I.

Introduction

Slovenia (in Slovenian, Slovenija), republic in south-central Europe, bordered on the north by Austria, on the north-east by Hungary, on the south-east and south by Croatia, and on the west by Italy and the Adriatic Sea. Formerly a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slovenia proclaimed its independence in June 1991. The republic has an area of 20,253 sq km (7,820 sq mi). Ljubljana is the capital and largest city.

II.

Land and Resources

Slovenia is mountainous, much like Austria to the north and northern Italy to the west, and has heavily forested regions. The eastern third of the republic lies within the Karst, a barren limestone plateau broken by depressions and ridges. The highest point in the country, Mount Triglav, rises 2,863 m (9,393 ft) and forms part of the Julian Alps in the north-western region of the republic.

A.

Rivers and Lakes

The Mura, Drava, and Sava rivers flow through the forested north-eastern region of the republic. A 47 km (29 mi) stretch of coastline along the Adriatic Sea serves as the country’s south-western border.

B.

Climate

Towns along the coast enjoy a warm Mediterranean climate, while those in the mountains to the north often have harsh winters and rainy summers. The plateaux to the east, where Ljubljana is situated, have a more moderate continental climate, with warm to hot summers and cold winters.

C.

Natural Resources

Two national symbols, the linden, or lime tree, and the chamois, thrive throughout the republic. Brown coal, or lignite, is the most abundant natural resource in Slovenia (production 2003; 4.85 million tonnes); other resources include lead, zinc, mercury, uranium, and silver, as well as natural gas and oil.

D.

Environmental Concerns

In 1995, 53 per cent of Slovenia's total land area was forested. Air pollution from central European industry and acid rain have caused damage to the forests, however, with a quarter of the country's trees suffering moderate to severe defoliation. Factories in Slovenia have contributed to high levels of sulphur dioxide and dust in the air in the country's larger cities, and much of the ground and surface water is contaminated. The Sava River, for example, is polluted with domestic and industrial waste, and Slovenia's short stretch of coastal waters is polluted with heavy metals and toxic chemicals. Slovenia has a long history of wildlife conservation, however.

Triglav National Park, in north-western Slovenia, was established in 1924 to preserve the alpine wilderness around Mount Triglav. The park is home to diverse populations of birds and small mammals, and several mammal species that vanished from the ecosystem, such as ibex and marmots, have been successfully reintroduced. In all, 5.7 per cent (1997) of the country's total land area has been designated protected. The government has ratified international environmental agreements on air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, hazardous wastes, law of the sea, marine dumping, nuclear test ban, ozone layer protection, ship pollution, and wetlands.

III.

Population

Slovenia has a population of about 2,007,711 (2008 estimate), giving an average population density of about 100 people per sq km (258 per sq mi).

A.

Population Characteristics

Slovenes, a Slavic ethnic group, constitute about 83 per cent of the republic’s population. Ethnic Serbs (about 2 per cent), Croats (about 2 per cent), Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims; about 1 per cent), and various other ethnic groups (about 12 per cent) constitute the remainder of Slovenia’s population.

Some 60,000 refugees from the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina were living in Slovenia during the early 1990s. However, by 2004 only some 304 remained and the government planned eventually to repatriate them all.

Slovenia’s population in 2005 was 51 per cent urban. Life expectancy in 2008 was 73 years for men and 80.7 years for women.

B.

Principal Cities

The cities of Ljubljana (population, 2005 estimate, 266,845), Maribor (111,673, 2005 estimate), Kranj (52,689, 2005 estimate), and Celje (48,616, 2005 estimate) are the republic’s four largest cities. The remainder of the population lives in rural areas throughout the republic.

C.

Religion

Over 80 per cent of people in Slovenia are Roman Catholic. There are also Orthodox and Slovene Old Catholic communities.

D.

Language

The official language of the country is Slovenian, a South Slavic language, but in areas where indigenous Hungarians or Italians reside these languages are also considered official, according to the 1991 constitution. Spoken by the majority of the population, Slovenian is written in the Roman alphabet—unlike Serbian and most other Slavic languages, which are written in the Cyrillic alphabet—and has diverse dialects. Serbo-Croatian is spoken by many immigrants.

E.

Education

The Slovene government requires that all children receive eight years of primary education and four years of secondary education. In 2000 there were 86,388 children enrolled in primary schools, and 224,747 secondary-school students. Almost all Slovenians over the age of ten can read and write, and, although not obligatory by law, most students receive post-secondary or higher levels of education. In 2001–2002 there were about 30 institutions of higher education with 99,214 students. There are two universities: the University of Ljubljana (founded 1595) and the University of Maribor (1961). In 2001 education expenditure amounted to 10.7 per cent of total government spending.

