Slovenia

emerging democracyIndependence 25 June 1991

Slovenia as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalLjubljana
Area20,296 km2
1992

Every edition of Slovenia

Populationas each edition published it
1.96 million July 1992 · 2.1m in 2025
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 0.23% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 38.6 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 74 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
Not in this edition 1.68 in 1993
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
Not in this edition 8.3 in 1993
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $10,700 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition -10% in 1993

Geography

12 fields
Total area
20,296km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey
Coastline
32km
Contiguous zone: NA nmContinental shelf: 200 m or to depth of exploitationExclusive economic zone: NA nmExclusive fishing zone: NA nmTerritorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
998km total
Austria 262 km, Croatia 455 km, Italy 199 km, Hungary 83 km

Land area

20,296 km2

Disputes

dispute with Croatia over fishing rights in the Adriatic; small vocal minority in northern Italy seeks the return of parts of southwestern Slovenia

Climate

Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east

Terrain

a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain region adjacent to Italy, mixed mountain and valleys with numerous rivers to the east

Natural resources

lignite coal, lead, zinc, mercury, uranium, silver

Land use

  • arable land 10%;
  • permanent crops 2%;
  • meadows and pastures 20%;
  • forest and woodland 45%;
  • other 23%;
  • includes irrigated 1%

Environment

  • Sava River polluted with domestic and industrial waste;
  • heavy metals and toxic chemicals along coastal waters;
  • near Koper, forest damage from air pollutants originating at metallurgical and chemical plants;
  • subject to flooding and earthquakes

People

14 fields
Population
1,963,000
(July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992)

Ethnic divisions

Slovene 91%Croat 3%Serb 2%Muslim 1%other 3%

Religions

Roman Catholic 94%Orthodox Catholic 2%Muslim 1%other 3%
Literacy
99.2%
(male 99.3%, female 99.1%) age 10 and over can read and write

Birth rate

NA births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

NA deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Net migration rate

NA migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Infant mortality rate

NA deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth

70 years male, 78 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate

NA children born/woman (1992)

Nationality

noun - Slovene(s); adjective - Slovenia

Languages

Slovenian 91%, Serbo-Croatian 7%, other 2%

Labor force

786,036; 2% agriculture, manufacturing and mining 46%

Government

Emerging democracy

20 fields

Long-form name

Republic of Slovenia

Type

emerging democracy

Capital

Ljubljana

Administrative divisions

62 provinces (pokajine, singular - pokajina)

Independence

25 June 1991; 15 January 1992 from Yugoslavia

Constitution

adopted 23 December 1991, effective 23 December 1991

Executive branch

president, 4 vice presidents

Legislative branch

  • bicameral;
  • consists of the State Assembly and the State Council;
  • note - will take effect after next election

Leaders

Chief of State:
  • President Milan KUCAN (since 22 April 1990);
  • Vice President Matjaz KMECL (since 11 April 1990);
  • Vice President Ivan OMAN (since 11 April 1990);
  • Vice President Dusan PLUT (since 11 April 1990);
  • Vice President Ciril ZLOBEC (since 11 April 1990)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Janez DRNOVSEK (since 14 May 1992)

Political parties and leaders

  • Christian Democratic, Lozje PETERLE, chairman;
  • Liberal Democratic, Janez DRNOVSEK, chairman;
  • Social Democratic, Joze PUNIK, chairman;
  • Socialist, Viktor ZAKELJ, chairman;
  • Greens, Dusan PLUT, chairman;
  • National Democratic, Rajko PIRNAT, chairman;
  • Democratic Peoples Party, Marjan PODOBNIK, chairman;
  • Reformed Socialists (former Communist Party), Ciril RIBICIC, chairman

Suffrage

at age 16 if employed, universal at age 18

Elections

President:
last held NA (next to be held NA)
State Assembly:
last held NA (next to be held NA);
State Council:
last held NA (next to be held NA)

Member of

CSCE, IMF, UN

Diplomatic representation

  • Representative Ernest PETRIC;
  • Chancery at 1300 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036;
  • telephone (202) 828-1650
US:
Ambassador Ignac GOLOB, Embassy at NA (mailing address is APO AE 09862); telephone NA

Flag

  • a three color flag, white (hoist side), blue, and red of equal width with the Slovenian seal (a shield with the image of Triglav in white against a blue background at the center; beneath it are two wavy blue lines depicting seas and rivers; around it, there are three six-sided stars arranged in an inverted triangle);
  • the seal is located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue band

Economy

Slovenia was by far the most prosperous of the old Yugoslav republics, with | a per capita income more than twice the Yugoslav average, indeed not far | below the levels in neighboring Austria and Italy.

