Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

. It borders

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to the west,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

to the north,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

to the northeast,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

to the southwest, which is part of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Slovenia is mostly mountainous and forested, covers , and has a population of approximately 2.1 million people. Slovene is the official language. Slovenia has a predominantly temperate

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

, with the exception of the Slovene Littoral and the

Julian Alps The Julian Alps (, , , , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. A large part of the Julian Alps is inclu ...

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, the capital and

largest city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metrop ...

of Slovenia, is geographically situated near the centre of the country. Other larger urban centers are

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

Ptuj Ptuj (; , ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, eighth-largest town of Slovenia, located in the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria (northeastern Slovenia). It is the seat of the City Municipality of Ptuj, Municipality of Pt ...

Kranj Kranj (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately northwest o ...

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

, and

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

. Slovenia's territory has been part of many different states: the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...

, the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, the

Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...

of Napoleon's

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

and the Habsburg Empire. In October 1918, the Slovenes co-founded the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs. In December 1918, they merged with the

Kingdom of Montenegro The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolu ...

and the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

into the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and

occupied and annexed Slovenia, with a tiny area transferred to the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

, a newly declared

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...

. In 1945, it again became part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. Post-war, Yugoslavia was allied with the

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

, but after the

Tito–Stalin split The Tito–Stalin split or the Soviet–Yugoslav split was the culmination of a conflict between the political leaderships of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, under Josip Broz Tito and Joseph Stalin, respectively, in the years following World W ...

of 1948, it never subscribed to the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

, and in 1961 it became one of the founders of the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

. In June 1991, Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia and became an independent

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

. Slovenia is a

developed country A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

, with a

high-income economy A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a country with a gross national income per capita of US$14,005 or more in 2023, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" ...

characterized by a mixture of both traditional industries, such as manufacturing and agriculture, and modern sectors, such as information technology and financial services. The economy is highly dependent on foreign trade, with exports accounting for a significant portion of the country's GDP. Slovenia is a member of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

, and other associations in the global community.

Etymology

The name ''Slovenia'' etymologically means 'land of the

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

'. The origin of the name itself remains uncertain. The suffix ''-en'' forms a

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

History

Prehistory to Slavic settlement

Prehistory

Present-day Slovenia has been inhabited since

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

times. There is evidence of

human habitation Housing refers to a property containing one or more shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and human right, playing a crit ...

from around 250,000 years ago. A pierced cave bear bone, dating from 43100 ± 700 BP, found in 1995 in Divje Babe cave near

Cerkno Cerkno (; ; ) is a small town in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It has around 2,000 inhabitants and is the administrative centre of the Cerkno Hills. It is the seat of the Municipality of Cerkno. Cerkno is a small but important local cultural ...

, is considered a kind of flute, and possibly the oldest musical instrument discovered in the world. In the 1920s and 1930s, artifacts belonging to the

Cro-Magnon Cro-Magnons or European early modern humans (EEMH) were the first early modern humans (''Homo sapiens'') to settle in Europe, migrating from western Asia, continuously occupying the continent possibly from as early as 56,800 years ago. They in ...

, such as pierced bones, bone points, and a needle were found by archaeologist Srečko Brodar in Potok Cave. In 2002, remains of pile dwellings over 4,500 years old were discovered in the Ljubljana Marsh, now protected as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, along with the Ljubljana Marshes Wooden Wheel, the oldest wooden wheel in the world. It shows that wooden wheels appeared almost simultaneously in Mesopotamia and Europe. In the transition period between the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, the

Urnfield The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in urns, which ...

culture flourished. Archaeological remains dating from the

Hallstatt period The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to ...

have been found, particularly in southeastern Slovenia, among them a number of situlas in

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; ; also known by #Name, alternative names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, seventh-largest city of Slovenia. It is the economic and cultural centre of the traditional region of Lower Carniola (southeastern Slovenia) and ...

, the " Town of Situlas".

Roman era

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times, the area that is now Slovenia was shared between ''Venetia et Histria'' (region X of Roman Italia in the classification of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

) and the provinces

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

and

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, R ...

. The Romans established posts at

Emona Emona (early ) or Aemona (short for ) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Nauportus River came closest to Castle Hill,Poetovio (Ptuj), and Celeia (Celje); and constructed trade and military roads that ran across Slovene territory from

to Pannonia. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the area was subject to invasions by the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

and Germanic tribes during their incursions into Italy. Part of the inner state was protected with a defensive line of towers and walls called '' Claustra Alpium Iuliarum''. A crucial battle between

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

and

Eugenius Eugenius (died 6 September 394) was a Western Roman emperor from 392 to 394, unrecognized by the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius I. While Christian himself, Eugenius capitalized on the discontent in the West caused by Theodosius' religious p ...

took place in the Vipava Valley in 394.

Slavic settlement

The Slavic tribes migrated to the Alpine area after the westward departure of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

(the last Germanic tribe) in 568, and, under pressure from Avars, established a Slavic settlement in the Eastern Alps. From 623 to 624 or possibly 626 onwards, King Samo united the Alpine and Western Slavs against the Avars and Germanic peoples and established what is referred to as Samo's Kingdom. After its disintegration following Samo's death in 658 or 659, the ancestors of the

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

located in present-day

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

formed the independent duchy of Carantania, and

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

, later duchy Carniola. Other parts of present-day Slovenia were again ruled by Avars before

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

's victory over them in 803.

Middle Ages

The Carantanians, one of the ancestral groups of the modern Slovenes, particularly the

Carinthian Slovenes Carinthian Slovenes or Carinthian Slovenians (; ; ) are the Indigenous peoples, indigenous minority of Slovenes, Slovene ethnicity, living within borders of the Austrian state of Carinthia, neighboring Slovenia. Their status of the minority group ...

, were the first Slavic people to accept Christianity. They were mostly Christianized by Irish missionaries, among them Modestus, known as the "Apostle of Carantanians". This process, together with the Christianization of the

Bavarians Bavarians are a Germans, German ethnographic group native to Bavaria, a state in Germany. The group's dialect or speech is known as Bavarian language, Bavarian, native to Altbayern ("Old Bavaria"), roughly the territory of the historic Electo ...

, was later described in the memorandum known as the Conversio Bagoariorum et Carantanorum, which is thought to have overemphasized the role of the Church of Salzburg in the Christianization process over similar efforts of the Patriarchate of

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

. In the mid-8th century, Carantania became a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

duchy under the rule of the Bavarians, who began christianization, spreading Christianity. Three decades later, the Carantanians were incorporated, together with the Bavarians, into the

. During the same period

, too, came under the Franks, and was Christianised from

. Following the anti-Frankish rebellion of Liudewit at the beginning of the 9th century, the Franks removed the Carantanian princes, replacing them with their own border dukes. Consequently, the Frankish feudal system reached the Slovene territory. After the victory of Emperor Otto I over the Magyars in 955, Slovene territory was divided into a number of border regions of the

. Carantania was elevated into the Duchy of Carinthia in 976. By the 11th century, the Germanization of what is now Lower Austria, effectively isolated the Slovene-inhabited territory from the other western Slavs, speeding up the development of the Carantanians, Slavs of Carantania and of

into an independent Carantanian/Carniolans/Slovene ethnic group. By the High Middle Ages, the historic provinces of Carniola, Styria (duchy), Styria, Carinthia (duchy), Carinthia, County of Gorizia, Gorizia, Trieste, and Istria developed from the border regions and were incorporated into the medieval

. The consolidation and formation of these historical lands took place in a long period between the 11th and 14th centuries, and were led by a number of important feudal families, such as the Bernhard von Spanheim, Dukes of Spanheim, the Meinhardiner, Counts of Gorizia, the Counts of Celje, and, finally, the House of Habsburg. In a parallel process, an intensive Germanization significantly diminished the extent of Slovene-speaking areas. By the 15th century, the Slovene Lands, Slovene ethnic territory was reduced to its present size. In 1335, Henry of Bohemia, Henry of Gorizia, Duke of Carinthia, Landgrave of Carniola and Count of Tyrol died without a male heir, his daughter Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, Margaret was able to keep the County of Tyrol, while the Wittelsbach emperor Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Louis IV passed Carinthia and Carniolan march to the Habsburg duke Albert II, Duke of Austria, Albert II of Austria, whose mother, Elisabeth of Carinthia, Queen of the Romans, Elisabeth of Carinthia is a sister of the late duke Henry of Bohemia, Henry of Gorizia. Therefore, most of the territory of present-day Slovenia became a hereditary land of the Habsburg monarchy. As with the other component parts of the Habsburg monarchy, Carinthia and Carniola remained a semi-autonomous state with its own constitutional structure for a long time. The counts of Celje, a feudal family from this area who in 1436 acquired the title of state princes, were Habsburgs' powerful competitors for some time. This large dynasty, important at a European political level, had its seat in Slovene territory but died out in 1456. Its numerous large estates subsequently became the property of the Habsburgs, who retained control of the area right up until the beginning of the 20th century. Patria del Friuli ruled present western Slovenia until Republic of Venice, Venetian takeover in 1420. Boj s Turki-Valvasor

At the end of the Middle Ages, the Slovene Lands suffered a serious economic and demographic setback because of the Ottoman–Habsburg wars, Turkish raids. In 1515, a Slovene peasant revolt of 1515, peasant revolt spread across nearly the whole Slovene territory. In 1572 and 1573 the Croatian-Slovenian peasant revolt wrought havoc throughout the wider region. Such uprisings, which often met with bloody defeats, continued throughout the 17th century.