F.

Culture

Unlike other Slavic cultures, Slovenian culture has been directly influenced by Italian and Germanic cultures for nearly a millennium. Despite more than 70 years of affiliation with Yugoslavia, it preserves these influences. In the cities, Slovenes enjoy concerts, operas, and art galleries. In rural alpine areas skiing is very popular.

IV.

Economy

Prior to independence, Slovenia was the most prosperous of the six Yugoslav republics. The prolonged war in the region, however, initially seriously affected Slovenia’s economy, with gross domestic product (GDP) declining by a total of more than 13 per cent in 1991 and 1992, and inflation soaring to 200 per cent in 1992. As a result GDP per capita was US$6,957 in 1992, a decline from the pre-independence amount of US$8,658 in 1990. From 1993, however, helped by the country’s advantageous geographical location, good infrastructure, and changes in government policy, the economy began to expand rapidly, growing by just over 1 per cent in 1993 and by an average 5 per cent a year subsequently; similar annual growth rates are projected to the end of the decade. In 2006 GDP per capita was officially estimated at US$18,588.50. The Slovenian gross national product (GNP) for the same period was US$29,494 million, or US$18,660 per capita (World Bank figures).

The government and the Bank of Slovenia (the central bank) have implemented a variety of measures to turn the economy around, including market and bank reforms and the privatization of state-owned companies. The privatization programme, introduced in the 1992-1993 financial year and largely completed by the end of 1996, was implemented in two stages. Small businesses were privatized first, with their capital transferred initially to an investment fund that acted as an intermediary. These (and other) reform measures have helped to reduce inflation to about 10 per cent by mid-1996; to eliminate the budget deficit; to sustain surpluses on both the balance of trade and current account of the balance of payments; to reduce unemployment (6.1 per cent, in 2004); and to encourage high levels of investment. In 1995 investment contributed 22.5 per cent of GDP. One result of this high level of investment has been a significant restructuring of the economy, particularly towards small business and towards the services sector, especially tourism and financial and business services. In 2006 the services sector accounted for 63.1 per cent of GDP.

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.

F.

Transport

Slovenia has an excellent transport network. It included 38,451 km (23,892 mi) of roads in 2004, 100 per cent of which are paved, and 1,228 km (763 mi) of railways which link its largest cities. There is a port at Koper on the Adriatic Sea and three major airports, including Brnik International Airport at Ljubljana; the national carrier is Adria Airways.

G.

Communications

In 2005 Slovenia had around 408 telephones for every 1,000 people, and a total number of 730,000 television sets in 2000. Television broadcasts are made by both public and private networks. The state-run broadcasting corporation is Radiotelevizija Slovenija. In 2004 there were 5 national daily newspapers.

V.

Government

The republic of Slovenia and its government has been reconstituted since 1991 as a full democracy. On December 23, 1991, the government adopted a new constitution. It guarantees universal suffrage for all Slovenians of at least 18 years of age (Slovenians of at least 16 years of age may vote if they are employed), freedom of religion, and freedom of the press, among other civil rights. The republic has a multi-party system.

A.

Executive and Legislature

The Slovenian parliament (Skupšcina Slovenije) consists of the 90-member National Assembly (Državni Zbor), which makes the republic’s laws, and the 40-member State Council (Državni Svet), which may only propose laws or request reconsideration of a vote in the assembly. Assembly members are elected for four-year terms by proportional representation and Council members for five-year terms by functional groups (employers, labour groups, professional bodies, and so on). The prime minister, the true head of government, is elected to a four-year term by the assembly, while the president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote.

B.

Political Parties

The leading Slovenian political parties are: Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS; Liberalna Demokracija Slovenije), the dominant party of the previous governing coalition; the United List of Social Democrats (ZLSD; Združena Lista Socialnih Demokratov), which formed in 1992 as a coalition and changed into a formal party the following year; the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS; slovenska Demokratska Stranka Slovenije); the conservative SLS and SKD Slovenian People’s Party (SLS + SKD Slovenska Ljudska Stranka); the Christian-democratic New Slovenia Christian People’s Party (NSi; Nova Slovenija Kršèanski Ljudska Stranka); the nationalist Slovenian National Party (SNS; Slovenska Nacionalna Stranka); and the United Greens of Slovenia (ZZ; Zdruèeni Zeleni—Zeleni Slovenije in Zelena Alternativa).

