Slovenia
From Wikinfo
The Republic of Slovenia (Slovenian Slovenija) is a littoral and pre-Alpine country in the South of Central Europe bordering the Adriatic Sea, Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia.
| ||||
| National motto: None | ||||
| Official language | Slovenian | |||
| Capital | Ljubljana | |||
| President | Janez Drnovšek | |||
| Prime Minister | Anton Rop | |||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 150th 20,273 km² 0.6% | |||
| Population
- Density | Ranked 142nd
95/km² | |||
| Independence
- Recognised | From Yugoslavia
1992 | |||
| Currency | Euro | |||
| Time zone | UTC +1 | |||
| National anthem | Zdravljica | |||
| Internet TLD | .SI | |||
| Calling Code | 386 | |||
Contents |
History
Main article: History of Slovenia
As it is believed 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 state and one of the first Slavic, was formed. In 745, Karantania loses its independence and becomes a tantamount part of the Frankish empire, many Slavs are gradually converted to Christianity.
Around 1000, the Freising manuscripts are 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 pass to the possession of the Habsburgs, which later form the Austro-Hungarian Empire, with 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 the United Slovenia appeared in the so called of Spring of nations within Austria-Hungary.
With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918, the Slovenians join the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later in 1929 renamed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After Yugoslavia was re-created at the end of World War II, Slovenia joined the Federal Peoples' Republic of Yugoslavia, officially declared on November 29 1945. Present-day Slovenia was formed on June 25, 1991 with its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
After 1990, a stable democratic system slowly evolved, together with economic liberalisation and gradual growth of prosperity. Slovenia joined NATO on March 29. 2004 and the European Union on May 1, 2004. Slovenia is the first post-Communist country to hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first six months of 2008.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Slovenia
The Slovenian head of state is the president, who is elected by popular vote every 5 years. In his task as head of the executive branch, the president is aided by the prime minister and the council of ministers or cabinet, which are elected by parliament.
The unicameral Slovenian parliament is the National Assembly or Državni zbor. It has 90 seats, which are partially filled with directly elected representatives, and partially with proportinally elected representatives. Elections for the Državni zbor are held every four years.
Municipalities
Main article: Municipalities of Slovenia
Slovenia is divided into 147 municipalities (občine, singular - občina), of which 11 have urban status (marked with *).
Geography
Main article: Geography of Slovenia
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 km²) is covered by forests; this makes Slovenia the third most forested country in Europe, right after Finland and Sweden. Remnants of primeval forests are still to be found, the largest in the Kočevje area. Grassland covers 5593 km² of the country and fields and gardens 2471 km². There are also 363 km² of orchards and 216 km² 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.
See also: National parks (Slovenia).
Economy
Main article: Economy of Slovenia
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 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 joined the European Union in 2004. It's currency is the Euro
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Slovenia
Slovenia's ethnic groups represent Slovenians (89%), Croats, Serbs, Bosnians 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 km², Slovenia ranks low among the European countries (compare with 320/km² for the Netherlands or 195/km² 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
Main article: Culture of Slovenia
Slovenia's learned men include physicist Jožef Stefan and linguist Franc Miklošič. 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.
See also: Music of Slovenia
| Date | English Name | Local Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1|2 | New Year | Novo leto | |
| February 8 | Prešeren's day | Prešernov dan, Slovenski kulturni praznik | Slovenian Cultural Holiday |
| - | Easter | Velika noč | Sunday, date varies |
| - | Easter Monday | Velikonočni ponedeljek | Monday, date varies |
| April 27 | Day of Uprising Against Occupation | Dan upora proti okupatorju | The former OF day (Dan OF) |
| May 1|2 | Labour Day | Praznik dela | |
| June 25 | National Day | Dan državnosti | |
| August 15 | Assumption Day | Marijino vnebovzetje (Veliki šmaren) | |
| October 31 | Reformation Day | Dan reformacije | |
| November 1 | All Souls' Day | Dan spomina na umrle | The former day of deceased (Dan mrtvih) |
| December 25 | Christmas | Božič | |
| December 26 | Independence Day | Dan neodvisnosti |
See also=
- Timeline of Slovenian history
- Communications in Slovenia
- Transportation in Slovenia
- Military of Slovenia
- Foreign relations of Slovenia
External links
- Official site of the Slovenian government (In English and Slovenian): http://www.sigov.si
- History of Slovenia
Former 6 republics and 2 autonomous republics of Yugoslavia:
Croatia Hrvatska | Serbia Srbija | Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosna i Hercegovina | Montenegro Crna gora | Macedonia Makedonija | (Vojvodina, Kosovo)
European Union:
Austria �sterreich | Belgium Belgi� · Belgique · Belgien | Cyprus | Czech Republic Česk� republika | Denmark Danmark | Estonia Eesti | Finland Suomi | France | Germany Deutschland | Greece Ελληνικη | Hungary Magyarorsz�g | Ireland �ire | Italy Italia | Latvia Latvijas | Lithuania Lietuvos | Luxembourg Luxemburg · L�tzebuerg | Malta | Netherlands Nederland | Poland Polska | Portugal Portuguesa | Slovakia Slovensko | Slovenia Slovenija | Spain Espa�a | Sweden Sverige | United Kingdom |
Other European countries:
Albania | Andorra | Belarus | Bulgaria България | Iceland | Liechtenstein | Moldova | Monaco | Norway | Romania | Russia Россия | San Marino | Switzerland | Turkey | Ukraine | Vatican City
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Slovenia" http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia August 21, 2003
