About Slovenia
Slovenia (/slɵˈviːniə/ sloh-VEE-nee-ə or /sloʊˈvɛniə/; Slovene: Slovenija, [slɔˈvéːnija]), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija, [rɛˈpùːblika slɔˈvèːnija] ( ), Slovene abbreviation: RS [rəˈsə̀]), is a nation state on the Adriatic Sea, bordering Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Croatia to the south and southeast, and Hungary to the northeast. It covers 20,273 square kilometers (7,827 sq mi) and has a population of 2.05 million. It is a parliamentary republic and a member of the European Union and NATO. Its capital and largest city is Ljubljana.
The territory, located in southern Central Europe at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes, is mainly mountainous with mainly continental climate, with the exception of the Slovene Littoral that has the sub-Mediterranean climate and the north-western area that has the Alpine climate. Additionally, Dinaric Alps and the Pannonian Plain meet on the territory of Slovenia. The country, marked by a significant biological diversity, is one of the most water-rich in Europe, with a dense river network, a rich aquifer system, and significant karstic underground watercourses. Over half of the territory is covered by forest. The human settlement of Slovenia is dispersed and uneven.
The Slavic, Germanic, Romance, and Hungarian languages meet here. Although the population is not homogenous, the majority is Slovene. Slovene is the only official language throughout the country, whereas Italian and Hungarian are regional minority languages. Slovenia is a largely secularized country, but its culture and identity have been significantly influenced by Catholicism as well as Lutheranism. The economy of Slovenia is small, open, and export-oriented and has been strongly influenced by international conditions. It has been severely hurt by the Eurozone crisis, started in late 2000s. The main economic field is services, followed by industry and construction.
Historically, the current territory of Slovenia was part of many different state formations, including the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, followed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In October 1918, the Slovenes exercised self-determination for the first time by co-founding the internationally unrecognized State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which merged that December with the Kingdom of Serbia into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929). During World War II, Slovenia was occupied and annexed by Germany, Italy, Croatia, and Hungary. Afterward, it was a founding member of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, later renamed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In June 1991, after the introduction of multi-party representative democracy, Slovenia split from Yugoslavia and became an independent country. In 2004, it entered NATO and the European Union; in 2007 became the first former Communist country to join the Eurozone; and in 2010 joined the OECD, a global association of high-income developed countries.