Early modern period

After the Fall of the Republic of Venice, dissolution of the Republic of Venice in 1797, the Venetian Slovenia was passed to the Austrian Empire. The Slovene Lands were part of the French-administered

established by Napoleon, the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. Slovenes inhabited most of

, the southern part of the duchies of Duchy of Carinthia, Carinthia and Duchy of Styria, Styria, the northern and eastern areas of the Austrian Littoral, as well as Prekmurje in the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, Kingdom of Hungary. Industrialization was accompanied by construction of railroads to link cities and markets, but the urbanization was limited. Due to limited opportunities, between 1880 and 1910 there was extensive emigration; around 300,000 Slovenes (1 in 6) emigrated to other countries, mostly Slovene Americans, to the US, but also Slovene communities in South America, to South America (the main part to Argentina), Germany, Egypt, and to larger cities in Austria-Hungary, especially Vienna and Graz. Despite this emigration, the population of Slovenia increased significantly. Literacy was exceptionally high, at 80–90%. The 19th century also saw a revival of culture in Slovene, accompanied by a Romantic nationalism, Romantic nationalist quest for cultural and political autonomy. The idea of a United Slovenia, first advanced during the revolutions of 1848, became the common platform of most Slovenian parties and political movements in Austria-Hungary. During the same period, Yugoslavism, an ideology stressing the unity of all South Slavs, South Slavic peoples, spread as a reaction to Pan-Germanism, Pan-German nationalism and Italian irredentism.

World War I

World War I brought heavy casualties to Slovenes, particularly the twelve Battles of the Isonzo, which took place in present-day Slovenia's western border area with Italy. Hundreds of thousands of Slovene conscripts were drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army, and over 30,000 of them died. Hundreds of thousands of Slovenes from Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca were resettled in refugee camps in Italy and Austria. While the refugees in Austria received decent treatment, the Slovene refugees in Italian camps were treated as state enemies, and several thousand died of malnutrition and diseases between 1915 and 1918. Entire areas of the Slovene Littoral were destroyed. The Treaty of Rapallo (1920), Treaty of Rapallo of 1920 left approximately 327,000 out of the total population of 1.3 million Slovenes in Italy.Lipušček, U. (2012) ''Sacro egoismo: Slovenci v krempljih tajnega londonskega pakta 1915'', Cankarjeva založba, Ljubljana. Cresciani, Gianfranco (2004
Clash of civilisations
, Italian Historical Society Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, p. 4 After the March on Rome, fascists took power in Italy, they were subjected to a policy of violent Fascist Italianization. This caused the mass emigration of Slovenes, especially the middle class, from the Slovene Littoral and Trieste to Yugoslavia and South America. Those who remained organized several connected networks of both passive and armed resistance. The best known was the Anti-fascism, militant anti-fascist organization TIGR, formed in 1927 to fight Fascist oppression of the Slovene and Croat populations in the Julian March.Mira Cencič, ''TIGR'' (Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1997)Tatjana Rejec, ''Pričevanja o TIGR-u'' (Ljubljana: Slovene Society, 1995)

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia)

The Slovene People's Party (historical), Slovene People's Party launched a movement for self-determination, demanding the creation of a semi-independent South Slavic peoples, South Slavic state under Habsburg dynasty, Habsburg rule. The proposal was picked up by most Slovene parties, and a mass mobilization of Slovene civil society, known as the May Declaration (1917), Declaration Movement, followed. This demand was rejected by the Austrian political elites; but following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the aftermath of the First World War, the National Council of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs took power in Zagreb on 6 October 1918. On 29 October, independence was declared by a national gathering in Ljubljana, and by the Croatian parliament, declaring the establishment of the new State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs. On 1 December 1918, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs merged with Serbia, becoming part of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes; in 1929 it was renamed the

. The main territory of Slovenia, being the most industrialized and westernized compared to other less developed parts of Yugoslavia, became the main centre of industrial production: Compared to Serbia, for example, Slovenian industrial production was four times greater; and it was 22 times greater than in North Macedonia. The interwar period brought further industrialization in Slovenia, with rapid economic growth in the 1920s, followed by a relatively successful economic adjustment to the 1929 economic crisis and Great Depression. Following a Carinthian Plebiscite, plebiscite in October 1920, the Slovene-speaking southern

was ceded to

. With the Treaty of Trianon, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was awarded the mostly Slovene-inhabited Prekmurje region, formerly part of Austria-Hungary. Slovenes living in territories that fell under the rule of the neighboring states—Italy, Austria, and Hungary—were subjected to Cultural assimilation, assimilation.

World War II

During World War II, Nazi Germany and

annexed northern areas (brown and dark green areas, respectively), while Fascist

annexed the vertically hatched black area (solid black western part having been annexed by Italy in 1920 with the Treaty of Rapallo (1920), Treaty of Rapallo). Some villages were incorporated into the

. After 1943, Germany also occupied the area that Italy had annexed.

Slovenia was the only present-day European nation that was trisected and completely annexed into both Nazi Germany and Fascist

during World War II.Gregor Joseph Kranjc (2013). To Walk with the Devil, University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, p. introduction 5 In addition, the Prekmurje region in the east was annexed to Hungary, and some villages in the Lower Sava Valley were incorporated in the newly created Nazi puppet

(NDH). Axis forces Invasion of Yugoslavia, invaded Yugoslavia in April 1941 and defeated the country in a few weeks. The southern part, including

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, was annexed to Italy, while the Nazis took over the northern and eastern parts of the country. The Nazis had a plan of ethnic cleansing of these areas,Haar, I., Fahlbusch, M. (2006)
German Scholars and Ethnic Cleansing, 1919–1945
Berghahn Books, , p. 115 and they resettled or expelled the local Slovene civilian population to the puppet states of Nedić's Serbia (7,500) and NDH (10,000). In addition, some 46,000 Slovenes were expelled to Germany, including children who were separated from their parents and allocated to German families.Lukšič-Hacin, M., Mlekuž J. (2009)
Go Girls!: When Slovenian Women Left Home
Založba ZRC SAZU, , p. 55 At the same time, the ethnic Germans in the Gottschee enclave in the Italian annexation zone were resettled to the Nazi-controlled areas cleansed of their Slovene population.Lumans, V.O. (1993
Himmler's Auxiliaries: The Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle and the German National Minorities of Europe, 1933–1945
Univ of North Carolina Press, , p. 175 Around 30,000 to 40,000 Slovene men were drafted to the Wehrmacht, German Army and sent to the Eastern front. Slovene was banned from education, and its use in public life was limited. In south-central Slovenia, annexed by Fascist Italy and renamed the Province of Ljubljana, the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation, Slovenian National Liberation Front was organized in April 1941. Led by the Communist Party, it formed the Slovene Partisans, Slovene Partisan units as part of the Yugoslav Partisans led by the Communist leader Josip Broz Tito.Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2013)
In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western Intelligence
Oxford University Press, Adams, Simon (2005)
The Balkans
Black Rabbit Books, After the resistance started in summer 1941, Italian violence against the Slovene civilian population escalated. The Italian authorities deported some 25,000 people to Italian concentration camps, concentration camps, which equaled 7.5% of the population of their occupation zone. The most infamous ones were Rab concentration camp, Rab and Gonars concentration camp, Gonars. To counter the Communist-led insurgence, the Italians sponsored local anti-guerrilla units, formed mostly by the local conservative Catholic Slovene population that resented the revolutionary violence of the partisans. After the Italian armistice of September 1943, the Germans took over both the Province of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Littoral, incorporating them into what was known as the Operation Zone of Adriatic Coastal Region. They united the Slovene anti-Communist counter-insurgence into the Slovene Home Guard and appointed a puppet regime in the Province of Ljubljana. The anti-Nazi resistance however expanded, creating its own administrative structures as the basis for Slovene statehood within a new, federal and socialist Yugoslavia. In 1945, Yugoslavia was liberated by the partisan resistance and soon became a socialist federation known as the People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. #Etymology, The first Slovenian republic, named Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Federal Slovenia, was a constituent republic of the Yugoslavian federation, led by its own pro-Communist leadership. Approximately 8% of the Slovene population died during

. The small Jewish community, mostly in the Prekmurje region, was destroyed in 1944 in the Holocaust in Hungary, holocaust of Hungarian Jews. The German-speaking minority, amounting to 2.5% of the Slovenian population prior to the war, was either expelled or killed in the aftermath of the war. Hundreds of Istrian Italians and Slovenes that were members of fascist and collaborationist forces, alongside civilians presumed to oppose communism, were killed in the Foibe killings, foibe massacres, and more than 25,000 fled or were expelled from Slovenian Istria. Around 130,000 persons, mostly political and military opponents, were executed in May and June 1945.

Socialism

During the re-establishment of Yugoslavia in World War II, the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, first Slovenian republic, Federal Slovenia, was created and it became part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Yugoslavia. It was a socialist state, but because of the

in 1948, economic and personal freedoms were much broader than in the

countries. In 1947, the Slovene Littoral and the western half of Inner Carniola, which had been annexed by Italy after World War One, were annexed to Slovenia. Economy Yugoslavia 1975

After the failure of Collective farming, forced collectivisation that was attempted from 1949 to 1953, a policy of gradual economic liberalisation, known as Workers' self-management, workers self-management, was introduced under the advice and supervision of the Slovene Marxist theoretician and Communist leader Edvard Kardelj, the main ideologue of the Titoism, Titoist path to socialism. Suspected opponents of this policy both from within and outside the Communist party were persecuted and thousands were sent to Goli otok. The late 1950s saw a policy of liberalization in the cultural sphere as well, and unlimited border crossing into western countries was allowed, both for Yugoslav citizens and for foreigners. In 1956, Josip Broz Tito, together with other leaders, founded the

. In the 1950s, Slovenia's economy developed rapidly and was strongly industrialized. With further economic decentralization of Yugoslavia in 1965–66, Slovenia's Gross domestic product, domestic product was 2.5 times the average of Yugoslav republics. While a Communist country, after the Tito–Stalin split Yugoslavia initiated a period of military neutrality and non-alignment. JAT Yugoslav Airlines was the flag carrier and during its existence it grew to become one of the leading airlines in Europe both by fleet and destinations. By the 1970s more airlines were created including Slovenian Adria Airways mostly focused in the growing tourist industry. Until the 1980s, Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Slovenia enjoyed relatively broad autonomy within the federation. It was the most liberal communist state in Europe, and the passport of the Yugoslavia Federation allowed Yugoslavians to travel to the most world countries of any socialist country during the Cold War. Many people worked in western countries, which reduced unemployment in their home country. Opposition to the regime was mostly limited to intellectual and literary circles and became especially vocal after Tito's death in 1980 when the economic and political situation in Yugoslavia became very strained. Political disputes around economic measures were echoed in the public sentiment, as many Slovenians felt they were being economically exploited, having to sustain an expensive and inefficient federal administration.

