In the Slovak Republic, Roma young people are the most at risk of social exclusion, facing multiple disadvantages: low level education achievements, hidden/open segregation in education, high unemployment rates, societal discrimination, inherited poverty, etc.  

Young grown-ups leaving orphanages, re-educational institutions, and foster families may face barriers mostly when it comes to housing and employment.  

Disabled youths (including young people with visual and hearing impairments) have been considerably disadvantaged while ensuring equitable access to education, employment, own housing, etc. 

Recently, young asylum seekers and young homeless people have been listed among the groups of young people the most at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Since 2022, young Ukrainian refugees have also been recognised as a vulnerable group requiring targeted social inclusion measures.

Many diverse descriptions of social inclusion have been provided by political and scientific papers published in Slovakia.  

Considerable attention has been paid to the definition of social exclusion, which is a prerequisite for social inclusion. Social exclusion is characterized as the inability to participate in social, economic, political and cultural life, due to the following factors: low income, poor health, inadequate education, limited contact with members of the majority population and discrimination (World Bank et al. 2002). Social exclusion is characterized as multidimensional deprivation preventing participation in economic, social, cultural and political life, encompassing income poverty, material deprivation and low work intensity (National Framework Strategy for Social Inclusion, 2020).  

Generational poverty refers to the transmission of poverty across multiple generations within families, typically due to limited access to education, employment opportunities, and social capital. It is characterised by persistent low educational attainment and intergenerational cycles of unemployment and social exclusion, particularly affecting marginalised Roma communities in Slovakia (National Framework Strategy for Social Inclusion, 2020). 

The Slovak Youth Report 2014 (Správa o mládeži 2014) provided definition of social inclusion of young people: it is a process ensuring that socially excluded persons or those at risk of social exclusion have been offered opportunities and possibilities helping them to fully participate in economic, social and cultural life of a society and live their everyday lives in a way, which is considered a routine. With regard to youth, this process may be understood also as a complex system of interventions leading to the creation of opportunities for young people with fewer opportunities.  

The Slovak Youth Report 2018 ( Správa o mládeži 2018) continued to stress the inclusion as one of the priorities of the policy towards youth in Slovakia. The Analysis of the Need of Young People ( Analýza potrieb mladých ľudí ) was realised under the National Project of the Office of Plenipotentiary for the Civic Society is using also the The Youth Progress Index. The Analysis of Multiple Discrimination Risks Faced by Roma Youth (2025), published by the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities, identifies intersectional challenges combining ethnic discrimination, educational segregation, and limited labour market access for young people from marginalised communities. 

The Slovak Youth Report 2024 (Správa o mládeži 2024) notes the difference in financial resources allocated to the issue of social exclusion recognized by the Ministry of Education and reflected in the Recovery and Resilience Plan. Within this plan €210 million was allocated for inclusive education and €187 million for improving the digital infrastructure of schools. Despite these efforts, the problem of segregation of Roma pupils persists, with up to 65% attending schools with predominantly Roma classmates. Therefore, the Ministry of Education has made preventing segregation one of its strategic priorities for the years 2023–2027, aiming to create a fairer and more inclusive education system.