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Slovenia

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Countries; European
Countries

                            Republika Slovenija
   Republic of Slovenia

   Flag of Slovenia Coat of arms of Slovenia
   Flag             Coat of arms
   Anthem: Zdravljica
   Location of Slovenia
   Capital
   (and largest city)     Ljubljana
                          46°03′N 14°30′E
     Official languages   Slovenian, Italian^1, Hungarian^1
   Government             Parliamentary republic
    - President           Janez Drnovšek
    - Prime Minister      Janez Janša
        Independence      from Yugoslavia
    - Declared            June 25, 1991
    - Recognized          1992
      Accession to EU     May 1, 2004
                                   Area
    - Total               20,273 km² ( 153rd)
                          7,827 sq mi
    - Water (%)           0.6
                                Population
    - March 2006 estimate 2,008,516^2 ( 145th)
    - 2002 census         1,964,036
    - Density             97/km² ( 101st)
                          251/sq mi
         GDP ( PPP)       2005 estimate
    - Total               $43.69 billion ( 81st)
    - Per capita          $21,911 ( 31st)
        HDI  (2004)       0.910 (high) ( 27th)
          Currency        Tolar^3 ( SIT)
         Time zone        CET ( UTC+1)
    - Summer ( DST)       CEST ( UTC+2)
        Internet TLD      .si^4
        Calling code      +386
   ^1 In the residential municipalities of the Italian or Hungarian
   national community.

   ^2 Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia: Population,
   Slovenia, 30 June 2006
   ^3 To be replaced by the euro (EUR) on 1 January 2007.
   ^4 Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states.

   Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia ( Slovenian: Republika
   Slovenija), is a coastal Alpine 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.

   Throughout Slovenia's history, the country has been part of the Roman
   Empire, the Duchy of Carantania (only Slovenia's modern northern part),
   the Holy Roman Empire, Austria-Hungary, the State of Slovenes, Croats
   and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed the
   Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929) between the World Wars, and the SFR of
   Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991. Slovenia is a
   member of the European Union, the Council of Europe, NATO, and has
   observer status in La Francophonie.

History

   Slavic ancestors of the present-day Slovenians settled in the area in
   the 6th century. The Slavic Duchy of Carantania was formed in the 7th
   century. In 745, Carantania lost its independence, being largely
   subsumed into the Frankish empire. Many Slavs converted to
   Christianity.

   The Freising manuscripts, the earliest surviving written documents in a
   Slovenian dialect and the first ever Slavic document in Latin script,
   were written around 1000 AD. During the 14th century, most of
   Slovenia's regions passed into ownership of the Habsburgs whose lands
   later formed 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, Carinthia and Styria.

   In 1848 a strong programme for a United Slovenia (Zedinjena Slovenija)
   emerged as part of the Spring of Nations movement within Austria.

   With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918, Slovenians
   initially formed part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which
   shortly joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed
   (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 Yugoslavia, defeating the Yugoslav Army in the
   Ten-Day War. Slovenia joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and the European
   Union on 1 May 2004. Slovenia will hold the Presidency of the Council
   of the European Union in the first half of 2008, being the first "new"
   member state to do so.

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 Parliament of Slovenia consists of the National Assembly
   (Državni zbor), and the National Council (Državni svet). The National
   Assembly has 90 seats, which are partially filled with directly elected
   representatives, and partially with proportionally elected
   representatives (two seats reserved for autochthonous Hungarian and
   Italian minorities). The National Council has 40 seats, and is made up
   of representatives of social, economic, professional and local interest
   groups. Parliamentary elections are held every four years.

Administrative divisions

Traditional regions

   Slovenia is traditionally divided into eight regions.
   Enlarge
   Slovenia is traditionally divided into eight regions.

