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.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 2,009,245 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 13.7% (male 141,670/female 133,720) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 712,409/female 700,844) 65 years and over: 16% (male 124,264/female 196,338) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 41 years male: 39.4 years female: 42.6 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: -0.065% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 9 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 10.41 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.059 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.017 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.633 male(s)/female total population: 0.949 male(s)/female (2007 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 4.35 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.53 years male: 72.84 years female: 80.47 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.26 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 280 (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Slovene(s) adjective: Slovenian

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Ethnic groups: Slovene 83.1%, Serb 2%, Croat 1.8%, Bosniak 1.1%, other or unspecified 12% (2002 census)

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Religions: Catholic 57.8%, Muslim 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3%, other Christian 0.9%, unaffiliated 3.5%, other or unspecified 23%, none 10.1% (2002 census)

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Languages: Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4% (2002 census)

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Literacy: definition: NA total population: 99.7% male: 99.7% female: 99.6%

With a GDP per capita substantially greater than the other transitioning economies of Central Europe, Slovenia is a model of economic success and stability for its neighbors from the former Yugoslavia. The country, which joined the EU in May 2004 and joined the eurozone on 1 January 2007, has excellent infrastructure, a well-educated work force, and an excellent central location. Privatization of the economy proceeded at an accelerated pace in 2002-05. Despite lackluster economic performance in Europe in 2001-05, Slovenia maintained moderate growth. Structural reforms to improve the business environment have allowed for 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. Despite its economic success, Slovenia faces growing challenges. Much of the economy remains in state hands and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Slovenia is one of the lowest in the EU on a per capita basis. Although tax reforms were implemented in December 2006, taxes are still relatively high. The labor market is often seen as inflexible, and legacy industries are losing sales to more competitive firms in China, India, and elsewhere. The current center-right government, elected in October 2004, has pledged to accelerate privatization of a number of large state holdings and is interested in increasing FDI in Slovenia. In late 2005, the government's new Committee for Economic Reforms was elevated to cabinet-level status. The Committee's program includes plans for lowering the tax burden, privatizing state-controlled firms, improving the flexibility of the labor market, and increasing the government's efficiency.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $47.01 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $37.92 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 5.2% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $23,400 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2.3% industry: 34.1% services: 63.6% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 1.026 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 4.8% industry: 39.1% services: 56.1% (2004)

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Unemployment rate: 9.6% (2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 12.9% (2004)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 21.4% (1998)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 28.4 (1998)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 25.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $15.9 billion expenditures: $16.35 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 29% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: potatoes, hops, wheat, sugar beets, corn, grapes; cattle, sheep, poultry

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Industries: ferrous metallurgy and aluminum products, lead and zinc smelting; electronics (including military electronics), trucks, automobiles, electric power equipment, wood products, textiles, chemicals, machine tools

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Industrial production growth rate: 5.6% (2006)

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Electricity - production: 14.9 billion kWh (2006)

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Electricity - consumption: 13.71 billion kWh (2006)

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Electricity - exports: 4.8 billion kWh (2006)

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Electricity - imports: 4.07 billion kWh (2006)

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Oil - production: 8 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 53,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 1.1 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 1.1 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$789.2 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $21.85 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food

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Exports - partners: Germany 20.1%, Italy 13%, Croatia 9.1%, Austria 8.8%, France 6.5%, Russia 4.4% (2006)

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Imports: $23.59 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, food

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Imports - partners: Germany 19.7%, Italy 18.1%, Austria 11.9%, France 6%, Croatia 4.7% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $8.631 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $29.09 billion (30 October 2006)

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Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $484 million (2004-06) note: in March 2004, Slovenia became the first transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor partner at the World Bank

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Currency (code): euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 2007, the euro became Slovenia's currency; both the tolar and the euro were in circulation from 1 January until 15 January 2007

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Exchange rates: tolars per US dollar - 190.85 (2006), 192.71 (2005), 192.38 (2004), 207.11 (2003), 240.25 (2002) note: Slovenia adopted the euro as its currency on 1 January 2007

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Fiscal year: calendar year