The region of Bratislava is the country's smallest in terms of area, but its most densely settled and urbanised, with 296 inhabitants per square kilometre, about three times the Slovak average. Bratislava, the capital, had a population of 426,091, or 70 percent of the total inhabitants of the region. The Bratislava region is bordered by the Danube to the south and the Morava to the west. It consists of the Záhorie lowlands in the far west of the country and the Podunajská nížina (Danube lowlands) towards the Hungarian south, divided by the heavily forested Malé Karpaty (Small Carpathian mountains) range.

The south-west Trnava region is a strangely shaped body of land that encloses Bratislava region and borders on the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. It is the second smallest region after Bratislava, and the smallest in terms of area.

The south-central Nitra region is Slovakia's agricultural heartland. Flatter and warmer than the rest of the country, its soil and terrain are best suited to farming.

The north-west Žilina region is a rugged area that borders on the Czech Republic and Poland. It includes no fewer than seven mountain ranges: the Tatry and Nízke tatry (Tatras and the Low Tatras), the Veľká and Malá Fatra (Greater and Lesser Fatras), the Chočské vrchy (Choč Mountains), the Javorníky and the Strážovské vrchy (Strážov Mountains). The region is also dominated by national parks

Banská Bystrica region, the country's largest in terms of area, lies in the southern part of Central Slovakia. With its extensive forests and hilly terrain, it is the least densely settled region.

The north-east Prešov region is Slovakia's most physically spectacular, but poor and sparsely settled as well. It borders on Poland and Ukraine, and contains five national parks. Less than half of the inhabitants of the region live in urban settings.

Košice region is a largely flat and poor area in the southeast of Slovakia bordering on Ukraine and Hungary. With a population of 773,000, it is the second largest region while with about one third of the total inhabitants of the region, the capital Košice is Slovakia's second largest city and is the industrial anchor of the east of the country.

The north-west Trenčín region is a relatively wealthy and developed part of Slovakia, bordering on the Czech Republic. It is hilly but not rugged, and has an unusually high (55 percent) proportion of inhabitants employed in industry, making it the second most heavily industrialised region after Bratislava.