   As given by Enciklopedija Slovenije (Encyclopedia of Slovenia),
   traditional Slovenian regions, based on the former division of Slovenia
   into four Habsburg crown lands ( Carniola, Carinthia, Styria, and the
   Littoral) and their parts, are:
     * Upper Carniola (Gorenjska) (denoted on the map as U.C.)
     * Styria (Štajerska) (S)
     * Prekmurje (T)
     * Carinthia (Koroška) (C)
     * Inner Carniola (Notranjska) (I.C.)
     * Lower Carniola (Dolenjska) (L.C.)
     * Goriška (G)
     * Slovenian Istria (Slovenska Istra) (L)

   The last two are usually considered together as the Littoral Region
   (Primorska). White Carniola (Bela krajina), otherwise part of Lower
   Carniola, is usually considered a separate region, as are Zasavje and
   Posavje, with the former being a part of Upper and Lower Carniola and
   Styria and the latter part of Lower Carniola and Styria.

Natural Regions

   The first regionalizations of Slovenia were made by geographers Anton
   Melik (1935-1936) and Svetozar Ilešič (1968). The newer regionalization
   by Ivan Gams divides Slovenia in the following macroregions:
     * the Alps (visokogorske Alpe)
     * the Prealpine Hills (predalpsko hribovje)
     * the Ljubljana basin (Ljubljanska kotlina)
     * Submediterranean ( Littoral) Slovenia (submediteranska - primorska
       Slovenija)
     * the dinaric Karst of inner Slovenia (dinarski kras notranje
       Slovenije)
     * Subpannonian Slovenia (subpanononska Slovenija)

   According to a newer natural geographic regionalization, the country
   consists of four macroregions. These are the Alpine world, the
   Mediterranean world, the Dinaric world and the Pannonian world.
   Macroregions are defined according to major relief units (the Alps, the
   Pannonian plain, the Dinaric mountains) and climate types (continental,
   alpine, mediterranean). These are often quite interwoven.

   Macroregions consist of multiple and very diverse mesoregions. The main
   factor that defines them is the relief together with the geologic
   composition. Mesoregions in turn consist of numerous microregions.

Statistical Regions

   As of May 2005, only statistical regions exist legally, and, as their
   name suggests, are only used for statistical purposes. There are 12 of
   these regions.
   Map of the 12 statistical regions of Slovenia.
   Enlarge
   Map of the 12 statistical regions of Slovenia.

   The statistical regions are:
    1. ██ Gorenjska
    2. ██ Goriška
    3. ██ Jugovzhodna Slovenija
    4. ██ Koroška
    5. ██ Notranjsko-kraška
    6. ██  Obalno-kraška

                                    7. ██ Osrednjeslovenska
                                    8. ██ Podravska
                                    9. ██ Pomurska
                                   10. ██ Savinjska
                                   11. ██ Spodnjeposavska
                                   12. ██ Zasavska

   The Government, however, is preparing a plan for new administrative
   regions. The number of these regions is not yet defined, but is said to
   be around 12 to 14. The plan will, after being publicly unveiled, need
   to undergo parliamentary debate. Constitution changes allowing the
   creation of regions have already been approved by the National
   Assembly. If the scenario of 12 administrative regions is selected, the
   regions will most likely be the same as the current Statistical
   regions.

Municipalities

   Slovenia is divided into 210 municipalities (občine, singular: občina),
   of which 11 have urban status.

Geography

   Map of Slovenia
   Enlarge
   Map of Slovenia
   Triglav
   Enlarge
   Triglav

   Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps, the
   Dinarides, the Pannonian plain, and the Mediterranean. Slovenia's
   highest peak is Triglav (2,864 m; 9,396  ft); the country's average
   height above the sea level is 557 metres (1,827 ft). Around one half of
   the country (10,124 km²; 3,909  sq mi) 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 Kočevje area. Grassland covers 5,593 square kilometres
   (2,159 sq mi) of the country and fields and gardens 2,471 square
   kilometres (838 sq mi). There are also 363 square kilometres
   (140 sq mi) of orchards and 216 square kilometres (83 sq mi) of
   vineyards.

   Its climate is Submediterranean 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
   (28° F) in January and 21°C (70°F) in July. The average rainfall is
   1,000 millimetres (39.4  in) for the coast, up to 3,500 millimetres
   (138 in) for the Alps, 800 millimetres (31.5 in) for south east and
   1,400 millimetres (55 in)for central Slovenia.

