The mountainous country of Slovenia lies at the junction of the Alps and the Dinaric Alps, which run down the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. The Julian and Karavanke ranges stretch along the northern border with Austria. Forests cover two-thirds of the country. Slovenia has a mostly continental climate with warm summers and cold winters—thick snow blankets the northern mountains during winter months. Near the short coast, the climate is warm and rainy for much of the year and winters are short and mild. Until it became independent in 1992, Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia.

People

The Slovenes are a South Slavic people who first settled in the region in the 6th century. Their language, Slovenian, is similar to Czech, Slovak and Polish. Slovenes have kept their language and folk traditions alive despite being ruled by German-speaking Austrians for much of their history. Most people live in small towns and villages in the valleys. Even the capital, Ljubljana, is small by comparison with most of Europe’s capital cities.

Economy

During the 20th century, Slovenia was the most economically developed of the six Yugoslav republics. It was known for manufacturing heavy goods, including steel and chemicals. Today, about two-thirds of people work in services, such as finance, education and tourism. Manufacturing is still important too; skilled workers in Slovenia’s factories produce cars, machinery, electrical equipment and medicines.

Karst

Lying in western Slovenia is the Kras Plateau, or “Karst”. It is famous for its dramatic limestone landscape. The rock has been eroded over time by water and weather, creating enormous caves with underground rivers, deep gorges and sinkholes. The Škocjan caves are some of the largest known underground canyons in the world. In the late 15th century, scientists in Slovenia were the first to study the geography of the region. Because of their work, all similar limestone landscapes around the world today are known as “karst”.

Facts about Slovenia

Population 2,130,850 (2024 estimate)

Area 20,151 sq km

Highest point Triglav 2863 m (9391 ft)

Capital Ljubljana, population 288,382

Other major cities Maribor (pop. 95,767), Celje (37,628), Kranj (37,223)

Language Slovenian

Religions Christian (Roman Catholic) 58%, Muslim 2%, Christian (Orthodox) 2%, others and none 38%

Ethnicity Slovene 83%, Serb 2%, Croat 2%, Bosniak 1%, others 12%

Currency Euro (EUR)

Chief exports machinery, cars and transport equipment, chemicals, medicines