Slovenia

The Republic of Slovenia (Slovenian: Slovenija) is a coastal sub-Alpine country in south 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.

Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991. It became a member of the European Union on 1 May 2004. It is also a member of the Council of Europe, NATO, and has observer status in La Francophonie.

History

Main article: History of Slovenia

It is believed that the Slavic ancestors of the present-day Slovenians settled in the area in the 6th century. The Slavic Duchy of Carantania, the first Slovenian state and the first stable Slavic state, was formed in the 7th century. In 745, Carantania lost its independence, being largely subsumed into the Frankish empire. Many Slavs converted to Christianity.

The Freising manuscripts, the first written documents in Slovenian and the first ever Slavic dialect documents in Latin script, were written around 1000. During the 14th century, most of Slovenia's regions passed into ownership of the Habsburgs whose lands later formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with Slovenians inhabiting all or most of the provinces of Carniola, Gorizia and Gradisca, and parts of the provinces of Istria and Styria.

In 1848 a strong programme for a United Slovenia emerged as part of the "Spring of Nations" movement within Austria.

With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918, Slovenians joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed, in 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Following the re-establishment of Yugoslavia at the end of World War II, Slovenia became a part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, officially declared on 29 November 1945. Present-day Slovenia was formed on 25 June 1991 upon its independence from the Yugoslavia. Slovenia joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and the European Union on 1 May 2004.

See also (a non-academic) Timeline of Slovenian history

Politics

Main article: Politics of Slovenia

The Slovenian head of state is the president, who is elected by popular vote every 5 years. The executive branch is headed by the prime minister and the council of ministers or cabinet, which are elected by the parliament.

The bicameral Slovenian parliament consists of the National Assembly or Državni zbor, and the Državni svet or National Council. The National Assembly has 90 seats, which are partially filled with directly elected representatives, and partially with proportionally elected representatives. The National Council has 22 seats, and is made up of representatives of social, economic, professional and local interest groups. Parliamentary elections are held every four years.

Regions

Upper Carniola (Gorenjska)
Styria (Štajerska)
Mur Region (Prekmurje) (or Transmuraland)
Carinthia (Koroška)
Inner Carniola (Notranjska)
Lower Carniola (Dolenjska)
White Carniola (Bela krajina)
Littoral Region (Primorska)

Municipalities

Main article: Municipalities of Slovenia

Slovenia is divided into 193 municipalities (občine, singular - občina), of which 11 have urban status.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Slovenia

File:Si-map.png

Map of Slovenia

Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps, the Dinaric area, the Pannonian plain, the Karst region and the Mediterranean. Slovenia's highest peak is Mt. Triglav (2864 m); the country's average height above the sea level is 557 m. Around one half of the country (10,124 km²) is covered by forests; this makes Slovenia the third most forested country in Europe, after Finland and Sweden. Remnants of primeval forests are still to be found, the largest in the Kočevje area. Grassland covers 5593 km² of the country and fields and gardens 2471 km². There are also 363 km² of orchards and 216 km² of vineyards.

Its climate is Mediterranean on the coast, Alpine in the mountains and continental with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east. The average temperatures are -2°C in January and 21°C in July. The average rainfall is 1000 mm for the coast, up to 3500 mm for the Alps, 800 mm for south east and 1400 mm for central Slovenia.

See also: National parks of Slovenia.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Slovenia

Slovenia continues to enjoy the highest GDP per capita of the transitioning economies of the region. The country is experiencing an increased, yet manageable, rate of inflation and anticipates increased GDP growth during the year 2000 as growth accelerates in the EU, Slovenia's leading export market. The country is on a sound economic footing. However, much work remains to be done in the areas of privatisation and capital market reform.

During 2000, privatisations were seen in the banking, telecommunications, and public utility sectors. Restrictions on foreign investment are slowly being dismantled, and foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to increase over the next two years. Slovenia can be considered one of the economic front-runners of the countries that joined the European Union in 2004.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Slovenia

Slovenia's ethnic groups are: Slovenians (89%); Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and other nationalities of the former Yugoslavia (10%); and the ethnic Hungarian and Italian minorities (0.5%). Life expectancy in 2000 was 71.80 years for men and 79.50 years for women.

With 95 inhabitants per km², Slovenia ranks low among the European countries in population denisty (compare with 320/km² for the Netherlands or 195/km² for Italy). Approximately 50% of the total population lives in urban areas, the rest in rural.

The official language is Slovenian, which is a member of the South Slavic language group. Hungarian and Italian enjoy the status of official language in the nationally mixed regions along the Hungarian and Italian border.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Slovenia

Slovenia's learned men include physicist Jožef Stefan , linguist Franc Miklošič and mathematician Jurij Vega. See List of Slovenians.

Slovenia is a homeland of numerous musicians and composers, including Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus and more contemporary ones like Slavko Avsenik and Laibach.

Environment

Slovenia is home of the Carniolan honeybee.

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