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 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.

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: 1,382 km
Border countries: (4) Austria 330 km; , Croatia 670 km; , Hungary 102 km; , Italy 280 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 coastal strip on the Adriatic an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy and Austria mixed mountains and valleys with numerous rivers to the east

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Triglav 2,864 m

Natural resources: lignite coal lead zinc building stone hydropower forests

Land use
Arable land: 8.53%
Permanent crops: 1.43%
Other: 90.04% (2005)

Irrigated land: 30 km² (2003)

Natural hazards: flooding and earthquakes

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

Population: 2,009,245 (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate: -0.065% (2007 est.)
Below poverty line: 12.9% (2004)

Nationality
Noun: Slovene
Adjective: Slovenian

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

Languages: Slovenian 91.1% Serbo-Croatian 4.5% other or unspecified 4.4% (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)

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.7% (male 141,670/female 133,720)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 712,409/female 700,844)
65 years and over: 16% (male 124,264/female 196,338) (2007 est.)

Median age
Total: 41 years
Male: 39.4 years
Female: 42.6 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.065% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 9 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 10.41 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.76 migrant(s)/1000 population (2007 est.)

Environment
Current issues: Sava River polluted with domestic and industrial waste; pollution of coastal waters with heavy metals and toxic chemicals; forest damage near Koper from air pollution (originating at metallurgical and chemical plants) and resulting acid rain
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.059 male/female
15-64 years: 1.017 male/female
65 years and over: 0.633 male/female
Total population: 0.949 male/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.35 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 4.93 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.73 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.53 years
Male: 72.84 years
Female: 80.47 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.26 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 280 (2001 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)

Literacy
Definition: NA
Total population: 99.7%
Male: 99.7%
Female: 99.6%

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

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

Administrative divisions
Note: there may be 45 more municipalities

Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

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

Constitution: adopted 23 December 1991

Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age if employed)

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Janez DRNOVSEK (since 22 December 2002)
Head of government: Prime Minister Janez JANSA (since 9 November 2004)
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 21 October and 11 November 2007 (next to be held in the fall of 2012); following National Assembly elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually nominated to become prime minister by the president and elected by the National Assembly; election last held on 9 November 2004 (next National Assembly elections to be held in October 2008)
Election results: Danilo TURK elected president; percent of vote - Danilo TURK 68.2%, Lajze PETERLE 31.8%; Janez JANSA elected prime minister by National Assembly vote - 57 to 27 in 2004; called for vote of confidence 19 November 2007; TURK will be sworn in in December 2007

Legislative branch
Elections: National Assembly - last held 3 October 2004 (next to be held in October 2008)
Election results: percent of vote by party - SDS 29.1%, LDS 22.8%, ZLSD 10.2%, NSi 9%, SLS 6.8%, SNS 6.3%, DeSUS 4.1%, other 11.7%; seats by party - SDS 29, LDS 23, ZLSD 10, NSi 9, SLS 7, SNS 6, DeSUS 4, Hungarian minority 1, Italian minority 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the Judicial Council); Constitutional Court (judges elected for nine-year terms by the National Assembly and nominated by the president)

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Jelko KACIN]; New Slovenia or NSi [Andrej BAJUK]; Slovenian Democratic Party or SDS [Janez JANSA]; Democratic Party of Pensioners of Slovenia or DeSUS [Karl ERJAVEC]; Slovene National Party or SNS [Zmago JELINCIC]; Slovene People's Party or SLS [Janez PODOBNIK]; Slovene Youth Party or SMS [Darko KRANJC]; Social Democrats or SD [Borut PAHOR] (formerly ZLSD)

International organization participation: ACCT (observer) Australia Group BIS CE CEI EAPC EBRD EIB EMU EU FAO IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICRM IDA IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU MIGA NAM (guest) NATO NSG OAS (observer) OIF (observer) OPCW OSCE PCA SECI UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WEU (associate partner) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Samuel ZBOGAR
In the us chancery: 1525 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 667-5,363
In the us fax: [1] (202) 667-4,563
In the us consulates general: Cleveland, New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Maryruth COLEMAN
From the us embassy: Presernova 31, 1000 Ljubljana
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Ljubljana, US Department of State, 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

