While the impressive growth that has characterized the Slovak Republic’s economy will almost certainly slow down, due to the global economic crisis, this small Central European country’s fiscal health will remain one of the best in the Western world.

In fact, a report in the Slovak Spectator, an English-language weekly based in Bratislava, noted that Slovakia’s economy is now in better shape than that of any member state of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

The OECD predicts that Slovakia’s economic growth will reach 7.3 percent by the end of the current calendar year, which makes it by far the most dynamic of any other country in East/Central Europe. Slovakia has long benefited from a vibrant auto industry, a booming real estate market in Bratislava and a government that has done a commendable job of reigning in public spending and tackling the deficit. There is now possibly more investor confidence in Slovakia than in any other Eastern European country.

Despite a slowing economy, Slovakia expects to post growth of around 5 percent in 2009, at a time when a growing number of Western countries find themselves in the midst of a recession.

The fact that Slovakia will adopt the euro within only four weeks serves as yet another boost of confidence for foreign investors looking for a secure and healthy market in Eastern Europe.

The only trouble on the horizon for Slovakia is beyond its immediate control and has to do with the global slowdown in the automotive sector.