Economy

   Slovenia is a high-income economy which enjoys the highest GDP per
   capita ($23,250 in 2006 ) of the newly joined EU countries. The
   country's relatively high rate of inflation (3.6% in 2004) declined to
   2.5% in 2005 and is now comparable to the average in the European
   Union. Slovenia's economy has started to grow more strongly in the last
   few years (5.0% in H1 2006, 4.0% in 2005, 4.4% in 2004), after
   relatively slow growth in 2003 (2.7%). Overall, the country is on a
   sound economic footing.

   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 few years. Slovenia is the
   economic front-runner of the countries that joined the European Union
   in 2004 and is the first new member to adopt the euro as the country's
   only currency on 1 January 2007. Moreover, Slovenia will also be the
   first new member state to hold the Presidency of the Council of the
   European Union in the first half of 2008.

Demographics

   Ethnic composition of Slovenia
   Slovenians

                            83.06%
   Serb

                             1.98%
   Croat

                             1.81%
   Bosniak

                             1.10%
   Muslim by nationality

                             0.53%
   Hungarian

                             0.32%
   Albanian

                             0.31%
   Roma

                             0.17%
   Italian

                             0.11%
   other

                             0.82%
   undeclared or unknown

                              8.9%
   source: 2002 census
    Religion in Slovenia
   Roman Catholic

                         57.8%
   Muslim

                         2.4%
   Eastern Orthodox

                         2.3%
   Protestant

                         0.9%
   Other

                         3.7%
   Atheist

                         10.1%
   undeclared or unknown

                         22.8%
   source: 2002 census

   Slovenia's main ethnic group is Slovenians (83%). Nationalities from
   the former Yugoslavia ( Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks & Muslims by
   nationality) form 6.3% and the Hungarian, Italian and Roma minorities
   0.6% of the population. Ethnic affiliation of 8.9% was either
   undeclared or unknown. Life expectancy in 2003 was 72.2 years for men
   and 80 years for women.

   With 99 inhabitants per square kilometre (256/sq mi), Slovenia ranks
   low among the European countries in population density (compare with
   320/km² (829/sq mi) for the Netherlands or 195/km² (505/sq mi) for
   Italy). The Notranjsko-kraška region has the lowest population density
   while the Osrednjeslovenska region has the highest. Approximately 51%
   of the population lives in urban areas and 49% in rural areas.

   The official language is Slovenian, which is a member of the South
   Slavic language group. Hungarian and Italian enjoy the status of
   official languages in the ethnically mixed regions along the Hungarian
   and Italian border.

   By religion, Slovenians have traditionally been largely Roman Catholic.
   Before socialism, as much as 88% of Slovenians were Roman Catholic,
   while by 1991 this had already dropped to 71.6%, and the number of
   followers is still falling (57.8% in 2002).

Culture

   Slovenia's first book was printed by the Protestant reformer Primož
   Trubar (1508-1586). It was actually two books, Catechismus (a
   catechism) and Abecedarium, which was published in 1550 in Tübingen,
   Germany.

   The central part of the country, namely Carniola (which existed as a
   part of Austria-Hungary until the early 20th century) was
   ethnographically and historically well described in the book The Glory
   of the Duchy of Carniola (German: Die Ehre deß Herzogthums Crain,
   Slovenian: Slava vojvodine Kranjske), published in 1689 by baron Janez
   Vajkard Valvasor (1641-1693).

   Slovenia's two greatest writers were the poet France Prešeren
   (1800-1849) and writer Ivan Cankar (1876-1918). The most important
   Slovenian painters are Ivana Kobilca and impressionist Rihard Jakopič.
   The most famed Slovenian architect is Jože Plečnik who worked in Vienna
   as well as in Prague.

   Slovenia is a homeland of numerous musicians and composers, including
   Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus (1550-1591), who greatly influenced
   Central European classical music. In the 20th century, Bojan Adamič was
   a renowned film music composer.

   Contemporary popular musicians have been Slavko Avsenik, Laibach, Vlado
   Kreslin, Zoran Predin, Pero Lovšin, New Swing Quartet, DJ Umek,
   Siddharta, Magnifico and others.

   Slovenian cinema has more than a century-long tradition with Karol
   Grossmann, Janko Ravnik, Ferdo Delak, France Štiglic, Mirko Grobler,
   Igor Pretnar, France Kosmač, Jože Pogačnik, Matjaž Klopčič, Jane
   Kavčič, Jože Gale, Boštjan Hladnik and Karpo Godina as its most
   established filmmakers. Contemporary film directors Janez Burger, Jan
   Cvitkovič, Damjan Kozole, Janez Lapajne and Maja Weiss are most notable
   representatives of the so-called renaissance of Slovenian cinema.