17 fields
GDP, purchasing power parity
$21billion
per capita $10,700; real growth rate -10% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate
10%
(April 1992)
External debt
$2.5billion

Overview

Slovenia was by far the most prosperous of the old Yugoslav republics, with a per capita income more than twice the Yugoslav average, indeed not far below the levels in neighboring Austria and Italy. Because of its strong ties to Western Europe and the small scale of damage during internecine fighting in Yugoslavia, Slovenia has the brightest prospects among the former Yugoslav republics for economic reform and recovery over the next few years.

The political and economic disintegration of Yugoslavia, however, has led to severe short-term dislocations in production, employment, and trade ties. For example, overall industrial production fell 10% in 1991; particularly hard hit were the iron and steel, machine-building, chemical, and textile industries.

Meanwhile, fighting has continued in other republics leading to further destruction of long-established trade channels and to an influx of tens of thousands of Croatian refugees. As in other former Communist areas in Eastern Europe, economic reform has often sputtered not only because of the vested interests of old bosses in retaining old rules of the game but also because of the tangible losses experienced by rank-and-file people in the transition to a more market-oriented system.

The key program for breaking up and privatizing major industrial firms has not yet begun. Bright spots for encouraging Western investors are Slovenia's comparatively well-educated work force, its developed infrastructure, and its Western business attitudes. Slovenia in absolute terms is a small economy, and a little Western investment would go a long way.

Budget

revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports

$4,120 million (f.o.b., 1990)

commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 38%, other manufactured goods 44%, chemicals 9%, food and live animals 4.6%, raw materials 3%, beverages and tobacco less than 1%
partners:
principally the other former Yugoslav republics, Austria, and Italy

Imports

$4,679 million (c.i.f., 1990)

commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 35%, other manufactured goods 26.7%, chemicals 14.5%, raw materials 9.4%, fuels and lubricants 7%, food and live animals 6%
partners:
principally the other former Yugoslav republics, Germany, former USSR, US, Hungary, Italy, and Austria

Industrial production

industrial production has been declining at a rate of about 1% per month (1991-92), mostly because of lost markets in the other former Yugoslav republics

Electricity

2,900,000 kW capacity; 12,250 million kWh produced, 6,447 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

ferrous metallurgy and rolling mill products, aluminum reduction and rolled products, lead and zinc smelting, electronics (including military electronics), trucks, electric power equipment, wood products, textiles, chemicals, machine tools

Agriculture

  • dominated by stock breeding (sheep and cattle) and dairy farming;
  • main crops are potatoes, hops, hemp, and flax;
  • although self-sufficient and having an export surplus in these commodities, Slovenia must import many other agricultural products and has a negative overall trade balance in this sector

Currency

Slovene Tolar (plural - Tolars); 1 Tolar (SLT) = 100 NA

Exchange rates

Tolars (SLT) per US$1 - 28 (January 1992)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Highways

14,553 km total; 10,525 km paved, 4,028 km gravel

Pipelines

crude oil 290 km, natural gas 305 km

Ports

maritime - Koper

Merchant marine

  • 0 ships (1,000 GRT or over) are under Slovenian flag;
  • note - Slovenian owners control 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 334,995 GRT/558,621 DWT;
  • includes 14 bulk carriers and 7 general cargo ships all under Saint Vincent and the Grenadines flag

Civil air

NA major transport aircraft

Airports

3 main airports

Telecommunications

  • 130,000 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 6 AM, 5 FM, 7 TV;
  • 370,000 radios;
  • 330,000 TVs

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force

3 fields

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Manpower availability

  • males 15-49, 444,030;
  • NA fit for military service;
  • 18,219 reach military age (18) annually

Defense expenditures

  • exchange rate conversion - 13.5 billion Slovene Tolars, 4.5% of GDP (1992);
  • note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Central Intelligence Agency. “Slovenia.” The World Factbook 1992. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/slovenia/1992.

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