Slovenian Spring, democracy and independence

In 1987 a group of intellectuals demanded Slovene independence in the Contributions for the Slovenian National Program, 57th edition of the magazine ''Nova revija (magazine), Nova revija''. Demands for democratisation and more Slovenian independence were sparked off. A mass democratic movement, coordinated by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, pushed the Communists in the direction of democratic reforms. In September 1989, numerous constitutional amendments were passed to introduce parliamentary democracy to Slovenia. On 7 March 1990, the Slovenian Assembly changed the official name of the state to the "Republic of Slovenia". In April 1990, the first democratic election in Slovenia took place, and the united opposition movement Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, DEMOS led by Jože Pučnik emerged victorious. The initial revolutionary events in Slovenia pre-dated the Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe by almost a year, but went largely unnoticed by international observers. On 23 December 1990, more than 88% of the electorate voted for a sovereign and independent Slovenia. On 25 June 1991, Slovenia became independent. On 27 June in the early morning, the Yugoslav People's Army dispatched its forces to prevent further measures for the establishment of a new country, which led to the Ten-Day War. On 7 July, the Brijuni Agreement was signed, implementing a truce and a three-month halt of the enforcement of Slovenia's independence. At the end of the month, the last soldiers of the Yugoslav Army left Slovenia. In December 1991, a new Constitution of Slovenia, constitution was adopted, followed in 1992 by the laws on privatization, denationalisation and privatisation. The members of the

recognised Slovenia as an independent state on 15 January 1992, and the United Nations accepted it as a member on 22 May 1992. Slovenia joined the

on 1 May 2004. Slovenia has one Commissioner in the European Commission, and seven Slovene parliamentarians were elected to the European Parliament at elections on 13 June 2004. In 2004 Slovenia also joined

. Slovenia subsequently succeeded in meeting the Maastricht criteria and joined the Eurozone (the first transition country to do so) on 1 January 2007. It was the first post-Communist country to hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, for the first six months of 2008. On 21 July 2010, it became a member of the OECD. The disillusionment with domestic socio-economic elites at municipal and national levels was expressed at the 2012–2013 Slovenian protests on a wider scale than in the smaller 15 October 2011 global protests#Slovenia, 15 October 2011 protests. In relation to the leading politicians' response to allegations made by the official Commission for the Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Slovenia, legal experts expressed the need for changes in the system that would limit political arbitrariness.

Geography

Slovenia is located in

touching the eastern Alps and bordering the

. This locates Slovenia within the Mediterranean basin. It lies between latitudes 45th parallel north, 45° and 47th parallel north, 47° N, and longitudes 13th meridian east, 13° and 17th meridian east, 17° E. The 15th meridian east almost corresponds to the middle line of the country in the direction west–east. The Geometric Centre of the Republic of Slovenia is located at Geographic coordinate system, coordinates 46°07'11.8" N and 14°48'55.2" E. It lies in Slivna in the Municipality of Litija. Slovenia's highest peak is Triglav (); the country's average height Above mean sea level, above sea level is : it has become a national symbol of Slovenia, featuring on the national Coat of arms of Slovenia, coat of arms and Flag of Slovenia, flag. Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps, the Dinaric Alps, Dinarides, the Pannonian Plain, and the Mediterranean Sea. Although on the shore of the

near the Mediterranean Sea, most of Slovenia is in the Black Sea drainage basin. The Alps—including the

, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Karawanks, Karawank chain, as well as the Pohorje massif—dominate Northern Slovenia along its long border with

. Slovenia's Adriatic coastline stretches approximately from Italy to Croatia. Mangart 16

The term "Karst topography" refers to that of southwestern Slovenia's Karst Plateau, a limestone region of underground rivers, gorges, and caves, between Ljubljana and the Mediterranean Sea. On the Pannonian plain to the East and Northeast, toward the Croatian and Hungarian borders, the landscape is essentially flat. However, most of Slovenia is hilly or mountainous, with around 90% of its land surface or more Above mean sea level, above sea level. More than half of Slovenia, which is , is forested; ranking it third in Europe, by List of countries by forest area, percentage of area forested, after Finland and Sweden. The areas are covered mostly by beech, fir-beech and beech-oak forests and have a relatively high production capacity. Remnants of old growth, primeval forests are still to be found, the largest in the Kočevje area. Grassland covers and fields and gardens (). There are of orchards and of vineyards.

Geology

Slovenia is in a rather active seismic zone because of its position on the small Adriatic Plate, which is squeezed between the Eurasian Plate to the north and the African Plate to the south and rotates counter-clockwise. Thus the country is at the junction of three important Tectonics, geotectonic units: the Alps to the north, the Dinaric Alps to the south and the Pannonian Basin to the east. Scientists have been able to identify 60 destructive earthquakes in the past. Additionally, a network of seismic stations is active throughout the country. Many parts of Slovenia have a Carbonate rock, carbonate bedrock and extensive cave systems have developed.

Natural regions

The first regionalisations of Slovenia were made by geographers Anton Melik (1935–1936) and Svetozar Ilešič (1968). The newer regionalisation by Ivan Gams divided Slovenia in the following macroregions: * the Alps (''Alpe'') * the Slovene Prealps, subalpine landscapes (''predalpski svet'') * the Slovene Littoral or Submediterranean Slovenia (''Primorje'' or ''submediteranska Slovenija'') * the Dinaric Alps, Dinaric plateaus of the continental Slovenia (''dinarske planote celinske Slovenije'') * Pannonian Plain, Subpannonian Slovenia (''subpanonska Slovenija'') According to a newer natural geographic regionalisation, the country consists of four macroregions. These are the Alpine, the Mediterranean, the Dinaric, and the

n landscapes. Macroregions are defined according to major relief units (the Alps, the Pannonian plain, the Dinaric mountains) and climate types (submediterranean, temperate continental, mountain climate). These are often quite interwoven. Protected areas of Slovenia include national parks, regional parks, and nature parks, the largest of which is Triglav National Park. There are 286 Natura 2000 designated protected areas, which include 36% of the country's land area, the largest percentage among European Union states. Additionally, according to Yale University's Environmental Performance Index, Slovenia is considered a "strong performer" in environmental protection efforts.

Climate

Slovenia is located in temperate latitudes. The climate is also influenced by the variety of relief, and the influence of the Alps and the

. In the northeast, the

type with the greatest difference between winter and summer temperatures prevails. In the coastal region, there is a sub-Mediterranean climate. The effect of the sea on the temperature rates is also visible up the Soča Valley, while a severe Alpine climate is present in the high mountain regions. There is a strong interaction between these three climatic systems across most of the country. Precipitation (meteorology), Precipitation, often coming from the Gulf of Genoa, varies across the country as well, with over in some western regions and dropping down to in Prekmurje. Snow is quite frequent in winter and the record snow cover in Ljubljana was recorded in 1952 at . Compared to Western Europe, Slovenia is not very windy, because it lies in the slipstream of the Alps. The average wind speeds are lower than in the plains of the nearby countries. Due to the rugged terrain, local vertical winds with daily periods are present. Besides these, there are three winds of particular regional importance: the bora (wind), bora, the jugo, and the foehn wind, foehn. The jugo and the bora are characteristic of the Littoral. Whereas the jugo is humid and warm, the bora is usually cold and gusty. The foehn is typical of the Alpine regions in the north of Slovenia. Generally present in Slovenia are the northeast wind, the southeast wind and the north wind.

Waters

The territory of Slovenia mainly (, i.e. 81%) belongs to the Black Sea basin, and a smaller part (, i.e. 19%) belongs to the

basin. These two parts are divided into smaller units in regard to their central rivers, the Mur (river), Mura River basin, the Drava River basin, the Sava River basin with Kupa, Kolpa River basin, and the basin of the Adriatic rivers. In comparison with other developed countries, water quality in Slovenia is considered to be among the highest in Europe. One of the reasons is undoubtedly that most of the rivers rise on the mountainous territory of Slovenia. However, this does not mean that Slovenia has no problems with surface water and groundwater quality, especially in areas with intensive farming.

Biodiversity

Slovenia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 13 June 1992 and became a party to the convention on 9 July 1996. It subsequently produced a Biodiversity action plan, National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which was received by the convention on 30 May 2002. Slovenia is distinguished by an exceptionally wide variety of habitats, due to the contact of geological units and biogeographical regions, and due to human influences. The country is home to four terrestrial ecoregions: Dinaric Mountains mixed forests, Pannonian mixed forests, Alps conifer and mixed forests, and Illyrian deciduous forests. Around 12.5% of the territory is protected with 35.5% in the Natura 2000 ecological network. Despite this, because of pollution and environmental degradation, diversity has been in decline. Slovenia had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 3.78/10, ranking it 140th globally out of 172 countries.

