Republic of Slovenia

Republika Slovenija Republic of Slovenia


Anthem 7th stanza of Zdravljica
Location of Slovenia

Capital	Ljubljana

Government	Republic and parliamentary democracy
President
- From 2007	Danilo Türk
Prime Minister
- From 2008	Borut Pahor

Legislature	Parliament
- Upper house	National Council
- Lower house	National Assembly

History
- June 25, 1991	Independence

EU accession	May 1, 2004

NATO accession	March 29, 2004

Area	20,273 km²

Population
- 2010	2,048,951
Density	101/km²

GDP	2010 (PPP)
- Total	US$ 57.1 billion
- Per capita	US$ 27,900

Currency	Euro

NUTS Region	SI0

Yugoslavia Slovenia
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The Republic of Slovenia is a parliamentary democracy in the Balkans.

Background

The Slovene lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the latter's dissolution at the end of World War I. In 1918, the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new multinational state, which was named Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though Communist, distanced itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power by the majority Serbs, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991 after a short 10-day war. Historical ties to Western Europe, a strong economy, and a stable democracy have assisted in Slovenia's transformation to a modern state. Slovenia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the eurozone in 2007.^[1]

Economy

Slovenia became the first 2004 European Union entrant to adopt the euro (on 1 January 2007) and has become a model of economic success and stability for the region. With the highest per capita GDP in Central Europe, Slovenia has excellent infrastructure, a well-educated work force, and a strategic location between the Balkans and Western Europe. Privatization has lagged since 2002, and the economy has one of highest levels of state control in the EU. Structural reforms to improve the business environment have allowed for somewhat greater foreign participation in Slovenia's economy and have helped to lower unemployment. In March 2004, Slovenia became the first transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor partner at the World Bank. In December 2007, Slovenia was invited to begin the accession process for joining the OECD. Despite its economic success, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia has lagged behind the region average, and taxes remain relatively high. Furthermore, the labor market is often seen as inflexible, and legacy industries are losing sales to more competitive firms in China, India, and elsewhere. In 2009, the world recession caused the economy to contract - through falling exports and industrial production - by more than 8%, and unemployment to rise above 9%. Although growth resumed in 2010, the unemployment rate continued to rise, topping 10%.^[2]