Slovenia
Slovenia is divided into 210 local municipalities, eleven of which have urban status.
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Geography
- See also: Protected areas of Slovenia
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 sea level is 557 metres (1,827 ft). Around half of the country (11,691 km²; 4,514 sq mi) is covered by forests; 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) and fields and gardens 2,471 square kilometres (954 sq mi). There are 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 plateaux and valleys to the east. 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 (137.8 in) for the Alps, 800 millimetres (31.5 in) for south-east and 1,400 millimetres (55.1 in) for central Slovenia.
Although on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, most of Slovenia is in the Black Sea drainage basin. The geometric center of gravity of Slovenia is at the geographic coordinates 46°07'11.8" N and 14°48'55.2" E. It lies in Spodnja Slivna near Vače in the municipality of Litija.
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Economy
Slovenia has a high-income developed economy which enjoys the second highest (after Cyprus) GDP per capita ($28,010.76 estimate for 2008[5]) of the new EU countries which is 93% of the EU average.[citation needed] Although the country's relatively high inflation declined to 2.3% in 2006 (prior to adoption of the euro), it recently reached 5.1% year-on-year, exceeding the average in the eurozone. Slovenia's economy has started to grow more strongly in the last few years (7.2% in first quarter of 2007, 5.7% in 2006, 4.1% in 2005), after relatively slow growth in 2003 (2.8%).
Despite economic success, Slovenia faces challenges. Much 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 labor market is seen as inflexible, and industries are losing sales to China, India, and elsewhere.[6]
During the 2000s, privatisations 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. Slovenia is the economic front-runner of the countries that joined the European Union in 2004 and the first new member to adopt the euro on 1 January 2007.
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Numismatics
Slovenian euro coins were first issued for circulation on 1 January 2007 and feature a unique design for each coin. The Slovenian euro coins were the first to feature a new common side, with a new map of Europe on the bicoloured and Nordic-gold coins.
Since January 1, 2007, in such a short time, Slovenia have already built a small collection of collectors' coins, in gold, silver and other metals, with face value ranging from 3 to 100 euro. These coins are a legacy of an old national practice of minting of silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the eurozone. For instance, a €3 Slovenian commemorative coin cannot be used in any other country.
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Demographics
- See also: Roman Catholicism in Slovenia, History of the Jews in Slovenia, and The erased immigrants (Slovene: Izbrisani)
| Ethnic composition of Slovenia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slovene | 83.06% | |||
| Serbian | 1.98% | |||
| Croatian | 1.81% | |||
| Bosnian | 1.10% | |||
| Hungarian | 0.32% | |||
| Albanian | 0.31% | |||
| Macedonian | 0.20% | |||
| Romani | 0.17% | |||
| Montenegrin | 0.14% | |||
| Italian | 0.11% | |||
| other minorities | 1.9% | |||
| undeclared or unknown | 8.9% | |||
| source: 2002 census | ||||
Slovenia's main ethnic group is Slovene (83%). Nationalities from the former Yugoslavia (Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Montenegrin) form 5.3%, and the Hungarian, Albanian, Roma, Italian and other minorities form 2.8% 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. Slovenia ranks number 8 on the list of countries by suicide rate.
| Religion in Slovenia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic | 57.8% | |||
| undeclared or unknown | 22.8% | |||
| Atheist | 10.1% | |||
| Agnostic | 3.5% | |||
| Islam | 2.4% | |||
| Orthodox | 2.3% | |||
| Evangelical | 0.8% | |||
| other religions | 0.3% | |||
| Jewish | 0.0% | |||
| source: 2002 census | ||||
With 99 inhabitants per square kilometre (256/sq mi), Slovenia ranks low among the European countries in population density (compared to 320/km² (829/sq mi) for the Netherlands or 195/km² (505/sq mi) for Italy). The Notranjska-Kras statistical region has the lowest population density while the Central Slovenia has the highest. Approximately 51% of the population lives in urban areas and 49% in rural areas.
The official language is Slovene, which is a member of the South Slavic Slavic language group. Hungarian and Italian enjoy the status of official languages in the ethnically mixed regions along the Hungarian and Italian borders.
By religion, Slovenes are traditionally largely Roman Catholic (57.8% according to the 2002 Census). According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,[7] 37% of Slovenian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 46% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
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Culture
- See also: List of Slovenians, Holidays in Slovenia, Slovene literature, and Music of Slovenia
Slovenia's first book was printed by the Protestant reformer Primož Trubar (1508-1586). It was actually two books, Latin: 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, Slovene: Slava vojvodine Kranjske), published in 1689 by Baron Janez Vajkard Valvasor (1641-1693).
