Etnická homogamie na Slovensku v letech 1992 až 2012 =Ethnic homogamy in Slovakia between 1992 and 2012

Abstract

This article is concerned with ethnic homogamy in Slovakia. The authors set out from the assumption that ethnic homogamy is an indicator of the degree of ethnic tolerance and multiculturalism in society. Greater ethnic homogamy indicates larger social distances between ethnic groups, and vice versa. The authors analyse data from the Statistical Offi ce of the Slovak Republic. The data include all marriages between 1992 and 2012 in Slovakia categorised by the ethnicity of the spouses. The authors test hypotheses about the trends in both absolute and relative ethnic homogamy and fi nd that marriages in Slovakia are strongly structured by ethnic homogamy. The probability of ethnically heterogamous marriage varies among ethnic groups; however, it does not increase for any of the ethnic groups over the period of analysis. Members of different ethnic groups have not grown socially closer and interethnic distances have not decreased due to marriage.