Animals

The biodiversity, biological diversity of the country is high, with 1% of the world's organisms on 0.004% of the Earth's surface area. There are 75 mammal species, among them marmots, Alpine ibex, and chamois. There are numerous deer, roe deer, boar, and hares. The edible dormouse is often found in the Slovenian beech forests. Trapping these animals is a long tradition and is part of Slovenian national identity. Some important carnivores include the Eurasian lynx, European wild cats, foxes (especially the red fox), and European jackal. There are hedgehogs, martens, and snakes such as Viperinae, vipers and grass snakes. According to recent estimates, Slovenia has c. 40–60 Gray wolf, wolves and about 450 brown bears. Slovenia is home to an exceptionally diverse number of cave species, with a few tens of Endemism, endemic species. Among the cave vertebrates, the only known one is the olm, living in Karst, Lower Carniola, and White Carniola. The only regular species of cetaceans found in the northern Adriatic sea is the bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus''). There are a wide variety of birds, such as the tawny owl, the long-eared owl, the eagle owl, hawks, and short-toed eagles. Other birds of prey have been recorded, as well as a growing number of ravens, crows and magpies migrating into Ljubljana and Maribor where they thrive. Other birds include Black woodpecker, black and European green woodpecker, green woodpeckers and the white stork, which nests mainly in Prekmurje. There are 13 domestic animals native to Slovenia, of eight species (hen, pig, dog, horse, sheep, goat, honey bee, and cattle). Among these are the Karst Shepherd, the Carniolan honeybee, and the Lipizzan horse. The marble trout or marmorata (''Salmo marmoratus'') is an indigenous Slovenian fish. Extensive breeding programmes have been introduced to repopulate the marble trout into lakes and streams invaded by non-indigenous species of trout. Slovenia is also home to the wels catfish. More than 2,400 fungal species have been recorded from Slovenia and, since that figure does not include lichen-forming fungi, the total number of Slovenian fungi already known is undoubtedly much higher. Many more remain to be discovered. Slovenia is the third most-forested country in Europe, with 58.3% of the territory covered by forests. The forests are an important natural resource, and logging is kept to a minimum. In the interior of the country are typical Central European forests, predominantly oak and beech. In the mountains, spruce, fir, and pine are more common. Pine trees grow on the Karst Plateau, although only one-third of the region is covered by pine forest. The tilia, lime/linden tree, common in Slovenian forests, is a national symbol. The tree line is at . In the Alps, flowers such as ''Daphne blagayana'', gentians (''Gentiana clusii'', ''Gentiana froelichii''), ''Primula auricula'', Leontopodium alpinum, edelweiss (the symbol of Slovene mountaineering), ''Cypripedium calceolus'', ''Fritillaria meleagris'' (snake's head fritillary), and ''Pulsatilla grandis'' are found. Slovenia harbors many plants of Ethnobotany, ethnobotanically useful groups. Of 59 known species of ethnobotanical importance, some species such as ''Aconitum napellus'', ''Cannabis sativa'' and ''Taxus baccata'' are restricted for use as per the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.

Government and politics

Slovenia is a Parliamentary system, parliamentary democracy republic with a multi-party system. The head of state is the President of Slovenia, president, who is elected by popular vote and has an important integrative role. The president is elected for five years and at maximum for two consecutive terms. The president has a representative role and is the commander-in-chief of the Military of Slovenia, Slovenian armed forces. The executive and Administration (government), administrative authority in Slovenia is held by the Government of Slovenia ('), headed by the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Prime Minister and the council of ministers or cabinet, who are elected by the National Assembly (Slovenia), National Assembly (). The legislative authority is held by the bicameral Parliament of Slovenia, characterised by an asymmetric duality. The bulk of power is concentrated in the National Assembly, which consists of ninety members. Of those, 88 are elected by all the citizens in a system of proportional representation, whereas two are elected by the registered members of the indigenism, autochthonous Hungarian and Italian Ethnic Minorities, minorities. Elections take place every four years. The National Council (Slovenia), National Council ('), consisting of forty members, appointed to represent social, economic, professional and local interest groups, has a limited advisory and control power. The 1992–2004 period was marked by the rule of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia, which was responsible for gradual transition from the Titoism, Titoist economy to the capitalist market economy. It later attracted much criticism by neo-liberal economists, who demanded a less gradual approach. The party's president Janez Drnovšek, who served as prime minister between 1992 and 2002, was one of the most influential Slovenian politicians of the 1990s, alongside President Milan Kučan (who served between 1990 and 2002). The 2005–2008 period was characterized by over-enthusiasm after joining the EU. During the first term of Janez Janša's government, for the first time after independence, the Slovenian banks saw their loan-deposit ratios veering out of control. There was over-borrowing from foreign banks and then over-crediting of customers, including local business magnates. After the onset of the Great Recession and European sovereign-debt crisis, the left-wing coalition that replaced Janša's government in the 2008 elections, had to face the consequences of the 2005–2008 over-borrowing. Attempts to implement reforms that would help economic recovery were met by student protesters, led by a student who later became a member of Janez Janša's Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS, and by the trade unions. The proposed reforms were postponed in a referendum. The left-wing government was ousted with a vote of no confidence. In March 2020, Janez Janša became prime minister for third time in the new coalition government of SDS, the Modern Centre Party (SMC), New Slovenia (NSi) and Pensioners' Party (DeSUS). Janez Janša was known as a right-wing populist and a supporter of former US President Donald Trump and right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Viktor Orban of Hungary. In April 2022, liberal opposition, the Freedom Movement (Slovenia), Freedom Movement, won the parliamentary 2022 Slovenian parliamentary election, election. The Freedom Movement won 34.5% of the vote, compared with 23.6% for Janša's Slovenian Democratic Party, Slovenian Democratic party. On 25 May 2022, Slovenia's parliament voted to appoint the leader of Freedom Movement, Robert Golob, as the new Prime Minister of Slovenia.

Judiciary

Judicial powers in Slovenia are executed by judges, who are elected by the National Assembly. Judicial power in Slovenia is implemented by courts with general responsibilities and specialised courts that deal with matters relating to specific legal areas. The State's Attorney, State Prosecutor is an independent state authority responsible for prosecuting cases brought against those suspected of committing criminal offences. The Constitutional Court of Slovenia, Constitutional Court, composed of nine judges elected for nine-year terms, decides on the conformity of laws with the Constitution; all laws and regulations must also conform with the general principles of international law and with ratified international agreements.

Military

The Slovenian Armed Forces provide military defence independently or within an alliance, in accordance with international agreements. Since conscription was abolished in 2003, it is organized as a fully professional standing army. The Commander-in-Chief is the President of Slovenia, President of the Republic of Slovenia, while operational command is in the domain of the Chief of the General Staff (Slovenia), Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces. In 2016, military spending was an estimated 0.91% of the country's GDP. Since joining

, the Slovenian Armed Forces have taken a more active part in supporting international peace. They have participated in peace support operations and humanitarian activities. Among others, Slovenian soldiers are part of the international forces serving in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, the country is the 9th most peaceful country in the world.

Administrative divisions and traditional regions

Municipalities

Officially, Slovenia is subdivided into 212 municipalities (twelve of which have the status of urban municipalities). The municipalities are the only bodies of local autonomy in Slovenia. Each municipality is headed by a mayor (''župan''), elected every four years by popular vote, and a municipal council (''občinski svet''). In the majority of municipalities, the municipal council is elected through the system of proportional representation; only a few smaller municipalities use the plurality voting system. In the urban municipalities, the municipal councils are called town (or city) councils. Every municipality also has a Head of the Municipal Administration (''načelnik občinske uprave''), appointed by the mayor, who is responsible for the functioning of the local administration.

Administrative divisions

There is no official intermediate unit between the municipalities and the Republic of Slovenia. The 62 administrative districts, officially called "Administrative Units" (''upravne enote''), are only subdivisions of the national government administration and are named after their respective bases of government offices.

Traditional regions and identities

Slovenia's traditional regions are based on the former House of Habsburg, Habsburg crown lands, which included

, Duchy of Carinthia, Carinthia, Styria (duchy), Styria, and the Slovene Littoral, Littoral. Stronger than with either Carniola as a whole, or with Slovenia as a state, Slovenes tend to identify themselves with the traditional regions of the Slovene Littoral, Prekmurje, and traditional (sub)regions, such as Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and, to a lesser extent, Inner Carniola.Repe, Božo (2003
Od deželana do državljana: Regionalni razvoj Slovencev v letih 1918–1991
, Zgodovinski časopis, 3–4, Ljubljana. The capital city Ljubljana was historically the administrative seat of Carniola and belonged to Inner Carniola, except for the Šentvid district, which was in Upper Carniola and also where the border between German-annexed territory and the Italian Province of Ljubljana was during the Second World War.

Statistical regions

The 12 ''statistical regions'' have no administrative function and are subdivided into two macroregions for the purpose of the Regional policy of the European Union. These two macroregions are: *Eastern Slovenia (''Vzhodna Slovenija'' – SI01), which groups the Mura, Drava, Carinthia, Savinja, Central Sava, Lower Sava, Southeast Slovenia, and Inner Carniola–Karst statistical regions. *Western Slovenia (''Zahodna Slovenija'' – SI02), which groups the Central Slovenia, Upper Carniola, Gorizia, and Coastal–Karst statistical regions.

Economy

Slovenia has a developed country, developed economy and is the richest Slavic country by GDP per capita. Slovenia is also among the top global economies in terms of human capital.The World Bank: the human capital index (HCI), 2018
Retrieved 8. October 2019. It is the most developed transition country with an old Coal mining, mining-Industrial society, industrial tradition, chemical industry, and developed Service economy, service activities. Slovenia was in the beginning of 2007 the first new member to introduce the euro as its currency, replacing the Slovenian tolar, tolar. Since 2010, it has been member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. There is a big difference in prosperity between the various regions. The economically wealthiest regions are the Central Slovenia Statistical Region, Central Slovenia region, which includes the capital

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

and the Slovene Littoral, western Slovenian regions (the Gorizia Statistical Region, Gorizia and Coastal–Karst Statistical Region, Coastal–Karst Statistical Regions), while the least wealthy regions are the Mura Statistical Region, Mura, Central Sava Statistical Region, Central Sava, and Littoral–Inner Carniola Statistical Region, Littoral–Inner Carniola Statistical Regions."Regional Disparities in Slovenia 2/12"
retrieved 8 April 2015.

