Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a 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. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. At various points in Slovenia's history, the country has been part of the Roman Empire, partly the Republic of Venice, the principality Carantania (only modern Slovenia's northern part), theHoly Roman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire (later known as Austria-Hungary), the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929); partly Kingdom of Italy, between the two World Wars, occupied by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Croatia (1941-1945), and theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991.

Slovenia is a member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the Schengen area, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and NATO.

Politics

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

The bicameral Parliament of Slovenia is characterized by an asymmetric duality, as the Constitution does not accord equal powers to both chambers. It consists of the National Assembly (Državni zbor), and theNational Council (Državni svet). The National Assembly has ninety members, 88 of which are elected by all the citizens in a system of proportional representation, while two are elected by the indigenous Hungarian and Italian minorities. Elections take place every four years. It is the supreme representative and legislative institution, exercising legislative and electoral powers as well as control over the Executive and the Judiciary. The National Council has forty members, appointed to represent social, economic, professional and local interest groups. Among its best-known powers is the authority of the "postponing veto" - it can demand that the Parliament re-discusses a certain piece of legislation.

Geography

Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps, the Dinarides, the Pannonian Plain, and the Mediterranean. Slovenia's highest peak is Triglav (2,864 m; 9,396 ft); the country's average height above sea level is 557 metres (1,827 ft). Although on the shore of the Adriatic Sea, near the Mediterranean, most of Slovenia is in the Black Sea drainage basin. The geographical centre of Slovenia is at the coordinates 46°07'11.8" N and 14°48'55.2" E. It lies in Spodnja Slivna near Vače in the municipality of Litija. Slovenia's coastline measures 47km (29 mi).

Around half of the country (11,691 km²; 4,514 sq mi) is covered by forests; 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 5,593 square kilometres (2,159 sq mi) and fields and gardens 2,471 square kilometres (954 sq mi). There are 363 square kilometres (140 sq mi) of orchards and 216 square kilometres (83 sq mi) of vineyards.

Its climate is sub-mediterranean on the coast, alpine in the mountains and continental with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaux and valleys to the east. Average temperatures are -2 °C (28 °F) in January and 21 °C (70 °F) in July. The average rainfall is 1,000 millimetres (39.4 in) for the coast, up to 3,500 millimetres (137.8 in) for the Alps, 800 millimetres (31.5 in) for south-east and 1,400 millimetres (55.1 in) for central Slovenia.

Economy

Slovenia has a high-income developed economy which enjoys the second highest (after Cyprus) GDP per capita ($28,010.76 estimate for 2008) of the new EU countries which is 93% of the EU average. Although the country's relatively high inflation declined to 2.3% in 2006 (prior to adoption of the euro), in October 2007 it reached 5.1% year-on-year, exceeding the average in the eurozone. Slovenia's economy has started to grow more strongly in the last few years 4.3% in 2004 and 2005, 5.9% in 2006 and 6.8% in 2007, after relatively slow growth in 2003 (2.8%). in the first three quarters of 2008, the economy expanded at a 5% annual rate.

Despite economic success, Slovenia faces some challenges. A big portion of the economy remains in state hands and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia is one of the lowest in the EU per capita. Taxes are relatively high, the labor market is seen as inflexible, and industries are losing sales to China, India, and elsewhere.

During the 2000s, privatizations were seen in the banking, telecommunications, and public utility sectors. Restrictions on foreign investment are being dismantled, and foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to increase. Slovenia is the economic front-runner of the countries that joined the European Union in 2004 and was the first new member which adopted the euro on 1 January 2007.

Demographics

Slovenia's main ethnic group is Slovene (83%). Ethnic groups from other parts of the former Yugoslavia (Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Montenegrin) form 5.3%, and the Hungarian, Albanian, Roma, Italian and other minorities form 2.8% of the population. Ethnic affiliation of 8.9% was either undeclared or unknown.

Life expectancy in 2003 was 72.2 years for men and 80 years for women. Slovenia ranks number 4 on the list of countries by suicide rate.

With 99 inhabitants per square kilometre (256/sq mi), Slovenia ranks low among the European countries in population density (compared to 320/km² (829/sq mi) for the Netherlands or 195/km² (505/sq mi) for Italy). The Notranjska-Kras statistical region has the lowest population density while the Central Slovenian statistical region has the highest. Approximately 51% of the population lives in urban areas and 49% in rural areas.

The official language is Slovene, which is a member of the South Slavic language group.Hungarian and Italian enjoy the status of official languages in the ethnically mixed regions along the Hungarian and Italian borders.

By religion, Slovenes are traditionally largely Roman Catholic (57.8% according to the 2002 Census).

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 37% of Slovenian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 46% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".