About the size of the state of New Jersey and half the size of Switzerland, Slovenia is located in Central Europe, bordered by Austria to the north, Croatia to the south, Hungary to the east and Italy to the west. It is a country of amazing variety, with glorious mountains, dense green forests, alpine lakes and deep blue Mediterranean sea, and rich agricultural plains. Located at the crossroads of Europe, Slovenia has a diverse historical and cultural heritage.

It is divided into several traditional regions: Gorenjska, Štajerska, Prekmurje, Koroška, Notranjska, Dolenjska, Goriška, Slovenska Istra.

Forests cover half of the territory (the 3^rd most forested country in Europe, after Finland and Sweden). There are also 363 km2 of orchards and 216 km2 of vineyards.

The country has a high-income, well developed economy, and enjoys the second highest (after Cyprus) GDP per capita of the twelve newest members of the European Union (around 91% of the EU average).

Slovenia has been a member of the EU since 2004 and serves as the president of the EU in the first half of 2008. In January 2007, the Euro became Slovenia’s currency.

THE FLAG OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

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 COAT OF ARMS

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 General information:

• Political system: Democratic parliamentary republic
• National flag: Horizontal stripes in white, blue and red with Slovenian coat of arms on its left upper side
• Coat of arms: Three six-pointed yellow stars are symbols of the Counts of Celje with Triglav as a symbol of Slovenehood and underlying two wavy lines symbolizing Slovenian rivers and the sea
• Area: 20,273 km2
• Population: 1,996,433
• Capital: Ljubljana (258,873)
• Largest cities: Maribor (114,349), Kranj (51,225), Celje (37,834), Koper (23,726)
• Religion: Roman Catholic (57,8%); Agnostic (3,5%); Islam (2,4%); Orthodox (2,3%); Atheist and undeclared (32,9%)

• Climate: Alpine, Continental, Mediterranean
• Time zone: Central European Time GMT+1
• Language: Slovenian

• Currency: Euro (EUR), since 2007
• Anthem: The seventh stanza of Zdravljica, a poem by France Preseren
• State holidays: June 25-Statehood Day, December 26-Independence and Unity Day
• Phone dial code: +386

Did you know that...?

• …smoking has not been allowed in any public building since August 2007...

• …Slovenians describe themselves as honest, a bit envious of each other, and good singers, who enjoy a good glass of wine...
• …Slovenia is a member of several international organisations:

     - United Nations, 1992
     - OSCE, 1992
     - World Health Organisation (WHO), 1992
     - UNICEF, 1992
     - International Monetary Fund, 1993
     - WTO - World Trade Organisation, 1995
     - NATO, 2004
     - EU, 2004

• …Leon Stukelj (1898-1999) - gymnast (won 8 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze medals in his long career) was invited to the Olympic Games in Atlanta 1996 as a guest of honor, where he was enthusiastically welcomed by thousands of spectators, including former US President Bill Clinton...
•  …the annual final competition of the ski-jumping World Cup each year takes place at Planica, the largest natural ski jump in the world...
•  …the most stylish youth hostel in Slovenia was originally a prison inside a military compound. It is called CELICA (“The Cell”)...

• …Slovenia has around 8,000 beekeepers...
• …Slovenians received their first book in the Slovenian language more than 455 years ago (published in 1550 by the Protestant reformer Primož Trubar)...
• … greatest Slovenian poet of all times was France Prešeren (who was the author of our national anthem). He has been described as the Slovenian Shakespeare...
• … Slovenian experts also play a role in one of the worlds most technologically demanding fields-aircraft manufacture...
• ..mathematician Jurij Vega (1754-1802) published the books of logarithem tables (unparalleled aid for computations) and that one of the craters on the Moon is named after him..
• …Martin Strel’s name appears in the Guinness Book of Records several times. He holds the world record for uninterrupted long-distance swimming...

• …The highest mountain in Slovenia is called Triglav - the name meaning "three-heads" - and it is 2,864m high. The mountain is a national symbol, featured on the national coat of arms and the flag...
• …Slovenia is one of the rare countries in Europe with a healthy and growing population of brown bears. Some Slovenian proverbs and sayings reflect our fondness for these creatures:   

Ne prodajaj koze, dokler je medved se v brlogu which means Don`t sell the skin while the bear is still in its den

Medvedja usluga which means A bear`s favor - a favor that does more harm than good.