Economic growth

In 2004–06, the economy grew on average by nearly 5% a year in Slovenia; in 2007, it expanded by almost 7%. The growth surge was fuelled by debt, particularly among firms, and especially in construction. The Great Recession and European sovereign-debt crisis had a significant impact on the domestic economy. The construction industry was severely hit in 2010 and 2011. In 2009, Slovenian GDP per capita shrank by 8%, the biggest decline in the European Union after the Baltic countries and Finland. An increasing burden for the Slovenian economy has been its rapidly aging population. In August 2012, the year-on-year contraction was 0.8%; however, 0.2% growth was recorded in the first quarter (in relation to the quarter before, after data was adjusted according to season and working days). Year-on-year contraction has been attributed to the fall in domestic consumption and the slowdown in export growth. The decrease in domestic consumption has been attributed to the fiscal austerity, to the freeze on budget expenditure in the final months of 2011, to the failure of the efforts to implement microeconomic reform, economic reforms, to inappropriate financing, and to the decrease in exports. Due to the effects of the crisis, it was expected that several banks had to be bailed out by EU funds in 2013; however, needed capital was able to be covered by the country's own funds. Fiscal actions and legislations aiming on the reduction of spendings as well as several privatisations supported an economic recovery as from 2014. The real economic growth rate was at 2.5% in 2016 and accelerated to 5% in 2017. The construction sector has seen a recent increase, and the tourism industry is expected to have continuous rising numbers. Since 2017, Slovenia has experienced moderate economic growth, with GDP growth averaging around 2% per year between 2017 and 2019. However, like many other countries, Slovenia's economy has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a contraction of around 5% in 2020. Overall, Slovenia's economy is relatively small but open and has shown resilience in recent years. Slovenia's manufacturing sector is one of the largest contributors to the country's economy, accounting for around 25% of GDP. The country has a strong tradition in manufacturing, particularly in the areas of automotive and electrical engineering. Other important sectors include services, which account for around 65% of GDP, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing, which account for around 2% of GDP. Slovenia is a highly export-oriented economy, with exports accounting for around 80% of GDP. The country's main export partners are other European countries, particularly Germany, Italy, and Austria. Key exports include machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, and chemicals. The government of Slovenia has implemented a range of policies aimed at promoting economic growth and development. These include efforts to attract foreign investment, reduce red tape, and increase investment in research and development. The country has also introduced reforms aimed at improving the efficiency of its labor market and increasing the flexibility of its economy. The government's approach to consulting Trade association, business associations has been noted by the European Commission as a good practice example.

Services and industry

Almost two-thirds of people are employed in services, and over one-third in industry and construction. Slovenia benefits from a well-educated workforce, well-developed infrastructure, and its location at the crossroads of major trade routes. The level of foreign direct investment (FDI) per capita in Slovenia is one of the lowest in the EU, and the labor productivity and the competitiveness of the Slovenian economy is still significantly below the EU average. Taxes are relatively high, the labor market is seen by business interests as being inflexible, and industries are losing sales to China, India, and elsewhere. High level of openness makes Slovenia extremely sensitive to economic conditions in its main trading partners and changes in its international price competitiveness. The main industries are motor vehicles, electric and electronic equipment, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and fuels. Examples of major Slovenian companies operating in Slovenia include the home appliance manufacturer Gorenje, the pharmaceutical companies Krka (company), Krka and Lek (Novartis' subsidiary), the oil distributing company Petrol Group, energy distribution companys GEN, GEN-I, HSE and Revoz, a manufacturing subsidiary of Renault.

Energy

In 2018, the net energy production was 12,262 GWh and consumption was 14,501 GWh. Hydroelectric plants produced 4,421 GWh, thermal plants produced 4,049 GWh, and the Krško Nuclear Power Plant produced 2,742 GWh (50% share that goes to Slovenia; other 50% goes to Croatia due to joint ownership). Domestic electricity consumption was covered 84.6% by domestic production; the percentage is decreasing from year to year meaning Slovenia is more and more dependent on electricity imports. A new 600 MW block of Šoštanj#Power plant, Šoštanj thermal power plant finished construction and went online in the autumn of 2014. The new 39.5 MW HE Krško hydro power plant was finished in 2013. The 41.5 MW HE Brežice and 30.5 MW HE Mokrice hydro power plants were built on the Sava River in 2018 and the construction of ten more hydropower plants with a cumulative capacity of 338 MW is planned to be finished by 2030. A large Pumped-storage hydroelectricity, pumped-storage hydro power plant Kozjak on the Drava River is in the planning stage. At the end of 2018, at least 295 MWp of Photovoltaics, photovoltaic modules and 31,4 MW of Biogas power plant, biogas powerplants were installed. Compared to 2017, renewable energy sources contributed 5.6 percentage points more into whole energy consumption. There is interest to add more production in the area of solar and wind energy sources (subsidising schemes are increasing economic feasibility), but microlocation settlement procedures take enormous toll on the efficiency of this intitiatve (nature preservation vs. energy production facilities dilemma).

Tourism

Slovenia offers tourists a wide variety of natural and cultural amenities. Different forms of tourism have developed. The tourist gravitational area is considerably large, however the tourist market is small. There has been no large-scale tourism and no acute environmental pressures; in 2017, National Geographic Traveller's Magazine declared Slovenia as the country with the world's most sustainable tourism. The nation's capital,

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, has many important Baroque and Vienna Secession buildings, with several important works of the native born architect Jože Plečnik. At the northwestern corner of the country lie the

with Lake Bled and the Soča Valley, as well as the nation's highest peak, Mount Triglav in the middle of Triglav National Park. Other mountain ranges include Kamnik–Savinja Alps, the Karawanks, and Pohorje, popular with skiers and hikers. The Karst Plateau in the Slovene Littoral gave its name to karst, a landscape shaped by water dissolving the carbonate bedrock, forming caves. The best-known caves are Postojna Cave and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, UNESCO-listed Škocjan Caves. The region of Slovenian Istria meets the

, where the most important historical monument is the Venetian Gothic architecture, Venetian Gothic Mediterranean town of Piran while the settlement of Portorož attracts crowds in summer. The hills around Slovenia's second-largest city,

, are renowned for their wine-making. The northeastern part of the country is rich with spas, with Rogaška Slatina, Radenci, Čatež ob Savi, Dobrna, and Moravske Toplice growing in importance in the last two decades. Other popular tourist destinations include the historic cities of

and Škofja Loka, and several castles, such as Predjama Castle. Important parts of tourism in Slovenia include congress and gambling tourism. Slovenia is the country with the highest percentage of casinos per 1,000 inhabitants in the European Union. Perla hotel and casino, Perla in Nova Gorica is the largest casino in the region. Most of foreign tourists to Slovenia come from the key European markets:

, Germany,

, Belgium, Netherlands, Serbia, Russia and Ukraine, followed by United Kingdom and Ireland. European tourists create more than 90% of Slovenia's tourist income. In 2016, Slovenia was declared the world's first green country by the Netherlands-based organization Green Destinations. On being declared the most sustainable country in 2016, Slovenia had a big part to play at the ITB Berlin to promote sustainable tourism.

Transport

Geography has dictated transport routes in Slovenia. Significant mountain ranges, major rivers and proximity to the Danube played roles in the development of the area's transportation corridors. One recent particular advantage are the Pan-European transport corridors Pan-European transport corridor V, V (the fastest link between the North Adriatic, and Central and Eastern Europe) and Pan-European Corridor X, X (linking Central Europe with the Balkans). This gives it a special position in the European social, economic and cultural integration and restructuring. Motorways-SLO-map 2018

Roads

The road freight and passenger transport constitutes the largest part of transport in Slovenia at 80%. Personal cars are much more popular than public road passenger transport, which has significantly declined. Slovenia has a very high highways in Slovenia, highway and motorway density compared to the European Union average. The highway system, the construction of which was accelerated after 1994, has slowly but steadily transformed Slovenia into a large conurbation. Other state roads have been rapidly deteriorating because of neglect and the overall increase in traffic.

Railways

The existing Slovenian railways are out-of-date and have difficulty competing with the motorway network; partially also as a result of dispersed population settlement. Due to this fact and the projected increase in traffic through the port of

, which is primarily by train, a second rail on the Koper-Divača route is in early stages of starting construction. With a lack of financial assets, maintenance and modernisation of the Slovenian railway network have been neglected. Due to the out-of-date infrastructure, the share of the railway freight transport has been in decline in Slovenia. The railway passenger transport has been recovering after a large drop in the 1990s. The Pan-European railway corridors V and X, and several other major European rail lines intersect in Slovenia.

Ports

The major Slovenian port is the Port of Koper. It is the largest Northern Adriatic port in terms of container transport, with almost 590,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit, TEUs annually and lines to all major world ports. It is much closer to destinations east of the Suez Canal, Suez than the ports of Northern Europe. In addition, the maritime passenger traffic mostly takes place in Koper. Two smaller ports used for the international passenger transport as well as cargo transport are located in Izola and Piran. Passenger transport mainly takes place with Italy and Croatia. Splošna plovba, the only Slovenian shipping company, transports freight and is active only in foreign ports.

Air

Air transport in Slovenia is very low, but has significantly grown since 1991. Of the three international airports in Slovenia, Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport in central Slovenia is the busiest, with connections to many major European destinations. The Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport is located in the eastern part of the country and the Portorož Airport in the west. The state-owned Adria Airways was the largest Slovenian airline; however in 2019 it declared bankruptcy and ceased operations. Since 2003, several new carriers have entered the market, mainly low-cost airlines. The only Slovenian military airbase, military airport is the Cerklje ob Krki Air Base in the southwest. There are also 12 public airports in Slovenia.

Demographics

The population of Slovenia as of January 2025 is 2,130,850. With 105 inhabitants per square kilometer (272/sq mi), Slovenia ranks low among the European countries in population density (compared to for the Netherlands or for Italy). The Inner Carniola–Karst Statistical Region has the lowest population density while the Central Slovenia Statistical Region has the highest. Slovenia is among the European countries with the most pronounced ageing of its population, ascribable to a low birth rate and increasing life expectancy. Almost all Slovenian inhabitants older than 64 are retired, with no significant difference between the genders. The working-age group is diminishing in spite of immigration. The proposal to raise the retirement age from the current 57 for women and 58 for men was rejected in a June 2011 Slovenian referendum, referendum in 2011. In addition, the difference among the genders regarding life expectancy is still significant. The total fertility rate (TFR) in 2024 was estimated at 1.6 children born/woman, which is lower than the replacement rate of 2.1. The majority of children are born to unmarried women (in 2023, 56.5% of all births were outside of marriage). In 2023, life expectancy at birth was 82 years (79.1 years male, and 85 years female). In 2020, the List of countries by suicide rate, suicide rate in Slovenia was 17 per 100,000 persons per year, which places Slovenia among the highest ranked European countries. Nonetheless, from 2000 until 2010, the rate has decreased by about 30%. The differences between regions and the genders are pronounced.

