak, Hungarian, others) and deadline.
• Ask whether the agency follows the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, and which panels or fieldwork suppliers will be used.
• Ask how older, rural, Hungarian-speaking and Roma respondents will be reached, and how quotas and weighting are set.
• Check fieldwork dates against the current list of days off and the spring holiday week of the regions in your sample.
• Agree in writing who is controller and who is processor of the personal data, and the retention period.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.