Slovenia

Partners situated in Slovenia

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Slovenia in a nutshell

Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: Republika Slovenija), is a country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana.

At various points in Slovenia's history, the country has been part of many other countries and empires.

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

The bicameral Parliament of Slovenia consists of the National Assembly (Državni zbor), and the National Council (Državni svet). The National Assembly has 90 members, 88 of which are elected by all the citizens in a system of proportional representation, while two are elected by the indigenous Hungarian and Italian minorities. Elections take place every four years. The National Assembly is the supreme representative and legislative institution, exercising legislative and electoral powers as well as control over the Executive and the Judiciary. The National Council has 40 members, appointed to represent social, economic, professional and local interest groups. Among its best-known powers is the authority of the "postponing veto" - it can demand that the Parliament re-discusses a certain piece of legislation (a mechanism similar to that in the UK).

The traditional regions of Slovenia are based on the former four Habsburg crown lands (Carniola, Carinthia, Styria, and the Littoral) and are as follows:

• Upper Carniola (Gorenjska)
• Lower Styria (Štajerska)
• Prekmurje (Prekmurje)
• Carinthia (Koroška)
• Inner Carniola (Notranjska)
• Lower Carniola (Dolenjska)
• Goriška (Goriška)
• Slovenian Istria (Slovenska Istra)

Goriška and Slovenian Istria together are known as the Littoral region (Slovene: Primorska).

White Carniola (Slovene: Bela krajina), otherwise part of Lower Carniola, is considered a separate region of Slovenia, as are Zasavje and Posavje, the former being a part of Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola and Styria; and the latter part of Lower Carniola and Styria.

Confusingly, there are also statistical regions which are different. Finally, the government is preparing a plan for new administrative regions, between 12 and 14 in number.

Slovenia is divided into 210 local municipalities, eleven of which have urban status.

Slovenia is the economic front-runner of the countries that joined the European Union in 2004 and was the first new member which adopted the euro on 1 January 2007. It has a high-income developed economy which enjoys the second highest (after Cyprus) GDP per capita ($28,010 = estimate for 2008) of the new EU countries which is 93% of the EU average.

Despite economic success, Slovenia faces some challenges. Big portions of the economy remains in state hands and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia is one of the lowest in the EU per capita. Taxes are relatively high, the labour market is seen as inflexible, and industries are losing sales to China, India, and elsewhere. During the 2000s, privatizations were seen in the banking, telecommunications, and public utility sectors. Restrictions on foreign investment are being dismantled, and foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to increase.

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