Slovenia

A

Agriculture

Agriculture accounts for only 2.3 per cent of GDP (2006), with dairy farming and livestock dominating this sector. Major crops include corn, potatoes, cabbages, sugar beet, and wheat. Viticulture is also important; about 22,000 hectares (54,363 acres) are under vineyards.

B

Manufacturing

The manufacturing sector, the leading sector before independence, is still extremely important, however. In 2006 it contributed 24.60 per cent of GDP and 89.9 per cent of visible exports. The republic’s chief industries include electronics, electrical machinery, metal-processing and metallurgy, and motor vehicles.

C

Energy

Some 13.2 billion kWh of electricity were produced annually in 2003; output was divided roughly equally between nuclear, thermal, and hydroelectric facilities. In March 1995 Slovenia and Croatia agreed to divide ownership of the one nuclear power station, at Krsko, equally between them.

D

Currency and Banking

In October 1991 the republic released its own currency, the tolar, to replace the Yugoslav dinar (0.68 tolar equalled US$1; early 2008). Slovenia joined the Eurozone in January 2007 and replaced the tolar with the Euro. The country’s central bank is the Bank of Slovenia (1981; Banka Slovenije). There were 38 commercial and savings banks in 1996.

E

Commerce and Trade

Slovenia’s most important trading partners are Germany, Croatia, Italy, France, Austria, and the United States. Exports include raw materials, semi-finished goods, machinery, electric motors, processed foods, clothing, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The leading imports are raw materials, semi-finished goods, machinery, and foodstuffs.

Tourism is also a major source of revenue, with popular resorts at Lake Bled and in the mountains. In 2006 tourism generated US$1,066 million in foreign exchange earnings.