Map of Slovenia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: 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 was one of the republics in the restored Yugoslavia, which, though communist, soon distanced itself from the Soviet Union and spearheaded the Non-Aligned Movement. 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 growing economy, and a stable democracy have assisted in Slovenia's postcommunist transition. Slovenia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the euro zone and the Schengen Area in 2007.


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Location: south Central Europe, Julian Alps between Austria and Croatia

Geographic coordinates: 46 07 N, 14 49 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 20,273 km²
Land: 20,151 km²
Water: 122 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries
Total: 1,211 km
Border countries: (4) Austria 299 km; Croatia 600 km; Hungary 94 km; Italy 218 km

Coastline: 46.6 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east

Terrain: a short southwestern coastal strip of Karst topography on the Adriatic; an alpine mountain region lies adjacent to Italy and Austria in the north; mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east

Elevation
Highest point: Triglav 2,864 m
Lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 492 m

Natural resources: lignite, lead, zinc, building stone, hydropower, forests

Land use
Agricultural land: 22.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 8.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 1.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 13.1% (2018 est.)
Forest: 62.3% (2018 est.)
Other: 14.9% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 39 km² (2020)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 170 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 830 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 3.9 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 31.87 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding; earthquakes

Geography
Note: despite its small size, this eastern Alpine country controls some of Europe's major transit routes


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Population
Distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations; pockets in the mountainous northwest exhibit less density than elsewhere: 2,099,790 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: -0.08% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 12% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Slovene(s)
Adjective: Slovenian

Ethnic groups: Slovene 83.1%, Serb 2%, Croat 1.8%, Bosniak 1.1%, other or unspecified 12% (2002 est.)

Languages: Slovene (official) 87.7%, Croatian 2.8%, Serbo-Croatian 1.8%, Bosnian 1.6%, Serbian 1.6%, Hungarian 0.4% (official, only in municipalities where Hungarian national communities reside), Italian 0.2% (official, only in municipalities where Italian national communities reside), other or unspecified 3.9% (2002 est.)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Catholic 57.8%, Muslim 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3%, other Christian 1%, unaffiliated 3.5%, no response or unspecified 22.8%, none 10.1% (2002 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.55% (male 156,499/female 148,987)
15-64 years: 62.73% (male 685,750/female 631,553)
65 years and over: 22.72% (2023 est.) (male 208,832/female 268,169)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 55.5
Youth dependency ratio: 23.6
Elderly dependency ratio: 31.9
Potential support ratio: 3.1 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 45.9 years (2023 est.)
Male: 44.6 years
Female: 47.5 years

Population growth rate: -0.08% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 8.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations; pockets in the mountainous northwest exhibit less density than elsewhere

Urbanization
Urban population: 56.1% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.54% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 286,000 LJUBLJANA (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from road traffic, domestic heating (wood buring), power generation, and industry; water pollution; biodiversity protection
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 14.08 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 12.63 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 2.1 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29 years (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 5 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 1.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 1.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 1.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82 years (2023 est.)
Male: 79.2 years
Female: 85 years

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Improved total: 99.5% of population
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: 0.5% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 9.5% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 3.28 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density: 4.4 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 20.2% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 11.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 4.54 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 5.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 1.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 22% (2020 est.)
Male: 24.4% (2020 est.)
Female: 19.6% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 5.8% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: NA
Total population: 99.7%
Male: 99.7%
Female: 99.7% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 18 years
Male: 17 years
Female: 18 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 13.9% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 12.7%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 15.5%


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Slovenia
Conventional short form: Slovenia
Local long form: Republika Slovenija
Local short form: Slovenija
Former: People's Republic of Slovenia, Socialist Republic of Slovenia
Etymology: the country's name means "Land of the Slavs" in Slovene

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Ljubljana
Geographic coordinates: 46 03 N, 14 31 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Etymology: likely related to the Slavic root "ljub", meaning "to like" or "to love"; by tradition, the name is related to the Slovene word "ljubljena" meaning "beloved"

Administrative divisions: 200 municipalities (obcine, singular - obcina) and 12 urban municipalities (mestne obcine, singular - mestna obcina)

Dependent areas

Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Independence Day/Statehood Day, 25 June (1991)

Constitution
History: previous 1974 (preindependence); latest passed by Parliament 23 December 1991
Amendments: proposed by at least 20 National Assembly members, by the government, or by petition of at least 30,000 voters; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; referendum required if agreed upon by at least 30 Assembly members; passage in a referendum requires participation of a majority of eligible voters and a simple majority of votes cast; amended several times, last in 2016

Legal system: civil law system

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Slovenia; both parents if the child is born outside of Slovenia
Dual citizenship recognized: yes, for select cases
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years, the last 5 of which have been continuous

