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 Slovenia| Facts & Figures |
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| President: Danilo Türk (2007) Prime Minister: Borut Pahor
(2008) Land area: 7,780 sq mi (20,151 sq km);
total area: 7,827 sq mi (20,273 sq km) Population (2009 est.): 2,005,692 (growth
rate: -0.1%); birth rate: 9.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.2/1000;
life expectancy: 76.9; density per sq mi: 257
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Ljubljana, 258,000 Other large city: Maribor, 92,400 Monetary unit: Slovenian tolar; euro (as of
1/1/07) More Facts & Figures |
GeographySlovenia occupies an area about the size of the state of Massachusetts.
It is largely a mountainous republic and almost half of the land is
forested, with hilly plains spread across the central and eastern regions.
Mount Triglav, the highest peak, rises to 9,393 ft (2,864 m).
GovernmentParliamentary democratic republic.
HistorySlovenia was originally settled by Illyrian and Celtic peoples. It
became part of the Roman Empire in the first century
B.C.
The Slovenes were a south Slavic group that settled in the region in
the 6th century
A.D.
During the 7th century,
the Slavs established the state of Samu, which owed its allegiance to the
Avars, who dominated the Hungarian plain until Charlemagne defeated them
in the late 8th century.
When the Hungarians were defeated by the Turks in 1526, Hungary
accepted Austrian Hapsburg rule in order to escape Turkish domination; the
Hapsburg monarchy was the first to include all of the Slovene regions.
Thus, Slovenia and Croatia became part of the Austro-Hungarian kingdom
when the dual monarchy was established in 1867. Like Croatia and unlike
the other Balkan states, it is primarily Roman Catholic.
Following the defeat and collapse of Austria-Hungary in World War I,
Slovenia declared its independence. It formally joined with Montenegro,
Serbia, and Croatia on Dec. 4, 1918, to form the new nation called the
Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The name was later changed to
Yugoslavia in 1929.
During World War II, Germany occupied Yugoslavia, and Slovenia was
divided among Germany, Italy, and Hungary. For the duration of the war
many Slovenes fought a guerrilla war against the Nazis under the
leadership of the Croatian-born Communist resistance leader, Marshal Tito.
After the final defeat of the Axis powers in 1945, Slovenia was again made
into a republic of the newly established Communist nation of
Yugoslavia.
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