Some of Slovenia's greatest literates were the poets France Prešeren (1800-1849), Srečko Kosovel, Edvard Kocbek and Dane Zajc, as well as the writers Ivan Cankar (1876-1918) and Vladimir Bartol. Alojz Rebula, Drago Jančar, Boris Pahor, Tomaž Šalamun and Aleš Debeljak are the leading names of contemporary Slovene literature, while Aleš Šteger is one of the most noticeable name among newcomers. The most important Slovene painters include Anton Ažbe, Ivana Kobilca, Rihard Jakopič, Božidar Jakac, Avgust Černigoj and Zoran Mušič. The most famed Slovene architects are Jože Plečnik and Max Fabiani.
Slovenia is a homeland of numerous musicians and composers, including Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus (1550-1591), who greatly influenced Central European classical music, and the violin virtuoso Giuseppe Tartini. In the twentieth century, Bojan Adamič was a renowned film music composer and Ivo Petrić (born June 16, 1931), is a composer of European classical music.
Contemporary popular musicians have been Slavko Avsenik, Laibach, Vlado Kreslin, Pero Lovšin, Pankrti, Zoran Predin, Lačni Franz, New Swing Quartet, DJ Umek, Valentino Kanzyani, Siddharta, Big Foot Mama,Terrafolk, Katalena, Magnifico and others.
Slovene 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".
Famous Slovene scholars include the chemist and Nobel prize laureate Friderik Pregl, physicist Jožef Stefan, philosophers Slavoj Žižek and Milan Komar, linguist Franc Miklošič, physician Anton Marko Plenčič, mathematician Jurij Vega, sociologist Thomas Luckmann, theologian Anton Strle and rocket engineer Herman Potočnik.
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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 Dinaric Alps. There is also a small area of the Pannonian plain and a Littoral Region. Much of southwestern Slovenia is characterized by Classical Karst, a very rich, often unexplored underground habitat containing diverse flora and fauna.
More than half of the country (about 58%) 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. Slovenes 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 ft).
Pine trees also grow on the Kras plateau. Only one third of Kras is now covered by pine forest. Before that Kras was covered by oak forest. It is said that most of the forest was chopped down long ago to provide the wooden piles on which the city of Venice now stands. The Kras and White Carniola are well known for the mysterious proteus. The lime/linden tree, also common in Slovenian forests, is a national symbol.
In the Alps, flowers such as Daphne blagayana, various gentians (Gentiana clusii, Gentiana froelichi), Primula auricula, edelweiss (the symbol of Slovene mountaineering), Cypripedium calceolus, Fritillaria meleagris (snake's head fritillary), and Pulsatilla grandis are found.
The country's fauna includes marmots, Alpine ibex, and chamois. There are numerous deer, roe deer, boar, and hares. The edible 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 (Slovene: 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.[8] There are also hedgehogs, martens, and snakes such as vipers and grass snakes. As of March 2005, Slovenia also has a limited population of wolves and around four hundred 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 marble trout or marmorata (Salmo marmoratus). Extensive breeding programmes have been introduced to repopulate the marble trout 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).[9]
Domestic animals originating in Slovenia include the Carniolan honeybee, the indigenous Karst Shepherd 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.
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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
- programmes in ethnically and linguistically mixed areas
Currently there are four universities in Slovenia:
The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Slovenia's education as the 12th best in the world, being significantly higher than the OECD average.[10]
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See also
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References
- ^ IMF database
- ^ Ogrin, Darko (August 2004). Modern climate change in Slovenia. Slovenia: a geographical overview. Association of the Geographical Societies of Slovenia. Retrieved on 2008-04-01.
- ^ Hierarchical list of the Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics - NUTS and the Statistical regions of Europe. European Union. Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
- ^ PM Jansa: Government to resubmit the law establishing regions with partial amendments. Government Communication Office (2008-02-14). Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
- ^ Report for Selected Countries and Subjects. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
- ^ The World Factbook 2007 -- Slovenia, Economy.
- ^ Eurobarometer on Social Values, Science and technology 2005 - page 11. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
- ^ (Slovene) Maja Berden Zrimec (May 2005). "Šakali". GEA (journal). Retrieved on 2006-04-06.
- ^ Delfini pri nas (Slovene). Morigenos. Retrieved on 2006-04-06.
- ^ Table: Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale. PISA 2006. OECD (2007-12-04). Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
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External links
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- General information
- Slovenia: a geographical overview. Published by the Association of the Geographical Societies of Slovenia.
- The Republic of Slovenia. Government links.
- Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
- The Slovenian Tourist portal. Published by the Slovenian Tourist Board.
- The Slovenia Times. The only general newspaper on Slovenian affairs in English.
- Maps and pictures
- GeaBios. Interactive maps and aerial orthophotos of Slovenia, scale from 1:2,500,000 to 1:2,500 (see also GeaBios)
- Slovenia - Landmarks. A site featuring virtual reality panoramas of various spots in the country.
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