ABSTRACT
One of the newest and smallest countries in central Europe, Slovenia is a former Yugoslav republic bordering Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Italy and the Mediterranean Sea. Covering some 20,250 square kilometres (7,800 square miles), it has a population of just over 2 million, of which 91 per cent are native Slovenes, just over 0.5 per cent are Hungarian, 0.1 per cent Italian and the remainder are mostly immigrants from other republics of the former Yugoslavia. The capital of the republic is Ljubljana (300,000 inhabitants), a city with all the usual national foundations – an Academy of Sciences and Arts, a university, theatres, opera house, two philharmonic orchestras and various art galleries. Other major cities are Maribor, Celje, Kranj, Koper, Novo mesto, and Nova Gorica.