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top) blue and red with 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 great Slovene dynastic house of the late 14th and early 15th centuries); the seal is in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue bands

Economy overview: With a GDP per capita substantially greater than the other transitioning economies of Central Europe Slovenia is a model of economic success and stability for its neighbors from the former Yugoslavia. The country which joined the EU in May 2004 and joined the eurozone on 1 January 2007 has excellent infrastructure a well-educated work force and an excellent central location. Privatization of the economy proceeded at an accelerated pace in 2002-05. Despite lackluster economic performance in Europe in 2001-05 Slovenia maintained moderate growth. Structural reforms to improve the business environment have allowed for 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. Despite its economic success Slovenia faces growing challenges. Much of the economy remains in state hands and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia is one of the lowest in the EU on a per capita basis. Although tax reforms were implemented in December 2006 taxes are still relatively high. The labor market is often seen as inflexible and legacy industries are losing sales to more competitive firms in China India and elsewhere. The current center-right government elected in October 2004 has pledged to accelerate privatization of a number of large state holdings and is interested in increasing FDI in Slovenia. In late 2005 the government's new Committee for Economic Reforms was elevated to cabinet-level status. The Committee's program includes plans for lowering the tax burden privatizing state-controlled firms improving the flexibility of the labor market and increasing the government's efficiency.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $47.01 billion (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 5.2% (2006 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $23,400 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.3%
Industry: 34.5%
Services: 63.2% (2006 est.)

Agriculture 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

Industrial production growth rate: 5.6% (2006)

Labor force: 911,000 (2006 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 4.8%
By occupation industry: 39.1%
By occupation services: 56.1% (2004)

Unemployment rate: 9.6% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 12.9% (2004)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.6%
Highest 10: 21.4% (1998)

Distribution of family income gini index: 28.4 (1998)

Budget
Revenues: $16.27 billion
Expenditures: $16.59 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt: 25.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.5% (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $15.18 billion (2006)

Current account balance: $-941.5 million (2006 est.)

Exports: $21.39 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: manufactured goods machinery and transport equipment chemicals food
Partners: Germany 20.1% Italy 13% Croatia 9.1% Austria 8.8% France 6.5% Russia 4.4% (2006)

Imports: $22.79 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment manufactured goods chemicals fuels and lubricants food
Partners: Germany 19.7% Italy 18.1% Austria 11.9% France 6% Croatia 4.7% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $7.139 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external: $21.41 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $7.459 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $4.259 billion (2006 est.)

Exchange rates
Note: Slovenia adopted the euro as its currency on 1 January 2007

Electricity
Production: 14.9 billion kWh (2006)
Consumption: 13.71 billion kWh (2006)
Exports: 4.8 billion kWh (2006)
Imports: 4.07 billion kWh (2006)

Natural gas
Production: 4.795 million m³ (2005 est.)
Consumption: 1.078 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2005 est.)
Imports: 1.073 billion m³ (2005)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 837,500 (2006)
Mobile cellular: 1.82 million (2006)

Telephone system
General assessment: NA
Domestic: 100% digital (2000)
International: country code - 386

Internet
Country code: .si
Hosts: 134,266 (2007)
Users: 1.251 million (2006)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 1.7% (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 2003 (2007)

Airports: 14 (2007)
With paved runways total: 6
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 8
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 4 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 2,526 km; oil 11 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 1,229 km
Standard gauge: 1,229 km 1.435-m gauge (504 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways
Total: 38,451 km
Paved: 38,451 km (includes 483 km of expressways) (2004)

Merchant marine
Registered in other countries: 26 (Antigua and Barbuda 6, Bahamas 1, Cyprus 4, Georgia 2, Liberia 1, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 3, Singapore 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 5) (2007)

Ports and terminals: Koper

Disputes international: the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement which would have ceded most of Piran Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia remains unratified and in dispute; Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic; as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border Slovenia must implement the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia

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