Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana.
At various points in Slovenia's history, the country has been part of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Carantania (only modern Slovenia's northern part), the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire (later known as Austria-Hungary), the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929) between the two World Wars, and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991.
Slovenia is the only former communist state to be at the same time a member of the European Union (currently holding its rotating presidency), the Eurozone, the Schengen area, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and NATO. Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps, the Dinarides, the Pannonian plain, and the Mediterranean. Slovenia's highest peak is Triglav (2,864 m; 9,396 ft); the country's average height above sea level is 557 metres (1,827 ft). Around half of the country (11,691 km²; 4,514 sq mi) is covered by forests; the third most forested country in Europe, after Finland and Sweden. Remnants of primeval forests are still to be found, the largest in the Ko?evje area. Grassland covers 5,593 square kilometres (2,159 sq mi) and fields and gardens 2,471 square kilometres (954 sq mi). There are 363 square kilometres (140 sq mi) of orchards and 216 square kilometres (83 sq mi) of vineyards.
Its climate is submediterranean on the coast, aAlpine in the mountains and continental with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaux and valleys to the east. Average temperatures are -2 °C (28 °F) in January and 21 °C (70 °F) in July. The average rainfall is 1,000 millimetres (39.4 in) for the coast, up to 3,500 millimetres (137.8 in) for the Alps, 800 millimetres (31.5 in) for south-east and 1,400 millimetres (55.1 in) for central Slovenia.
Although on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, most of Slovenia is in the Black Sea drainage basin. The geometric center of gravity of Slovenia is at the geographic coordinates 46°07'11.8" N and 14°48'55.2" E. It lies in Spodnja Slivna near Va?e in the municipality of Litija. |
