Slovenia - Administrative divisions, Economy, Demographics, Biodiversity

Local name Slovenija

Timezone GMT +1 Area 20 251 km²/7817 sq mi population total (2002e) 1 948 000 Status Republic Date of independence 1991 Capital Ljubljana Languages Slovene, Croatian Ethnic group Slovene (90%) Religions Roman Catholic, Protestant, some Eastern Orthodox Physical features Mountainous republic between Austria and Croatia; Slovenian Alps (NW) rise to 2863 m/9393 ft at Triglav in the Julian Alps (Julijske Alpe); rivers include Sava, Savinja, and Drava; chief port, Koper. Climate Continental climate; more Mediterranean in W; average annual temperature -1°C (Jan), 19°C (Jul) in Ljubljana; average annual rainfall 1600 mm/63 in. Currency (1991) 1 Slovene Tolar (SIT) = 100 paras Economy Agriculture; maize, wheat, sugar beet, potatoes, livestock, wine, timber, lignite; textiles; large iron and steel plants; vehicles; coal, lead, mercury mining in W. GDP (2002e) $37·06 bn, per capita $19 200 Human Development Index (2002) 0·879 History Settled by Slovenes, 6th–8th-c; later controlled by Slavs and Franks; part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918; people's republic within Yugoslavia, 1946; declaration of full sovereignty, 1990; declaration of independence from Yugoslavia as the Republic of Slovenia, 1991; opposed by central government, brief period of fighting upon the intervention of the federal army who withdrew in Aug 1991; tricameral legislature replaced by a bicameral National Assembly, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a State Council; joined European Union, 2004.

Republika Slovenija Republic of Slovenia
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Zdravljica
Capital (largest city)	Ljubljana 46°03′N 14°30′E
Official language	Slovenian, Italian
Government	Parliamentary republic
- President	Janez Drnovšek
- Prime Minister	Janez Janša
Independence	from Yugoslavia
- Declared	June 25, 1991
- Recognized	1992
Accession to EU	May 1, 2004
Area
- Total	20,273 km² (153rd) 7,827 sq mi
- Water (%)	0.6
Population
- March 2006 estimate	2,008,5162 (145th)
- 2002 census	1,964,036
- Density	97/km² (101st) 251/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
- Total	$43.69 billion (81st)
- Per capita	$21,911 (31st)
HDI  (2004)	0.910 (high) (27th)
Currency	Tolar3 (SIT)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD	.si4
Calling code	+386
1 In the residential municipalities of the Italian or Hungarian national community. 2 Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia: Population, Slovenia, 30 June 2006 3 To be replaced by the euro (EUR) on 1 January 2007. 4 Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states.

Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovenian: Republika Slovenija), is a coastal Alpine country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north.

Throughout Slovenia's history, the country has been part of the Roman Empire, the Duchy of Carantania (only Slovenia's modern northern part), the Holy Roman Empire, Austria-Hungary, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929) between the World Wars, and the SFR of Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991.

Administrative divisions

Traditional regions

As given by Enciklopedija Slovenije (Encyclopedia of Slovenia), traditional Slovenian regions, based on the former division of Slovenia into four Habsburg crown lands (Carniola, Carinthia, Styria, and the Littoral) and their parts, are:

Upper Carniola (Gorenjska) (denoted on the map as U.C.) Styria (Štajerska) (S) Prekmurje (T) Carinthia (Koroška) (C) Inner Carniola (Notranjska) (I.C.) Lower Carniola (Dolenjska) (L.C.) Goriška (G) Slovenian Istria (Slovenska Istra) (L)

The last two are usually considered together as the Littoral Region (Primorska). The newer regionalization by Ivan Gams divides Slovenia in the following macroregions:

the Alps (visokogorske Alpe) the Prealpine Hills (predalpsko hribovje) the Ljubljana basin (Ljubljanska kotlina) Submediterranean (Littoral) Slovenia (submediteranska - primorska Slovenija) the dinaric Karst of inner Slovenia (dinarski kras notranje Slovenije) Subpannonian Slovenia (subpanononska Slovenija)

According to a newer natural geographic regionalization, the country consists of four macroregions.

The statistical regions are:

██ Gorenjska ██ Goriška ██ Jugovzhodna Slovenija ██ Koroška ██ Notranjsko-kraška ██ Obalno-kraška

██ Osrednjeslovenska ██ Podravska ██ Pomurska ██ Savinjska ██ Spodnjeposavska ██ Zasavska

The Government, however, is preparing a plan for new administrative regions.

See also: List of national parks of Slovenia and National parks of Slovenia

Economy

Slovenia is a high-income economy which enjoys the highest GDP per capita ($23,250 in 2006 ) of the newly joined EU countries.