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Natasa PIRC MUSAR (since 23 December 2022); note - PIRC MUSAR is Slovenia's first female president
Head of government: Prime Minister Robert GOLOB (since 1 June 2022)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister, elected by the National Assembly
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held on 23 October 2022 with a runoff on 13 November (next to be held in 2,027); following National Assembly elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually nominated prime minister by the president and elected by the National Assembly
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the court president and 37 judges organized into civil, criminal, commercial, labor and social security, administrative, and registry departments); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president, vice president, and 7 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president and vice president appointed by the National Assembly upon the proposal of the Minister of Justice based on the opinions of the Judicial Council, an 11-member independent body elected by the National Assembly from proposals submitted by the president, attorneys, law universities, and sitting judges; other Supreme Court judges elected by the National Assembly from candidates proposed by the Judicial Council; Supreme Court judges serve for life; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the National Assembly from nominations by the president of the republic; Constitutional Court president selected from among its own membership for a 3-year term; other judges elected for single 9-year terms
Subordinate courts: county, district, regional, and high courts; specialized labor-related and social courts; Court of Audit; Administrative Court

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Iztok MIROŠIČ (since 15 September 2023)
In the us chancery: 2,410 California Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 386-6,611
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 386-6,633
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jamie L. HARPOOTLIAN (since 17 February 2022)
From the us embassy: Presernova 31, 1000 Ljubljana
From the us mailing address: 7,140 Ljubljana Place, Washington, DC 20,521-7,140
From the us telephone: [386] (1) 200-5,500
From the us FAX: [386] (1) 200-5,555
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, derive from the medieval coat of arms of the Duchy of Carniola; the Slovenian seal (a shield with the image of Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in white against a blue background at the center; beneath it are two wavy blue lines depicting seas and rivers, and above it are three six-pointed stars arranged in an inverted triangle, which are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje, the prominent Slovene dynastic house of the late 14th and early 15th centuries) appears in the upper hoist side of the flag centered on the white and blue bands

National symbols: Mount Triglav; national colors: white, blue, red

National anthem
Name: "Zdravljica" (A Toast)
Lyrics/music: France PRESEREN/Stanko PREMRL
Note: adopted in 1989 while still part of Yugoslavia; originally written in 1848; the full poem, whose seventh verse is used as the anthem, speaks of pan-Slavic nationalism

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 5 (3 cultural, 2 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: high-income, fast-growing EU-member economy; high human capital; key health infrastructure investments; high government spending; key Croatian investments; high-technology and manufacturing sectors; growing financial hub

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 52.6% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 18.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 18.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 82.3% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -72.6% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.8% (2017 est.)
Industry: 32.2% (2017 est.)
Services: 65.9% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: milk, maize, wheat, grapes, barley, potatoes, poultry, apples, beef, pork

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

Industrial production growth rate: 9.43% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 1.036 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 13.9% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 12.7%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 15.5%

Population below poverty line: 12% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 24.4 (2019 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 3.8%
Highest 10%: 20.1% (2016)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $23.735 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $23.456 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: 0% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 16.92% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:
Note: defined by the EU's Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities: currency and deposits, securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives, and loans; general government sector comprises the central, state, local government, and social security funds

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.2% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0.03% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: Germany 18%, Italy 11%, Croatia 8%, Austria 7%, France 5%, Switzerland 5% (2019)
Commodities: packaged medicines, cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, electrical lighting/signaling equipment, electricity (2019)

Imports:
Partners: Germany 14%, Italy 12%, Austria 8%, Switzerland 8%, China 7% (2019)
Commodities: packaged medicines, cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, delivery trucks, electricity (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 4.062 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 13.447 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 9.123 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 7.12 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 848 million kWh (2020 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 27.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 36.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 2.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 32% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 3.175 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 3.502 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 3,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 335,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 371 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 54,900 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 29,350 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 93,060 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 4.899 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Consumption: 904.439 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Imports: 903.108 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 13.553 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 4.08 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 7.967 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 1.506 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 134.836 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 675,823 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 32 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 2,674,900 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 126 (2022 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: public TV broadcaster, Radiotelevizija Slovenija (RTV), operates a system of national and regional TV stations; 35 domestic commercial TV stations operating nationally, regionally, and locally; about 60% of households are connected to multi-channel cable TV; public radio broadcaster operates 3 national and 4 regional stations; more than 75 regional and local commercial and non-commercial radio stations

Internet
Country code: .si
Users total: 1.869 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 89% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 651,604 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 31 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces:

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; must be a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia; recruits sign up for 3-, 5-, or 10-year service contracts; conscription abolished in 2003 (2023)
Note: as of 2023, women comprised about 16% of the military's full-time personnel

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 2 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 21
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,094,762 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 540,000 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: S5

Airports: 16 (2021)
With paved runways: 9
With paved runways civil airports: 3
With paved runways military airports: 0
With paved runways joint use (civil-military) airports: 1
With paved runways other airports: 5
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 7
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports

Pipelines: 1,155 km gas, 5 km oil (2018)

Railways
Total: 1,207 km (2020) 609 km electrified

Roadways
Total: 38,985 km (2012)
Paved: 38,985 km (2012) (includes 769 km of expressways)

Waterways: 710 km (2022) (some transport on the Drava River)

Merchant marine
Total: 9 (2022)
By type: general cargo 1, other 8

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Koper


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Disputes international: Slovenia-Austria: none identified

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 10,515 (Ukraine) (as of 4 December 2023)
Stateless persons: 10 (2020)
Note: 6,174,747 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)

Illicit drugs: minor transit point for cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe, and for precursor chemicals