Slovenia is located in central European, where four major European geographic landscapes meet: the Alps, the Dinaric area, the Pannonian plain and the Mediterranean. It borders Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy. It is one of the most water-rich countries in Europe. Over a half of its surface area is covered by forests. 8% of the territory is under environmental protection.

According to the most recent population census from 2002, Slovenia’s population counts a little under 2 million over an area of 20,273 km2. The country is divided into 12 statistical regions and 193 municipal communities. The largest cities are the capital Ljubljana, Maribor and Celje. Ljubljana, which is home to the head offices of one third of all Slovenian enterprises, has the strongest economic and financial potential in the country.

The main industrial sectors in Slovenia are the automotive, tool, transport and wood industries. The telecom and pharmaceutical sectors are emerging. Tourism is an important economic activity. With the exception of Malta and Cyprus, Slovenia has the largest percentage of foreign tourists among the new EU member states.

Industry traditionally plays a predominant role in the Slovenian economy, but is now losing some of its importance, while the service sector is growing. Services stand for 61.5% of the national GDP, industry 30%, construction 5.5% and agriculture 3%. The unemployment level in 2003 was 6.7%.

In the 1990s, Slovenia underwent huge system changes, which included privatisation, liberalisation of the market, macroeconomic stabilisation, associate membership in the EU, and in May 2004 full EU membership. The Slovenian economy has gradually adopted the structure of a developed economic market, but the percentage of innovative companies is still far below the EU average.

The Universities in Ljubljana and Maribor, Institute Jozef Stefan and the Institute for Ecomonic Research are important innovation and R&D actors in Slovenia. Technology parks are located in Ljubljana, Maribor and Koper. There is also a National Agency for Development, 12 Regional Development Agencies and a National Small Business Development Centre.

More information on IRE website: Slovenia

Regional profile