In 2015, the population of Slovenia was estimated to be around 2.1 million people. The economy of Slovenia was highly developed and based on the service sector, manufacturing, and exports. It had strong ties with other European countries as well as the European Union and United States. It had a high level of foreign investments which contributed to its economic growth. Politically, Slovenia was a republic ruled by President Borut Pahor since 2012. In 2015, His Excellency Miro Cerar served as Prime Minister while His Excellency Borut Pahor served as President of the Republic. The Parliament of Slovenia was composed of two chambers: National Assembly and Constitutional Court. In terms of defence, Slovenia had strong military ties with Croatia which it joined in 2004 as part of its post-independence security policy. Slovenia also maintained strong diplomatic relations with its neighboring countries in Europe as well as other countries around the world. See ehealthfacts for Slovenia in the year of 2005.
Yearbook 2015
Slovenia. In March, the Constitutional Court annulled the verdict against former Prime Minister Janez Janša, who in 2013 was sentenced to two years in prison for corruption. He was set free and a new trial was ordered. In September, a court dropped the charge against Janša.
According to COUNTRYAAH, Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia which is located in Southern Europe. Parliament passed a law on same-sex marriage, but it sparked strong protests among conservative politicians who, with the support of the Catholic Church, collected signatures demanding a referendum. The Constitutional Court gave the go-ahead to allow voters to decide on the issue and in December they voted down the proposal.
- Also see AbbreviationFinder.org for Slovenia country abbreviations, including geography, history, economy and politics.
After the summer, refugees on their way to Northern Europe began to flow to Slovenia, since Hungary closed its borders. Slovenia introduced border controls but made it increasingly difficult to manage the influx. In October, a special law was passed that gave the military the right to help at the borders. Some days, more than 10,000 people came across the border. Slovenia called for help from the rest of the EU and received EUR 10 million in support in November.
Parliament voted in April to dismiss Defense Minister Janko Veber since he ordered the army security service to analyze the consequences of the planned sale of the state telecommunications operator.
Slovenia – The gateway to the Balkans
Recently independent after six centuries in the Habsburg Empire and the Yugoslav experience, Slovenia is one of the smallest countries in Europe. Developed, inserted in the culture of Central Europe, it has recently become a member of the European Union. Its possibility of balanced development lies in its integration with its neighbors: the recent opening of the borders with Italy, Austria and Hungary is already demonstrating this.
At the foot of the Alps
Slovenia has a mountainous territory (Julian Alps – where the highest peak of the country is, Monte Tricorno 2,863 m – and Karavanke) and hilly, and includes part of the Karst; it is crossed west-east by the Sava river in the center and the Drava in the north. The climate varies from Mediterranean to sub-continental.
The population, 83% of Slovenes, with many minority groups, is concentrated in the few flat areas: along the Sava (where the capital Ljubljana is located, with 258,900 residents) and the Drava (where Maribor is the second largest city. with 93,800 residents) and in the eastern plain.
Agriculture still counts in the economy, but more is industry, which also processes local raw materials (metals, timber, cement; also mechanics, textiles, chemicals). Tourism is attracted by natural beauties such as the famous Postojna caves (in Slovenian, Postojna) and the winter sports facilities of Kranjska Gora.
Slovenia has an important role as an area of connection between central-western and eastern Europe, and focuses heavily on economic integration with its neighbors, starting with Italy.
A small country between Central Europe and the Balkans
Slovenia became a sovereign and independent state in 1991. Its territory, inhabited by the Celts and the Illyrians, fell under the dominion of Rome in the 1st century BC. In the following centuries it was conquered by the Southern Slavs (to whom the Slovenes belong), by the Franks, by the Magyars and then, starting from the 13th-14th century, by the Habsburgs, thus becoming part of the vast imperial team governed by them throughout the course of the modern age and for a large part of the contemporary age, until the beginning of the twentieth century. With the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire at the end of the First World War (1914-18), Slovenia was integrated into a new independent state: the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which in 1929 became the kingdom of Yugoslavia. Between 1941 and 1945, at the height of the Second World War (1939-45), it was divided between Italy, Germany and Hungary. It therefore became part, after the liberation and the end of the conflict, of the newborn Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led by Marshal Tito, together with the other five federated republics of Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia.
Highly developed economically compared to the rest of the federation (with the exception of Croatia), Slovenia gained increasing autonomy within the republic. After Tito’s death in 1980 and the fall of the communist regime in 1989, it tried to oppose Serbia’s claims of hegemony within the federation and unilaterally proclaimed its independence, together with Croatia, in 1991, almost immediately obtaining recognition. of the international community. Thus began a long and dramatic season of wars in the Balkans, which did not involve the country, except at a very early stage, but which lasted for most of the 1990s and led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Along with several other countries, Slovenia became part of the European Union in May 2004.