C.

Judiciary

Slovenia’s judicial system comprises eight trial courts, four appellate courts, and a Supreme Court. The National Assembly appoints all judges, including the justices of the republic’s Supreme Court.

D.

Local Government

Slovenia is divided into 62 administrative districts for local government purposes. Towns are governed by municipalities. Election to mayoralties and local bodies is by popular vote.

E.

Health and Welfare

Slovenia has an extensive network of social service programmes sponsored by the government, including low-cost medical coverage and retirement pensions. In 2004 there was 1 doctor per 456 people, and in 2003 there was 1 hospital bed per 200 people. The infant mortality rate in 2008 was 4 deaths per 1,000 live births.

F.

Defence

The republic employs an army (2004) of approximately 6,550 active-duty soldiers, with a reserve force of about 20,000. Conscription ended in 2004. Slovenia maintains a maritime base at Koper and has a small air service of about 250 personnel. There is a paramilitary police force of 4,500 with 5,000 reservists. Military spending accounts for 1.4 per cent of total government expenditure. In 2003, Slovenia spent US$378 million on defence.

G.

International Organizations

Slovenia is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Council of Europe, and the Central European Initiative. In early 1993 the republic joined the International Monetary Fund and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (since renamed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe). In April 2004 Slovenia became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and in May it formally joined the European Union (EU). Economic contacts were revived with Austria and Italy, and new relations established with Iran, China, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

VI.

History

Under the Roman Empire (27 bc-ad 476), Slovenia was part of the provinces of Pannonia and Noricum. During the 6th century ad, the region was invaded by the Mongolian Avars and later by Slavs who threw off Avar domination. A period of Bavarian rule ensued, during which most of the people converted to Roman Catholicism.

A.

Early Statehood and Foreign Rule

In ad 623, the chieftain Franko Samo created the first independent Slovene state, which stretched from Lake Balaton (now located within Hungary) to the Mediterranean. It lasted until late in the 8th century, when the region became part of the Frankish Empire. In the 10th century it was reorganized as the duchy of Carantania by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. From 1335 until 1918, except for a brief interlude from 1809 to 1814, Slovenes were governed by the Habsburgs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Austrian Crown lands of Kärnten (Carinthia), Carniola, and Steiermark (Styria), except for a minority in the republic of Venice.

B.

Nationalism and Incorporation in Yugoslavia

During the Napoleonic Wars, the region was taken from Austria by France and reorganized as the Illyrian Provinces from 1809 to 1814. This brief period of liberal rule fostered the Slovene and South Slav nationalism which was to triumph at the close of World War I in 1918, with the formation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which means “Land of the South Slavs”, in 1929). In 1941, during World War II, Germany, Hungary, and Italy divided the territory among themselves. In spite of forced transfers of populations during the war, since 1945 most Slovenes have lived in the Slovenian republic, which in 1947 also acquired Slovenian-speaking districts on the Adriatic Sea (in Istria) from Italy.

Slovenia’s dissatisfaction with its membership of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia grew during the 1980s, with increased sentiment first for greater autonomy and then for independence. A legal opposition group, the Slovene League of Social Democrats, led by France Tomsič, was formed in January 1989. In October of that year, the Slovene Assembly voted a constitutional amendment giving it the right to secede from Yugoslavia.

C.

Independence Struggle

As Communist power crumbled throughout Eastern Europe, Slovenia held the first multi-party elections in Yugoslavia since World War II in April 1990. On July 2 the new Assembly adopted a “declaration of sovereignty” by 187 votes to 3, and in September proclaimed its control over the territorial defence force on its soil. Nearly 90 per cent of Slovenia’s population voted for independence in a referendum on December 23, 1990.

On June 25, 1991, following various political upsets, including Serbian refusal to transfer the Yugoslavian rotating presidency to the Croatian representative, Slovenia and Croatia each declared themselves independent of Yugoslavia, but agreed to suspend implementation for three months pending peace talks sponsored by the European Community (EC, now EU). The Serb-dominated Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) sent forces to both republics in an attempt to secure Yugoslavia’s borders. In Slovenia, a ten-day war ensued, in which Slovene forces defeated the JNA.