Ethnic structure

The largest ethnic groups in Slovenia are

(83.1%), Serbs in Slovenia, Serbs (2.0%), Croats of Slovenia, Croats (1.8%), Bosniaks of Slovenia, Bosniaks (1.6%), Muslims (ethnic group), Muslims (0.5%), Bosnians (0.4%), Hungarians (0.3%), Albanians in Slovenia, Albanians (0.3%) and Romani people in Slovenia, Roma (0.2%). Other ethnic groups in Slovenia include Macedonians, Italians, Montenegrins and Germans.

Urbanisation

Depending on definition, between 65% and 79% of people live in wider urban areas. According to OECD definition of rural areas none of the Statistical regions of Slovenia, Slovene statistical regions is mostly urbanised, meaning that 15% or less of the population lives in rural communities. According to this definition statistical regions are classified: * mostly rural regions: Mura Statistical Region, Mura, Drava Statistical Region, Drava, Carinthia Statistical Region, Carinthia, Savinja Statistical Region, Savinja, Lower Sava Statistical Region, Lower Sava, Littoral–Inner Carniola Statistical Region, Littoral–Inner Carniola, Gorizia Statistical Region, Gorizia, Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region, Southeast Slovenia * moderately rural regions: Central Sava Statistical Region, Central Sava, Upper Carniola Statistical Region, Upper Carniola, Coastal–Karst Statistical Region, Coastal–Karst, Central Slovenia Statistical Region, Central Slovenia. The only large town is the capital, Ljubljana. Other (medium-sized) towns include Maribor, Celje, and Kranj. Overall, there are eleven urban municipalities in Slovenia.

Languages

The official language in Slovenia is Slovene, which is a member of the South Slavic languages, South Slavic language group. In 2002, Slovene was the native language of around 88% of Slovenia's population according to the census, with more than 92% of the Slovenian population speaking it in their home environment. This statistic ranks Slovenia among the most homogeneous countries in the EU in terms of the share of speakers of the predominant mother tongue. Slovene is a highly diverse Slavic language in terms of Slovene dialects, dialects, with different degrees of mutual intelligibility. Accounts of the number of dialects range from as few as seven dialects, often considered dialect groups or dialect bases that are further subdivided into as many as 50 dialects. Other sources characterize the number of dialects as nine or as eight. Slovenian Passport3

Hungarian language, Hungarian and Italian language in Slovenia, Italian, spoken by the respective minorities, enjoy the status of official languages in the ethnically mixed regions along the Hungarian and Italian borders, to the extent that even the passports issued in those areas are bilingual. In 2002 around 0.2% of the Slovenian population spoke Italian and around 0.4% spoke Hungarian as their native language. Hungarian is co-official with Slovene in 30 settlements in 5 municipalities (whereof 3 are officially bilingual). Italian is co-official with Slovene in 25 settlements in 4 municipalities (all of them officially bilingual). Romani language, Romani, spoken in 2002 as the native language by 0.2% of people, is a legally protected language in Slovenia. Romani speakers mainly belong to the geographically dispersed and marginalized Roma community. German, which used to be the largest minority language in Slovenia prior to World War II (around 4% of the population in 1921), is now the native language of only around 0.08% of the population, the majority of whom are more than 60 years old. Gottscheerish or ''Granish'', the traditional German dialect of Gottschee County, faces extinction. A significant number of people in Slovenia speak a variant of Serbo-Croatian (Serbian language, Serbian, Croatian language, Croatian, Bosnian language, Bosnian, or Montenegrin language, Montenegrin) as their native language. These are mostly families who moved to Slovenia from other former Yugoslav republics. Altogether, Serbo-Croatian in its different forms is the second natively spoken language in Slovenia with 5.9% of population. In 2002, 0.4% of the Slovenian population declared themselves to be native speakers of Albanian language, Albanian and 0.2% native speakers of Macedonian language, Macedonian. Czech language, Czech, the fourth-largest minority language in Slovenia prior to World War II (after German, Hungarian, and Serbo-Croatian), is now the native language of a few hundred residents of Slovenia. Slovenia ranks among the top European countries in knowledge of foreign languages. The most taught foreign languages are English, German, Italian, French and Spanish. , 92% of the population between the age of 25 and 64 spoke at least one foreign language and around 71.8% of them spoke at least two foreign languages, which was the highest percentage in the European Union. According to the Eurobarometer survey, the majority of Slovenes could speak Croatian language, Croatian (61%) and English (56%). A reported 42% of Slovenes could speak German, which was one of the highest percentages outside German-speaking countries. Italian is widely spoken on the Slovenian Istria, Slovenian Coast and in some other areas of the Slovene Littoral. Around 15% of Slovenians can speak Italian, which is (according to the Eurobarometer pool) the third-highest percentage in the European Union, after Italy and Malta.

Immigration

In 2021, about 13.9% (292,824 people) of the population in Slovenia was born abroad. About 86% of the foreign-born population originated from other countries of former Yugoslavia as (in descending order) Bosnia-Herzegovina, followed by immigrants from

, Serbia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. By the beginning of 2017, there were about 114,438 people with foreign citizenship residing in the country making up 5.5% of the total population. Of these foreigners, 76% had citizenships of the other countries from former Yugoslavia (excluding Croatia). Additionally 16.4% had EU-citizenships and 7.6% had citizenships of other countries. According to the 2002 census, Slovenia's main ethnic group are

(83%); however, their share in the total population is continuously decreasing, due to their relatively low fertility rate. At least 13% (2002) of the population were immigrants from other parts of Former Yugoslavia and their descendants. They have settled mainly in cities and suburbanised areas. Relatively small but protected by the Constitution of Slovenia are the Hungarians in Slovenia, Hungarian and the Italians in Slovenia, Italian ethnic minority. A special position is held by the autochthonous and geographically dispersed Roma in Slovenia, Roma ethnic community. The number of people immigrating into Slovenia rose steadily from 1995 and has been increasing even more rapidly in recent years. After Slovenia joined the EU in 2004, the annual number of immigrants doubled by 2006 and increased by half yet again by 2009. In 2007, Slovenia had one of the fastest growing net migration rates in the European Union.

Religion

Radovljica Brezje Bazilika Sv Vida 28082012 122

Before World War II, 97% of the Slovenian population identified as members of the Catholic Church in Slovenia, Catholic Church in the country, around 2.5% as Lutheran, and around 0.5% of residents identified themselves as members of other denominations. After 1945, the country underwent a process of gradual but steady secularization. After a decade of persecution of religions, the Communist regime adopted a policy of relative tolerance towards churches. After 1990, the Catholic Church regained some of its former influence, but Slovenia remains a largely secularized society. The 2018 Eurobarometer data shows 73.4% of population identifying as Catholic. This fell to 72.1% in the 2019 Eurobarometer survey. According to the Catholic Church data, the Catholic population fell from 78.04% in 2009 to 72.11% in 2019. The vast majority of Slovenian Catholics belong to the Latin Church. A small number of Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholics live in the White Carniola region. Despite a relatively small number of Protestants (less than 1% in 2002), the Protestant legacy is historically significant given that the Slovene standard language and Slovene literature were established by the Protestant Reformation. Primož Trubar, a theologian in the Lutheran tradition, was one of the most influential Protestant Reformers in Slovenia. Protestantism was extinguished in the Counter-Reformation implemented by the Habsburg dynasty, which controlled the region. It only survived in the easternmost regions due to protection of Hungarian nobles, who often happened to be Calvinist themselves. Today, a significant Lutheranism, Lutheran minority lives in the easternmost region of Prekmurje, where they represent around a fifth of the population and are headed by a bishop with the seat in Murska Sobota. The third largest denomination, with around 2.2% of the population, is the Eastern Orthodox Church, with most adherents belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church while a minority belongs to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Macedonian and other Eastern Orthodox churches. According to the 2002 census, Islam is the second largest religious denomination in the country, with around 2.4% of the population. Most Slovenian Muslims came from Bosnia. There was a History of the Jews in Slovenia, Slovenian Jewish community before the Holocaust. In the 2002 around 10% of Slovenes declared themselves atheists, another 10% professed no specific denomination, and around 16% declined to answer. According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2010, 32% of Slovenian citizens "believe there is a god", whereas 36% "believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 26% "do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".

Education

Slovenia's education ranks as the 12th best in the world and 4th best in the

, being significantly higher than the OECD average, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment. Among people age 25 to 64, 12% have attended higher education, while on average Slovenes have 9.6 years of formal education. According to an OECD report, 83% of adults ages 25–64 have earned the equivalent of a high school degree, well above the OECD average of 74%; among 25- to 34-year-olds, the rate is 93%. According to the 1991 census there is 99.6% literacy in Slovenia. Lifelong learning is also increasing. Responsibility for education oversight at primary and secondary level in Slovenia lies with the Ministry of Education and Sports. After non-compulsory pre-school education, children enter the nine-year primary school at the age of six. Primary school is divided into three periods, each of three years. In the academic year 2006–2007 there were 166,000 pupils enrolled in elementary education and more than 13,225 teachers, giving a ratio of one teacher per 12 pupils and 20 pupils per class. After completing elementary school, nearly all children (more than 98%) go on to secondary education, either vocational, technical, or general secondary programmes (Gymnasium (school), ''gimnazija''). The last concludes with the Matura#Slovenia, ''matura'', a comprehensive exam that allows the graduates to enter a university. 84% of secondary school graduates go on to tertiary education. Among several universities in Slovenia, the best ranked is the University of Ljubljana, ranking among the first 500 or the first 3% of the world's best universities according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, ARWU. Two other public universities include the University of Maribor in Styria (Slovenia), Styria region and the University of Primorska in Slovene Littoral. In addition, there is a private University of Nova Gorica and an international EMUNI University.

