| |
Roughly the size of Wales, Slovenia is the only country in the world to be shaped like a chicken! At Think Slovenia we divide the country into 11 regions, each of which has something to recommend it and very often its own distinct feel. Click on regions of the map below for photos and information on each of Slovenia's regions or scroll down for various facts and figures about Slovenia.
|
|
HOVER your cursor over any region of the map to read about it.
CLICK on any region for a photo gallery of the area
|
| Information on Slovenia (with thanks to the CIA World Factbook) |
| A BRIEF HISTORY |
| The Slovene lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the latter's dissolution at the end of World War I. In 1918, the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new multinational state, which was named Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though Communist, distanced itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power by the majority Serbs, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991 after a short 10-day war. Historical ties to Western Europe, a strong economy, and a stable democracy have assisted in Slovenia's transformation to a modern state. Slovenia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the eurozone in 2007 |
| AREA |
Total: 20,273 sq km
Size rank in comparison to the world: 154th
Land: 20,151 sq km
Water: 122 sq km |
BOUNDARIES AND BORDERS |
Tota borders: 1,086 km
Border countries: Austria 330 km, Croatia 455 km, Hungary 102 km, Italy 199 km
Coastline 46.6km |
| CLIMATE & TERRAIN |
Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east. Short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria, mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east. |
| SLOVENIA NATURAL RESOURCES & LAND USE |
Information on Slovenian Natural Resouces: ignite coal, lead, zinc, building stone, hydropower, forests.
Land use:
Arable land: 8.53%
Permanent crops: 1.43%
Other: 90.04% (2005)
|
| SLOVENIAN PEOPLE & POPULATION INFORMATION |
Population: 2,005,692 (July 2010 est.)
Population rank in comparison to the world:145
Age structure:
0-14 years: 13.5% (male 139,880/female 131,826)
15-64 years: 69.9% (male 707,219/female 695,470)
65 years and over: 16.5% (male 129,662/female 201,635) (2010 est.)
Median age: total: 42.1 years, male: 40.4 years, female: 43.7 years (2010 est.)
Birth rate: 8.97 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.113% (2010 est.)
Death rate: 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Urban population: 48% of total population (2008)
Rate of urbanization: -0.6% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Life expectancy information in Slovenia:
Total population: 76.92 years
Country rank comparison to the world:
60
Male: 73.25 years
Female: 80.84 years (2010 est.)
Ethnic groups: Slovene 83.1%, Serb 2%, Croat 1.8%, Bosniak 1.1%, other or unspecified 12% (2002 census)
Religions: Catholic 57.8%, Muslim 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3%, other Christian 0.9%, unaffiliated 3.5%, other or unspecified 23%, none 10.1% (2002 census)
Language: Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4% (2002 census)
Literacy: 99.7% |
| COORDINATES AND TIME ZONE |
Geographic coordinates: 46 03 N, 14 31 E
Time difference: GMT+1
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| GOVERNMENT |
Government Type: parliamentary democracy
Head of state: President Danilo TURK (since 22 December 2007)
Head of government: Prime Minister Borut PAHOR (since 7 November 2008)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and elected by the National Assembly
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 21 October and 11 November 2007 (next to be held on 8 October 2012); following National Assembly elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition usually nominated to become prime minister by the president and elected by the National Assembly; election last held on 21 September 2008 (next National Assembly elections to be held in 8 October 2012)
Election results: Danilo TURK elected president; percent of vote - Danilo TURK 68.2%, Alojze PETERLE 31.8%; Borut PAHOR elected prime minister by National Assembly vote
|
| ECONOMIC OVERVIEW |
Slovenia became the first 2004 European Union entrant to adopt the euro (on 1 January 2007) and has become a model of economic success and stability for the region. With the highest per capita GDP in Central Europe, Slovenia has excellent infrastructure, a well-educated work force, and a strategic location between the Balkans and Western Europe. Privatization has lagged since 2002, and the economy has one of highest levels of state control in the EU. Structural reforms to improve the business environment have allowed for somewhat greater foreign participation in Slovenia's economy and have helped to lower unemployment. In March 2004, Slovenia became the first transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor partner at the World Bank. In December 2007, Slovenia was invited to begin the accession process for joining the OECD. Despite its economic success, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia has lagged behind the region average, and taxes remain relatively high. Furthermore, the labor market is often seen as inflexible, and legacy industries are losing sales to more competitive firms in China, India, and elsewhere. In 2009, the world recession caused the economy to contract - through falling exports and industrial production - by more than 7%, and unemployment to rise above 9%. |
| GDP |
$55.46 billion (2009 est.)
Country rank comparison to the world: 87
$60.15 billion (2008 est.)
$58.12 billion (2007 est.)
GDP Growth:
-7.8% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 205
3.5% (2008 est.)
6.8% (2007 est.)
GDP per capita:
$27,700 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
$30,000 (2008 est.)
$28,900 (2007 est.)
Agriculture: 2.5%
Industry: 30.9%
Services: 66.6% (2009 est.) |
| OTHER ECONOMIC DATA |
Unemployment rate:
9.2% (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 109
6.7% (2008 est.)
Budget:
Revenues: $20.06 billion
Expenditures: $22.8 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt:
31.8% of GDP (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 81
22.5% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation:
0.9% (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 43
5.7% (2008 est.)
|
| SLOVENIA INFORMATION: INDUSTRY & AGRICULTURE |
Agricultural products: potatoes, hops, wheat, sugar beets, corn, grapes; cattle, sheep, poultry
Industries: ferrous metallurgy and aluminum products, lead and zinc smelting; electronics (including military electronics), trucks, automobiles, electric power equipment, wood products, textiles, chemicals, machine tools |
| IMPORTS AND EXPORTS |
Exports:
$22.58 billion (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 64
$29.61 billion (2008 est.)
Export commodities:
Manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food
Export partners:
Germany 19.36%, Italy 11.31%, Croatia 7.75%, Austria 7.42%, France 7.35% (2009)
Imports:
$23.44 billion (2009 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 62
$33.49 billion (2008 est.)
Import commodities:
Machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, food
Germany 16.46%, Italy 15.89%, Austria 11.81%, France 4.98%, Croatia 4.32% (2009) |
Click to return to the homepage
|
|
| |
|
|
