|
|
SLOVENIA
The Republic of
Slovenia (Slovenian: Slovenija) is a coastal sub-Alpine country in south
central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the
southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and
Austria to the north.
Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in
1991. It became a member of European Union on 1 May 2004. It is also a
member of the Council of Europe, NATO, and has observer status in La
Francophonie.
History
It is believed that the Slavic ancestors of the present-day Slovenians
settled in the area in the 6th century. In the 7th century the Slavic Duchy
of Carantania, the first Slovenian and first stable Slavic state, was formed.
In 745, Karantania lost its independence and became to all intents and
purposes a part of the Frankish empire. Many Slavs gradually became
converted to Christianity.
Around 1000, the Freising manuscripts were written, representing the first
written document in Slovenian and the first ever Slavic dialect written in
Latin script. During the 14th century, most of Slovenia's regions passed
into ownership by the Habsburgs whose lands later formed the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, Slovenians inhabiting all or most of the provinces of Carniola,
Gorizia, and Gradisca, and parts of the provinces of Istria and Styria.
In 1848 a strong programme for a United Slovenia emerged as part of the "Spring
of Nations" movement within Austria-Hungary.
With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918, Slovenians
joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed, in 1929,
the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Following the re-establishment of Yugoslavia at
the end of World War II, Slovenia became a part of the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia, officially declared on 29 November 1945. Present-day
Slovenia was formed on 25 June 1991 upon its independence from the
Yugoslavia. Slovenia joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and the European Union on
1 May 2004.
Politics
The Slovenian head of state is the president, who is elected by popular vote
every 5 years. The executive branch is headed by the prime minister and the
council of ministers or cabinet, which are elected by the parliament.
The bicameral Slovenian parliament consists of the National Assembly or
Državni zbor, and the Državni svet or National Council. The National
Assembly has 90 seats, which are partially filled with directly elected
representatives, and partially with proportionally elected representatives.
The National Council has 22 seats, and is made up of representatives of
social, economic, professional and local interest groups. Parliamentary
elections are held every four years.
Regions
Upper Carniola (Gorenjska)
Styria (Štajerska)
Mur Region (Prekmurje) (or Transmuraland)
Carinthia (Koroška)
Inner Carniola (Notranjska)
Lower Carniola (Dolenjska)
White Carniola (Bela krajina)
Littoral Region (Primorska)
Municipalities
Slovenia is divided into 193 municipalities (obcine, singular - obcina), of
which 11 have urban status.
Geography
Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps, the
Dinaric area, the Pannonian plain and the Mediterranean. Slovenia's highest
peak is Mt. Triglav (2864 m); the country's average height above the sea
level is 557 m. Around one half of the country (10,124 km˛) is covered by
forests; this makes Slovenia the third most forested country in Europe,
after Finland and Sweden. Remnants of primeval forests are still to be
found, the largest in the Kocevje area. Grassland covers 5593 km˛ of the
country and fields and gardens 2471 km˛. There are also 363 km˛ of orchards
and 216 km˛ of vineyards.
Its climate is Mediterranean on the coast, Alpine in the mountains and
continental with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and
valleys to the east. The average temperatures are -2°C in January and 21°C
in July. The average rainfall is 1000 mm for the coast, up to 3500 mm for
the Alps, 800 mm for south east and 1400 mm for central Slovenia.
Economy
Slovenia continues to enjoy the highest GDP per capita of the transitioning
economies of the region. The country is experiencing an increased, yet
manageable, rate of inflation and anticipates increased GDP growth during
the year 2000 as growth accelerates in the EU, Slovenia's leading export
market. The country is on a sound economic footing. However, much work
remains to be done in the areas of privatisation and capital market reform.
During 2000, privatisations were seen in the banking, telecommunications,
and public utility sectors. Restrictions on foreign investment are slowly
being dismantled, and foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to
increase over the next two years. Slovenia can be considered one of the
economic front-runners of the countries that joined the European Union in
2004.
Demographics
Slovenia's ethnic groups represent Slovenians (89%), Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks
and other nationalities of the former Yugoslavia (10%) and the ethnic
Hungarian and Italian minorities (0.5%). Life expectancy in 2000 was 71.80
years for men and 79.50 years for women.
With 95 inhabitants per km˛, Slovenia ranks low among the European countries
(compare with 320/km˛ for the Netherlands or 195/km˛ for Italy).
Approximately 50% of the total population lives in urban areas, the rest in
rural.
The official language is Slovenian, which is a member of the South Slavic
language group. Hungarian and Italian enjoy the status of official language
in the nationally mixed regions along the Hungarian and Italian border.
Culture
Slovenia's learned men include physicist Jožef Stefan , linguist Franc
Miklošic and mathematician Jurij Vega. See List of Slovenians.
Slovenia is a homeland of numerous musicians and composers, including
Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus and more contemporary ones like Slavko
Avsenik and Laibach.
|
|