Culture

Heritage

Slovenia's architectural heritage includes 2,500 churches, 1,000 castles, ruins, and manor houses, farmhouses, and special structures for drying hay, called hayracks (). Four natural and cultural sites in Slovenia are on the

list. Škocjan Caves and its karst landscape are a protected site as the old forests in the area of Goteniški Snežnik and Kočevski Rog in the SE Slovenia. The Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija, Idrija Mercury mining site is of world importance, as are the Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, prehistoric pile dwellings in the Ljubljana Marsh. The most picturesque church for photographers is the medieval and Baroque building on Lake Bled#Bled Island, Bled Island. Near Postojna there is a fortress called Predjama Castle, half hidden in a cave. Museums in Ljubljana and elsewhere feature unique items such as the controversial Divje Babe flute, and the Ljubljana Marshes Wheel, oldest wheel in the world. Ljubljana has medieval, Baroque, Art Nouveau, and modern architecture. The architect Plečnik's architecture and his innovative paths and bridges along the Ljubljanica are notable and on UNESCO tentative list.

Cuisine

Slovenian cuisine is a mixture of Central European cuisine (especially Austrian cuisine, Austrian and Hungarian cuisine, Hungarian) and Mediterranean cuisine. Slovenian cuisine is often characterized as Central European, with cultural actors emphasizing its Austrian and Hungarian influences while distancing it from Balkan culinary traditions. In particular, the coastal regions of Slovenia are strongly influenced by Mediterranean culinary traditions. This Mediterranean influence is especially notable in the Istrian peninsula and along the Adriatic coast, where Italian and Croatian culinary traditions blend with local Slovenian flavors. Historically, Slovenian cuisine was divided into town, farmhouse, cottage, castle, parsonage and monastic cuisines. Due to the variety of Slovenian cultural and natural landscapes, there are more than 40 distinct regional cuisines. Ethnology, Ethnologically, the most characteristic Slovene dishes were one-pot dishes, such as ''ričet'', Istrian stew (), minestrone (), and ''žganci ''buckwheat spoonbread; in the Prekmurje region there is also ''bujta repa'', and ''prekmurska gibanica'' pastry. Prosciutto () is a delicacy of the Slovene Littoral. The (a type of nut roll) has become a symbol of Slovenia, especially among the American Slovenes, Slovene diaspora in the United States. Soups were added to the traditional one-pot meals and various kinds of porridge and stew only in relatively recent history. Each year since 2000, the Roasted Potato Festival has been organized by the ''Society for the Recognition of Roasted Potatoes as a Distinct Dish''. Roasted potatoes, which have been traditionally served in most Slovenian families only on Sundays, have been depicted on a special edition of post marks by the Post of Slovenia in 2012. The best known sausage is ''kranjska klobasa''. Slovenia is also the home of the world's old vine, oldest vine, which is 400 years old. Slovenia has been awarded the European Region of Gastronomy title for the year 2021.

Dance

Historically the most notable Slovenian ballet dancers and choreographers were Pino Mlakar, who in 1927 graduated from the Rudolf von Laban, Rudolf Laban Choreographic Institute, and there met his future wife, balerina Pia Mlakar, Maria Luiza Pia Beatrice Scholz. Together they worked as a leading dancer and a choreographer in Dessau, Zürich, and State opera in München.Pia and Pino Mlakar
, The Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana website Their plan to build a Slovenian dance centre at Rožnik Hill after the World War II was supported by the minister of culture, Ferdo Kozak, but was cancelled by his successor. Pino Mlakar was also a full professor at the Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (AGRFT) of the University of Ljubljana. A Mary Wigman modern dance school was founded in the 1930s by her student, Meta Vidmar, in Ljubljana.

Festivals, book fairs, and other events

A number of music, theatre, film, book, and children's festivals take place in Slovenia each year, including the music festivals Ljubljana Summer Festival and Lent Festival, the stand-up comedy Punch Festival, the children's Pippi Longstocking Festival, and the book festivals Slovene book fair and Frankfurt after the Frankfurt. The most notable music festival of Slovene music was historically the Slovenska popevka festival. Between 1981 and 2000 the Novi Rock festival was notable for bringing rock music across Iron curtain from the West to the Slovenian and then Yugoslav audience. The long tradition of jazz festivals in Titoism, Titoist Yugoslavia began with the Ljubljana Jazz Festival which has been held annually in Slovenia since 1960.

Film

Slovene film actors and actresses historically include Ida Kravanja, who played her roles as ''Ita Rina'' in the early European films, and Metka Bučar. After WW II, one of the most notable film actors was Polde Bibič, who played a number of roles in many films that were well received in Slovenia, and also performed in television and radio drama. Feature film and short film production in Slovenia historically includes Karol Grossmann, František Čap, France Štiglic, Igor Pretnar, Jože Pogačnik, Peter Zobec, Matjaž Klopčič, Boštjan Hladnik, Dušan Jovanović (theatre director), Dušan Jovanović, Vitan Mal, Franci Slak, and Karpo Godina as its most established filmmakers. Contemporary film directors Filip Robar - Dorin, Jan Cvitkovič, Damjan Kozole, Janez Lapajne, Mitja Okorn, and Marko Naberšnik are among the representatives of the so-called "Renaissance of Slovenian cinema". Slovene screenwriters, who are not film directors, include Saša Vuga and Miha Mazzini. Women film directors include Polona Sepe, Hanna A. W. Slak, and Maja Weiss.

Literature

History of Slovene literature began in the 16th century with Primož Trubar and Protestant Reformation in the Slovene Lands, other Protestant Reformers. Poetry in Slovene achieved its highest level with the Romantic poetry, Romantic poet France Prešeren. In the 20th century, Slovene literary fiction went through several periods: the beginning of the century was marked by the authors of the Slovene Modernism, with the most influential Slovene writer and playwright, Ivan Cankar; it was then followed by expressionism (Srečko Kosovel), avantgardism (Anton Podbevšek, Ferdo Delak) and social realism (Ciril Kosmač, Prežihov Voranc) before World War II, the poetry of resistance and revolution (Karel Destovnik Kajuh, Matej Bor) during the war, and intimism (Slovene poetry), intimism (Poems of the Four, 1953), Slovenian post-war modernism, post-war modernism (Edvard Kocbek), and existentialism (Dane Zajc) after the war. Postmodernism, Postmodernist authors include Boris A. Novak, Marko Kravos, Drago Jančar, Evald Flisar, Tomaž Šalamun, and Brina Svit. Among the post-1990 authors best known are Aleš Debeljak, Miha Mazzini, and Alojz Ihan. There are several literary magazines that publish Slovene prose, poetry, essays, and local literary criticism. Today, notable authors include Slavoj Žižek, Mladen Dolar, Alenka Zupančič as well as Boris Pahor.

Media

Music

Music of Slovenia historically includes numerous musicians and composers, such as the Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus, who greatly influenced Central European classical music, the Baroque composer Joannes Baptista Dolar, and the violin virtuoso Giuseppe Tartini. The first Slovenian hymnal, ''Eni Psalmi'', was published in 1567. This period saw the rise of musicians like Jacobus Gallus and George Slatkonia. In 1701, Johann Berthold von Höffer founded the Slovenian Philharmonics, Academia Philharmonicorum Labacensis, as one of the oldest such institutions in Europe, based on Italian models. Composers of Slovenian Lieder and art songs include Emil Adamič, Fran Gerbič, Alojz Geržinič, Benjamin Ipavec, Davorin Jenko, Anton Lajovic, Kamilo Mašek, Josip Pavčič, Zorko Prelovec, and Lucijan Marija Škerjanc. In the early 20th century, impressionism was spreading across Slovenia, which soon produced composers Marij Kogoj and Slavko Osterc. Avant-garde european classical music, classical music arose in Slovenia in the 1960s, largely due to the work of Uroš Krek, Dane Skerl, Dane Škerl, Primoz Ramovs, Primož Ramovš and Ivo Petric, Ivo Petrić, who also conducted the Slavko Osterc Ensemble. Jakob Jez, Jakob Jež, Darijan Božič, Lojze Lebic, Lojze Lebič and Vinko Globokar have since composed enduring works, especially Globokar's ''L'Armonia (opera), L'Armonia'', an opera. Modern composers include Uros Rojko, Uroš Rojko, Tomaz Svete, Tomaž Svete, Brina Jez-Brezavscek, Brina Jež-Brezavšček, Božidar Kantušer and Aldo Kumar. The Slovene National Opera and Ballet Theatre serves as the national opera and ballet house. The Slovenian Philharmonics, established in 1701 as part of Academia operosorum Labacensis, is among the oldest such institutions in Europe. Slak lojze

Harmony singing is a deep rooted tradition in Slovenia, and is at least three-part singing (four voices), while in some regions even up to eight-part singing (nine voices). Slovenian folk songs, thus, usually resounds soft and harmonious, and are very seldom in minor. Traditional Slovenian folk music is performed on Styrian harmonica (the oldest type of accordion), fiddle, clarinet, zithers, flute, and by brass bands of alpine type. In Prekmurje, eastern Slovenia, fiddle and cimbalon bands are called velike goslarije. From 1952 on, the Slavko Avsenik's band began to appear in broadcasts, movies, and concerts all over the West Germany, inventing the original "Gorenjska, Oberkrainer" country sound. The band produced nearly 1000 original compositions, an integral part of the Slovenian-style polka legacy. Many musicians followed Avsenik's steps, including Lojze Slak. LAIBACH Press Photo 2011

Among pop, rock, industrial, and indie musicians the most popular in Slovenia include industrial music group Laibach (band), Laibach, as well as Siddharta (band), Siddharta, a rock band formed in 1995. Perpetuum Jazzile is the group from Slovenia that is internationally most listened online, with more than 23 million views for the official a cappella "Africa (Toto song), Africa" video since its publishing on YouTube in May 2009 (through January 2023).. Retrieved 1/18/2023. Other Slovenian bands include a historically progressive rock ones that were also popular in Titoism, Titoist Yugoslavia, such as Buldožer and Lačni Franz, which inspired later comedy rock bands including Zmelkoow, Slon in Sadež and Mi2 (rock band), Mi2. With exception of Terrafolk that made appearances worldwide, other bands, such as Avtomobili, Zaklonišče Prepeva, Šank Rock, Big Foot Mama, Dan D, and Zablujena generacija, are mostly unknown outside the country. Slovenian metal bands include Noctiferia (death metal), Negligence (band), Negligence (thrash metal), Naio Ssaion (gothic metal), and Within Destruction (deathcore). Slovenian post-WWII singer-songwriters include Frane Milčinski, Tomaž Pengov whose 1973 album ''Odpotovanja'' is considered to be the first singer-songwriter album in former Yugoslavia, Tomaž Domicelj, Marko Brecelj, Andrej Šifrer, Eva Sršen, Neca Falk, and Jani Kovačič. After 1990, Adi Smolar, Iztok Mlakar, Vita Mavrič, Vlado Kreslin, Zoran Predin, Peter Lovšin, and Magnifico (musician), Magnifico have been popular in Slovenia, as well. In the 21st century, there have been many successful artists from Slovenia. They include country musician ManuElla, Manu, zalagasper, Nika Zorjan, Omar Naber, Raiven, and Joker Out.