   Slovenia's learned men include chemist and Nobel prize laureate
   Friderik Pregl, physicist Jožef Stefan, philosopher Slavoj Žižek,
   linguist Franc Miklošič, physician Anton Marko Plenčič, mathematician
   Jurij Vega.

Biodiversity

   Although Slovenia is a small country, there is an exceptionally wide
   variety of habitats. In the north of Slovenia are the Alps (namely,
   Julian Alps, Karavanke, Kamnik Alps), and in the south stand the
   Dinarides. There is also a small area of the Pannonian plain and a
   Littoral Region. Slovenia also contains a Karst, a very rich, often
   unexplored underground habitat containing diverse flora and fauna. The
   word karst itself derives from the Slovenian region of Kras.

   Half of the country (about 53%) is covered by forests. These forests
   are an important natural resource, but they are also valuable for the
   preservation of natural diversity. An ecological asset like all
   forests, they enrich the soil and cleanse the water and air. Slovenians
   find the social benefits of tourism and recreation. The forests also
   lend their natural beauty to the Slovenian landscape. In the interior
   of the country there are typical Central European forests. The
   predominant trees are oaks and beeches. In the mountains spruce, fir,
   and pine are more common. The tree-line is at 1,700 to 1,800 metres (or
   5,575 to 5,900 feet).

   Pinetrees also grow on the Karst plateau. Only one third of Kras
   (Karst) is now covered by pine forest. It is said that most of the
   forest was chopped down long ago to provide the wooden pylons on which
   the city of Venice now stands. The Karst and White Carniola are well
   known for the mysterious proteus. The lime/linden tree, also common in
   Slovenian forests, is a national symbol. A national proverb says, "A
   true Slovenian must raise a child, write a book and plant a tree."

   In the Alps there are flowers of great beauty such as Daphne blagayana,
   various gentians ( Gentiana clusii, Gentiana froelichi), Primula
   auricula, Edelweiss (the symbol of Slovenian mountaineering),
   Cypripedium calceolus, Fritillaria meleagris (Snakes's head), and
   Pulsatilla grandis.

   Fauna includes marmots (introduced), steinbocks, and chamois. There are
   numerous deer, roe deer, boars, and hares. The loir or fat dormouse is
   often found in the Slovenian beech forests. Hunting these animals is a
   long tradition and is well described in the book The Glory of the Duchy
   of Carniola (Slava vojvodine Kranjske) (1689), written by Janez Vajkard
   Valvasor (1641-1693). Some important carnivores include the Eurasian
   lynx (reintroduced to the Kočevje area in 1973), European wild cats,
   foxes (especially the red fox), and the rare jackal . There also exist
   hedgehogs, martens, and snakes such as vipers and grass snakes. As of
   March 2005, Slovenia also has a limited population of wolves and about
   400 brown bears.

   There is a wide variety of birds, such as the tawny owl, the long-eared
   owl, the Eagle Owl, hawks, and Short-toed Eagles. Various other birds
   of prey have been recorded, as well as a growing number of ravens,
   crows and magpies migrating into Ljubljana and Maribor where they
   thrive. Other birds include (both black and green) woodpeckers and the
   white stork which nests in Prekmurje.

   The indigenous Slovenian fish is the Marmorata. Extensive breeding
   programs have been introduced to repopulate the Marmorata into lakes
   and streams invaded by non-indigenous species of trout. The only
   regular species of cetaceans found in the northern Adriatic sea is the
   Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) .

   Domestic animals originating in Slovenia include the Carniolan
   honeybee, the indigenous Karst Sheepdog and the Lipizzan horse. The
   exploration of various cave systems has yielded discoveries of many
   cave-dwelling insects and other organisms.

   Slovenia is a veritable cornucopia of forest, cavern and
   mountain-dwelling wildlife. Many species that are endangered or can no
   longer be found in other parts of Europe can still be found here.