Demographics

Ethnic composition of Slovenia
Slovenians			83.06%
Serb			1.98%
Croat			1.81%
Bosniak			1.10%
Muslim by nationality			0.53%
Hungarian			0.32%
Albanian			0.31%
Roma			0.17%
Italian			0.11%
other			0.82%
undeclared or unknown			8.9%
source: 2002 census

Religion in Slovenia
Roman Catholic			57.8%
Muslim			2.4%
Eastern Orthodox			2.3%
Protestant			0.9%
Other			3.7%
Atheist			10.1%
undeclared or unknown			22.8%
source: 2002 census

Slovenia's main ethnic group is Slovenians (83%).

See also: List of Slovenians, Holidays in Slovenia, Slovenian architecture, Slovene literature, and Music of Slovenia

Biodiversity

Although Slovenia is a small country, there is an exceptionally wide variety of habitats.

Geographical sights

Geometric center of Slovenia (Geoss) Klopotec Kozolec

Institutions

Anton Melik Geographical Institute ARNES Jožef Stefan Institute

General information on Slovenia

Official tourist guide to Slovenia InfoSlovenia.be Slovenia Welcomes - Guide and Travelogues about Slovenia Ljubljana Life Magazine - The Guide to Culture, Entertainment, and Expatriate Living in the Slovene Capital Ljubljana-Life - The guide for you! The Slovenia Times - the only general newspaper on Slovenian affairs in English Moja Slovenija - a site featuring 3D photos of various spots in the country Panoramas of Slovenia Guide to virtual Slovenia at Matkurja.com - the first Slovenian search engine Weather forecast for Slovenia (Slovenian) Slovenia-Guide.com - a complete guide to travelling and living in Slovenia. GeaBios - interactive maps and aerial orthophotos of Slovenia, scale from 1:2.500.000 to 1:2.500 (see also GeaBios) SLORadio.com - list of all Slovene online radio stations with links to their program streams

Institutions in Slovenia

Bank of Slovenia Public Libraries Jožef Stefan Institute - the official site of the leading Slovenian research organization and links to resources on Slovenia The Republic of Slovenia - government links Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia University of Ljubljana University of Maribor University of Primorska University of Nova Gorica Pošta Slovenije - Post of Slovenia (Slovenian)

Slovenian web search engines

Najdi.si - a Slovenian search engine (Slovenian) Mat'kurja - the first Slovenian web directory Slowwwenia.com - a Slovenian internet directory (Slovenian) Raziskovalec.com - a Slovenian local web directory (Slovenian) Najdi.si zemljevid - an interactive searchable map of Slovenia (Slovenian)

Currency

Tolar Banknotes Tolar Coins

v • d • e Republics and Autonomous Provinces of the former Yugoslavia (SFRY) Bosnia and Herzegovina • Croatia • Republic of Macedonia • Montenegro • Serbia (Kosovo • Vojvodina)  • Slovenia v • d • e European Union members and candidates

Austria • Belgium • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom

Countries acceding on January 1, 2007: Bulgaria • Romania
Candidate countries: Croatia • Turkey • Republic of Macedonia (referred to as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" by the European Union)

v • d • e North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Belgium • Bulgaria • Canada • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Iceland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Netherlands • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Turkey • United Kingdom • United States
Candidate countries: Albania • Croatia • Republic of Macedonia (refered as "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia") v • d • e Countries of Europe

Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · United Kingdom · Vatican City

For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory and List of unrecognized countries.

v • d • e Slavic-speaking nations

West Slavic:  Czech Republic •  Poland •  Slovakia

South Slavic:  Bosnia and Herzegovina •  Bulgaria •  Croatia •  Republic of Macedonia •  Montenegro •  Serbia •  Slovenia

East Slavic:  Belarus •  Russia •  Ukraine

v • d • e Francophonie Members: Belgium • Benin • Bulgaria • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cambodia • Cameroon • Canada • New Brunswick • Quebec • Ontario • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Cyprus • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Djibouti • Dominica • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • France • French Guiana • Gabon • Ghana • Guadeloupe • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Haiti • Laos • Lebanon • Madagascar • Mali • Martinique • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Niger • Republic of the Congo • Romania • Rwanda • Saint Lucia • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Saint-Pierre and Miquelon • Switzerland • Togo • Tunisia • Ukraine • Vanuatu • Vietnam

Observers: Armenia • Austria • Croatia • Czech Republic • Georgia • Hungary • Lithuania • Mozambique • Poland • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Ukraine

v • d • e Countries on the Adriatic Sea

 Albania •  Bosnia and Herzegovina •  Croatia •  Italy •  Montenegro •  Slovenia