Slovakia

Overall construction activity

The Slovak construction sector continued to show signs of decline in 2021. Performance fell in a crucial component, namely new construction. Only repair and maintenance showed higher performance. Compared to the pre-pandemic period (with 2019), the handbrake was pulled mainly by civil engineering. The industry's slide into worse numbers continued to be held back only by significantly larger contracts abroad.

Construction output in 2021 amounted to €5.4 billion, down by 2.1% from the previous year. Work carried out by construction firms domestically, which accounts for around 90% of construction output, fell by 4.8% year-on-year. This was mainly the result of a 7.8% year-on-year fall in new construction. The overall balance of domestic construction output was helped by a 1.1% increase in the repair and maintenance component. However, repairs accounted for only around a quarter of domestic construction. In terms of production focus, work on civil engineering (which includes highway construction) in particular declined by almost 10%, while work on buildings declined by slightly less.

The balance of the construction industry was saved from a higher decline throughout 2021, also at the annual level, by construction activities abroad, which were in aggregate almost a third higher than in 2020 (their share in the total construction output is less than a tenth).

Comparison with the pre-pandemic period - 2021 versus 2019

The pandemic has made the evolution of the performance of individual sectors during 2020 and 2021 specific. Compared to 2019, construction output fell by 13.3%. Domestic construction was 17% lower, with the critical component of new construction almost 20% lower than in the year before the pandemic (2019). In terms of production, the more pronounced downturn was particularly pronounced in civil engineering construction, with output also down by around a fifth. The entire industry was saved from the higher slump figures by stronger construction activity abroad; 45.3% higher than before the pandemic.