Education

   The Slovenian education system consists of:
     * pre-school education,
     * basic education (single structure of primary and lower secondary
       education),
     * (upper) secondary education: -vocational and technical education,
       -secondary general education,
     * higher vocational education,
     * higher education.

   Specific parts of the system:
     * adult education
     * music and dance education
     * special needs education
     * modified programmes and programmes in ethnically and linguistically
       mixed areas.

Neighbouring countries

   Flag of Austria  Austria Flag of Hungary  Hungary
   Flag of Italy  Italy North
   West    Flag of Slovenia  Slovenia     East
   South
   Gulf of Venice
   Adriatic Sea
   Image:Template CanadianCityGeoLocation South.png
   Flag of Italy  Italy Flag of Croatia  Croatia

   Countries of Europe

   Albania · Andorra · Armenia^1 · Austria · Azerbaijan^2 · Belarus ·
   Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus^1 ·
   Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia^2 ·
   Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan^2 ·
   Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia
   · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland
   · Portugal · Romania · Russia^2 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia ·
   Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey^2 · Ukraine · United
   Kingdom · Vatican City

   (1) Entirely in Asia but having socio-political connections with
   Europe. (2) Has significant territory in Asia.
   Countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea

   Albania • Algeria • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Croatia • Cyprus • Egypt •
   France • Greece • Israel • Italy • Lebanon • Libya • Malta • Monaco •
   Montenegro • Morocco • Slovenia • Spain • Syria • Tunisia • Turkey

   For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory and List
   of unrecognized countries.
   Countries on the Adriatic Sea

   Flag of Albania  Albania • Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and
   Herzegovina • Flag of Croatia  Croatia • Flag of Italy  Italy • Flag of
   Montenegro  Montenegro • Flag of Slovenia  Slovenia
   European Union members and candidates

   Austria • Belgium • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia •
   Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy •
   Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland •
   Portugal • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom

   Countries acceding on January 1, 2007: Bulgaria • Romania

   Candidate countries: Croatia • Turkey • Republic of Macedonia (referred
   to as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia by the European Union)
   North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
   Flag of NATO

   Belgium • Bulgaria • Canada • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia •
   France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Iceland • Italy • Latvia •
   Lithuania • Luxembourg • Netherlands • Norway • Poland • Portugal •
   Romania • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Turkey • United Kingdom •
   United States

   Candidate countries: Albania • Croatia • Republic of Macedonia (as
   FYROM)
   Francophonie
   Members: Belgium • Benin • Bulgaria • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cambodia
   • Cameroon • Canada • New Brunswick • Quebec • Ontario • Cape Verde •
   Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Cyprus •
   Democratic Republic of the Congo • Djibouti • Dominica • Egypt •
   Equatorial Guinea • France • French Guiana • Gabon • Ghana • Guadeloupe
   • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Haiti • Laos • Lebanon • Madagascar • Mali •
   Martinique • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Niger • Republic of the
   Congo • Romania • Rwanda • Saint Lucia • São Tomé and Príncipe •
   Senegal • Seychelles • Saint-Pierre and Miquelon • Switzerland • Togo •
   Tunisia • Ukraine • Vanuatu • Vietnam

   Observers: Armenia • Austria • Croatia • Czech Republic • Georgia •
   Hungary • Lithuania • Mozambique • Poland • Serbia • Slovakia •
   Slovenia • Ukraine
   Slavic-speaking nations

   West Slavic: Flag of Czech Republic  Czech Republic • Flag of Poland
   Poland • Flag of Slovakia  Slovakia

   South Slavic: Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina  Bosnia and Herzegovina •
   Flag of Bulgaria  Bulgaria • Flag of Croatia  Croatia • Flag of
   Republic of Macedonia  Republic of Macedonia • Flag of Montenegro
   Montenegro • Flag of Serbia  Serbia • Flag of Slovenia  Slovenia

   East Slavic: Flag of Belarus  Belarus • Flag of Russia  Russia • Flag
   of Ukraine  Ukraine
   Republics and Autonomous Provinces of the former Yugoslavia (SFRY)
   Flag of SFR Yugoslavia

   Bosnia and Herzegovina • Croatia • Republic of Macedonia • Montenegro •
   Serbia (Kosovo • Vojvodina) • Slovenia
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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