Chief of State: Janez Drnovsek
Prime Minister: Anton Rop
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Dimitrij Rupel

Area: 20,273 Km²
Population: 1,994,026 inhabitants (2001)
Capital: Ljubljiana
Language: Slovenian (90%) (Italian and Hungarian in some areas)
Currency: Thaler
Unemployment: 6.4%

GDP: 22.3 billion euro
Per Capita GDP: 11,670 euro
Growth Rate: 3%
Inflation: 7.5%
Debt/GDP: 27.5% (2001)
Deficit/GDP: -1.8%
Eurostat 2002

Country

Slovenia broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991. It is a Parliamentary Republic, with a Parliament is composed of: the Chamber of Deputies, a legislative body composed of 90 members elected every four years, and the State Council, a consultative body renewed every five years and composed of 40 members representing local councils in addition to professional and socio-economic interests. The officially recognised Italian and Hungarian indigenous minorities each have a seat in the Chamber of Deputies. The President of the Republic is elected every five years. Janez Drnovsek became President as a result of the last presidential elections in December 2002. He had already been leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDS) and Prime Minister for extended periods from 1992 onwards. Since December 2002 the Government has been led by the former Finance Minister, Anton Rop. The wide coalition supporting his government is the same that backed the previous legislation and remains centred on Drnovsek and Rop's Liberal-Democratic Party (LDS), whose main ally is the Union of Social Democrats (ZLSD); these parties are joined by the Slovenian People's Party (SLS), the Pensioners' Party (DeSUS) and other movements such as the Young People's Party (SMS).

Foreign Policy

In the referendum of 23 March 2003, a large majority of Slovenians voted in favour of entering the European Union (almost 90%) and NATO (over 66%). This represented the achievement of two strategic Slovenian foreign policy objectives and the culmination of 12 years of economic growth and political stability. The related procedures are scheduled for completion in the first half of 2004, when Slovenia will become a full member of the EU (1 May) and of NATO.

Economy

During its process of transition towards a fully-fledged market economy, in recent years Slovenia has seen stable growth in the main macro-economic indicators (even inflation, despite its relatively high levels, is gradually falling). This has allowed the country to become more competitive and thus to prepare itself for accession to the European Union. Some structural reforms still remain to be completed, such as those regarding the process of privatisation and the drafting of strategies to attract further foreign investments. Despite a cyclical economic slow-down in 2001-2002, Slovenia has managed to maintain an average annual growth of 3%. The services sector remains the main GDP contributor, accounting for 61% of the total. The metallurgic, electronics, textiles, chemical and wood industries account for 36% of the nation's income, and agriculture for 3%. According to European Commission forecasts the GDP should increase by 3% in 2003.

Links

Government
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Source: Italian EU Presidency 2003