An Overview of Slovenia
The Republic of Slovenia is almost completely landlocked, with just a short coast, of about 40km, along the Adriatic. It has borders with Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast and Austria to the north.
It was part of Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991. It is a member of the EU since 2004, and became part of the Eurozone, adopting the Euro as its currency, in January 2007.
General Information about Slovenia
Capital: Ljubljana (pronounce: lee-ooh-blee-aah-nah)
Official languages: Slovenian, Italian, Hungarian
Population: 2,011,070
Currency: Euro
Calling code: +386
Religion
By tradition, Slovenians have been largely Roman Catholic, although the number of people stating that they are Catholic is falling, from 71.6% in 1991 to 57.8% in 2002. It is largely a secular state, there is full freedom of expression of religion and many churches are active.
Climate
On the coast the climate is typical of the Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters.
The plateaus and valleys to the east have a continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters, while the the northern alpine regions there is a typical Alpine climate, with lots of winter snow and sunny clear summers.