The JNA’s defeat, coupled with fighting in Serbia’s closer neighbour, Croatia, allowed Slovenia to quickly secure true independence as well as international recognition as a separate republic. The three-month moratorium having expired, Slovenia and Croatia declared their complete independence from Yugoslavia on October 8. On January 15, 1992, the EC, led by Germany, acknowledged the independence of Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United States acknowledged their independence on April 7.

D.

The Independent Republic

The newly independent republic’s first presidential and parliamentary elections were held on December 6, 1992. The incumbent, independent candidate Milan Kučan, was elected to the presidency of the republic against seven opponents, with 64 per cent of the vote. The moderate Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek, emerged as the strongest party. The Liberal Democrats subsequently formed a coalition government with the Christian Democrats, the Social Democrats, the United List, and the Greens.

Following recognition in 1992 Slovenia instituted economic reforms and joined various international organizations. The country also became a haven for refugees of the surrounding war-torn republics; by mid-1993, 70,000 people fleeing the Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian War had sought refuge in Slovenia. Tensions with both Italy and Croatia over border disputes were the only lingering complications from the Slovenian quest for sovereignty. Progress was made in resolving these disputes in 1994 and early 1995. An agreement was reached in January 1994 with Croatia over the decommissioning of the shared nuclear power facility at Krsko near their common border; in March 1995, in a further agreement, they agreed to divide ownership equally. There was also significant progress made in negotiations over the dispute with Italy regarding former Italian lands in the Istrian Peninsula, in western Slovenia. Italy, seeking economic reparations for its citizens who formerly owned land now located in Slovenia, had initially blocked negotiations on Slovenia’s associate membership of the EU over the Istrian issue. Italy suspended its opposition in March 1995 as the two sides moved closer to an agreement and negotiations with the EU began. Agreement was reached with a consortium of banks, in June 1995, that Slovenia would assume responsibility for 18 per cent of the total commercial bank debt owed by the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Legislative elections to the State Chamber in November 1996 failed to produce an overall victor and it was not until January 1997 that Drnovšek, leader of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia, was re-elected as prime minister. In July 1997 Slovenia failed in its bid to be one of the first former Communist states to be incorporated into NATO, despite French advocacy, with the United States being the most prominent opponent of its inclusion. In November 1997 Milan Kučan was re-elected as the president by a clear majority. Immediately afterwards, the statutory electoral college elected a new complement for the parliamentary upper house, the State Council. In June 1999, on his first visit to the country, US President Bill Clinton cited Slovenia as a success story—a model of democracy and prosperity that the West would like to see duplicated in the region. After the conclusion of the European Union (EU) summit in Helsinki, Finland, in December 1999, it was widely expected that Slovenia would join the EU in 2002. On April 8, 2000, the Slovenian government, led by the centre-left prime minister, Janez Drnovšek, collapsed after losing a vote of confidence in parliament following a Cabinet reshuffle. In June 2000 Andrej Bajuk, deputy president of the Slovenian People's Party, became prime minister, forming a coalition conservative government with the centre-right Social Democrats.

The period of political uncertainty ended in July 2000 with the announcement of a general election in October and on keeping the proportional system of voting for 50 out of 90 members of the National Assembly, a proposal that had been unsuccessfully challenged by the proponents of a majority system. Although the ruling coalition, barely a month old, had collapsed just before the announcement, the overall situation ultimately stabilized and Bajuk remained in office. He founded a new conservative grouping, the New Slovenia—Christian People’s Party (NSi), in August.

In the October general election, however, Drnovšek’s LDS returned to power, with over 36 per cent of the vote and 34 deputies in the Assembly. In the following month, the LDS formed a coalition government with three other parties, and Janez Drnovšek was appointed prime minister.

Drnovšek stood in December 2002’s elections for the presidency, beating Barbara Brezigar by 56.5 per cent to 43.5. He resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Anton Rop of the LDS, the former finance minister; Drnovšek was sworn in as president on December 22. Slovenians voted in a referendum on March 23, 2003, to back the proposals for membership of NATO (by 66 per cent) and the EU (by 89 per cent), making Slovenia the second country after Malta to achieve a “yes” vote in various polls on European expansion. In April 2004 the republic joined NATO and in May it became a member of the EU. The October 2004 parliamentary elections saw a narrow victory for the opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS). Under its leader Janez Janša it attempted to form a coalition government. In February 2005, Slovenia was one of the first European countries to approve the new EU constitution and in January 2007 it adopted the Euro as its new currency. President Drnovšek declined to run for a further term as president in December 2007 because of illness and died two months later. The presidency battle was won by Danilo Türk with 68 per cent of the vote.