Theatre

Theater has a rich tradition in Slovenia, starting with the 1867 first ever Slovene-language drama performance. In addition to the main houses, which include Slovene National Theatre, Ljubljana and Maribor National Drama Theatre, a number of small producers are active in Slovenia, including physical theatre (e.g. Betontanc), street theatre (e.g. Ana Monró Theatre), theatresports championship Impro League, and improvisational theatre (e.g. IGLU Theatre). A popular form is puppetry, mainly performed in the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre.

Visual arts, architecture and design

Slovenia's visual arts, architecture, and design are shaped by a number of architects, designers, painters, sculptors, photographers, graphics artists, as well as comics, illustration and conceptual artists. Two significant prestigious institutions exhibiting works of Slovene visual artists are the National Gallery of Slovenia and the Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana, Museum of Modern Art. Modern architecture in Slovenia was introduced by Max Fabiani, and in the mid-war period, Jože Plečnik and Ivan Vurnik. In the second half of the 20th century, the national and universal style were merged by the architects Edvard Ravnikar and first generation of his students: Milan Mihelič, Stanko Kristl, Savin Sever. The next generation is mainly still active, including Marko Mušič, Vojteh Ravnikar, and Jurij Kobe. Selected works of Jože Plečnik which shaped Ljubljana during the inter-war period were inscribed on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 2021. A number of conceptual art, conceptual visual art groups formed, including OHO (art group), OHO, Group 69, and IRWIN. Nowadays, the Slovene visual arts are diverse, based on tradition, reflect the influence of neighboring nations and are intertwined with modern European movements. Internationally most notable Slovenian design items include the 1952 Rex (chair), Rex chair, a Scandinavian design-inspired wooden chair, by interior designer Niko Kralj that was given in 2012 a permanent place in Designmuseum, Denmark, the largest museum of design in Scandinavia, and is included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Museum of Modern Art Museum of Modern Art, MOMA in New York City, as well. An industrial design item that has changed the international ski industry is Elan SCX by Elan (company), Elan company.

The renewal of Slovene sculpture begun with Alojz Gangl who created sculptures for the public monuments of the

n polymath Johann Weikhard von Valvasor and Valentin Vodnik, the first Slovene poet and journalist, as well as ''The Genius of the Theatre'' and other statues for the Slovenian National Opera and Ballet Theatre building. The development of sculpture after World War II was led by a number of artists, including brothers Boris Kalin, Boris and Zdenko Kalin, Jakob Savinšek stayed with figural art. Younger sculptors, for example Janez Boljka, Drago Tršar and particularly Slavko Tihec, moved towards abstract sculpture, abstract forms. Jakov Brdar and Mirsad Begić returned to human figures. During World War II, numerous graphics were created by Božidar Jakac, who helped establish the post-war Academy of Visual Arts and Design, Ljubljana, Academy of Visual Arts in Ljubljana. In 1917 Hinko Smrekar illustrated Fran Levstik's book about the well-known Slovene folk hero Martin Krpan. The children's books illustrators include a number of women illustrators, such as Marlenka Stupica, Marija Lucija Stupica, Ančka Gošnik Godec, Marjanca Jemec Božič, and Jelka Reichman. Historically, painting and sculpture in Slovenia was in the late 18th and the 19th century marked by Neoclassicism (Matevž Langus), Biedermeier#Visual arts, Biedermeier (Giuseppe Tominz) and Romantic visual arts, Romanticism (Michael Stroy). The first art exhibition in Slovenia was organized in the late 19th century by Ivana Kobilca. impressionism (arts), Impressionist artists include Matej Sternen, Matija Jama, Rihard Jakopič, Ivan Grohar whose ''The Sower'' (Slovene: Sejalec) was depicted on the €0.05 Slovenian euro coins, and Franc Berneker, who introduced impressionism to Slovenia. Expressionism, Espressionist painters include Veno Pilon and Tone Kralj whose picture book, reprinted thirteen times, is now the most recognisable image of Martin Krpan. Some of the best known painters in the second half of the 20th century were Zoran Mušič, Gabrijel Stupica and Marij Pregelj. In 1841, Janez Puhar invented a process for photography on glass, recognized on 17 June 1852 in Paris by the Académie Nationale Agricole, Manufacturière et Commerciale. Gojmir Anton Kos was a notable Realism (arts), realist painter and photographer between First World War and WW II.

Sports

Tina Maze with Olympic silver medal 2010

Slovenia is a natural sports venue, with many Slovenians actively practicing sports. A variety of sports are played in Slovenia on a professional level, with international successes in handball, basketball, volleyball, football, ice hockey, rowing, swimming, tennis, boxing, climbing, road cycling and athletics. Prior to World War II, gymnastics and fencing used to be the most popular sports in Slovenia, with athletes like Leon Štukelj and Miroslav Cerar (gymnast), Miroslav Cerar gaining gold Olympic medals. Football gained popularity in the interwar period. After 1945, basketball, handball and volleyball have become popular among Slovenians, and from the mid-1970s, winter sports as well. Since 1992, Slovenian sportspeople have won Slovenia at the Olympics, 55 Olympic medals, including 14 gold medals, and Slovenia at the Paralympics, 26 Paralympic medals with five golds. Individual sports are also very popular in Slovenia, including tennis and mountaineering, which are two of the most widespread sporting activities in Slovenia. Several Slovenian extreme and endurance sportsmen have gained an international reputation, including the mountaineer Tomaž Humar, the mountain skier Davo Karničar, the ultramarathon swimmer Martin Strel and the ultracyclist Jure Robič. Past and current winter sports athletes include alpine skiers, such as Mateja Svet, Bojan Križaj, Ilka Štuhec and double Olympic gold medalist Tina Maze, cross-country skier Petra Majdič, and ski jumpers, such as Primož Peterka and Peter Prevc. Boxing has gained popularity since Jan Zaveck won the International Boxing Federation, IBF List of welterweight boxing champions, Welterweight World Champion title in 2009. In 2021, rock climber Janja Garnbret became the first female Olympic gold medalist in sport climbing. In cycling, Primož Roglič became the first Slovenian to win a Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tour when he won the 2019 Vuelta a España. Tadej Pogačar won the Tour de France, the world's most competitive cycling race, in 2020, 2021 and 2024. Prominent team sports in Slovenia include football, basketball, handball, volleyball, and ice hockey. The Slovenia national football team, men's national football team has qualified for two UEFA European Football Championship, European Championships (2000 and 2024) and two FIFA World Cup, World Cups (2002 and 2010). Of Slovenian clubs, NK Maribor played three times in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. The Slovenian national basketball team, men's national basketball team has participated at 14 EuroBaskets, winning the gold medal in the 2017 edition, and at four FIBA World Championships. Slovenia also hosted the EuroBasket 2013. The Slovenia men's national handball team, men's national handball team has qualified for four Olympics, eleven IHF IHF World Men's Handball Championship, World Championships, including their third-place finish in 2017, and fourteen European Men's Handball Championship, European Championships. Slovenia was the hosts of the 2004 European Men's Handball Championship, 2004 European Championship, where the national team won the silver medal. Slovenia's most prominent handball team, RK Celje, won the EHF Champions League in the 2003–04 season. In women's handball, RK Krim won the Women's EHF Champions League, Champions League in 2001 and 2003. The Slovenia men's national volleyball team, men's national volleyball team has won three silver medals at the Men's European Volleyball Championship, European Volleyball Championship, and finished fourth at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, 2022 World Championship. The Slovenia men's national ice hockey team, national ice hockey team has participated in 31 Ice Hockey World Championships, with 11 appearances in the highest division.

Notes

References

External links

Slovenia
from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs'' *
"Facts About Slovenia"
publication from the Slovenian Government Communication Office. pdf. In English, Spanish, French, German and Russian.
Slovenia – Landmarks
Virtual reality panoramas of various spots in the country.
Slovenia: a geographical overview
. Association of the Geographical Societies of Slovenia. Government
Slovenia.si
The main national access point to information about Slovenia.
The Republic of Slovenia
Official institutions.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia

National Meteorological Service of Slovenia
Travel
The Slovenian Tourist portal
Slovenian Tourist Board. * {{Coord, 46.1, N, 14.8, E, display=title Slovenia, Balkan countries Countries in Europe Member states of NATO Member states of the European Union Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean Member states of the United Nations Member states of the Three Seas Initiative OECD members Republics States and territories established in 1991 1991 establishments in Europe

Etymology

History

Prehistory to Slavic settlement

Prehistory

Roman era

Slavic settlement

Middle Ages

Early modern period

World War I

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia)

World War II

Socialism

Slovenian Spring, democracy and independence

Geography

Geology

Natural regions

Climate

Waters

Biodiversity

Animals

Government and politics

Judiciary

Military

Administrative divisions and traditional regions

Municipalities

Administrative divisions

Traditional regions and identities

Statistical regions

Economy

Economic growth

Services and industry

Energy

Tourism

Transport

Roads

Railways

Ports

Air

Demographics

Ethnic structure

Urbanisation

Languages

Immigration

Religion

Education

Culture

Heritage

Cuisine

Dance

Festivals, book fairs, and other events

Film

Literature

Media

Music

Theatre

Visual arts, architecture and design

Sports

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links