Slovenia

C

Religion

Over 80 per cent of people in Slovenia are Roman Catholic. There are also Orthodox and Slovene Old Catholic communities.

D

Language

The official language of the country is Slovenian, a South Slavic language, but in areas where indigenous Hungarians or Italians reside these languages are also considered official, according to the 1991 constitution. Spoken by the majority of the population, Slovenian is written in the Roman alphabet—unlike Serbian and most other Slavic languages, which are written in the Cyrillic alphabet—and has diverse dialects. Serbo-Croatian is spoken by many immigrants.

E

Education

The Slovene government requires that all children receive eight years of primary education and four years of secondary education. In 2000 there were 86,388 children enrolled in primary schools, and 224,747 secondary-school students. Almost all Slovenians over the age of ten can read and write, and, although not obligatory by law, most students receive post-secondary or higher levels of education. In 2001–2002 there were about 30 institutions of higher education with 99,214 students. There are two universities: the University of Ljubljana (founded 1595) and the University of Maribor (1961). In 2001 education expenditure amounted to 10.7 per cent of total government spending.

F

Culture

Unlike other Slavic cultures, Slovenian culture has been directly influenced by Italian and Germanic cultures for nearly a millennium. Despite more than 70 years of affiliation with Yugoslavia, it preserves these influences. In the cities, Slovenes enjoy concerts, operas, and art galleries. In rural alpine areas skiing is very popular.

IV

Economy

Prior to independence, Slovenia was the most prosperous of the six Yugoslav republics. The prolonged war in the region, however, initially seriously affected Slovenia’s economy, with gross domestic product (GDP) declining by a total of more than 13 per cent in 1991 and 1992, and inflation soaring to 200 per cent in 1992. As a result GDP per capita was US$6,957 in 1992, a decline from the pre-independence amount of US$8,658 in 1990. From 1993, however, helped by the country’s advantageous geographical location, good infrastructure, and changes in government policy, the economy began to expand rapidly, growing by just over 1 per cent in 1993 and by an average 5 per cent a year subsequently; similar annual growth rates are projected to the end of the decade. In 2005 GDP per capita was officially estimated at US$17,172.60. The Slovenian gross national product (GNP) for the same period was US$29,494 million, or US$17,440 per capita (World Bank figures).

The government and the Bank of Slovenia (the central bank) have implemented a variety of measures to turn the economy around, including market and bank reforms and the privatization of state-owned companies. The privatization programme, introduced in the 1992-1993 financial year and largely completed by the end of 1996, was implemented in two stages. Small businesses were privatized first, with their capital transferred initially to an investment fund that acted as an intermediary. These (and other) reform measures have helped to reduce inflation to about 10 per cent by mid-1996; to eliminate the budget deficit; to sustain surpluses on both the balance of trade and current account of the balance of payments; to reduce unemployment (6.6 per cent, in 2003); and to encourage high levels of investment. In 1995 investment contributed 22.5 per cent of GDP. One result of this high level of investment has been a significant restructuring of the economy, particularly towards small business and towards the services sector, especially tourism and financial and business services. In 2005 the services sector accounted for 63.4 per cent of GDP.