Slovenia

The Slovene lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the latter's dissolution at the end of World War I. In 1918, the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new multinational state, which was named Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though Communist, distanced itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power by the majority Serbs, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991 after a short 10-day war. Historical ties to Western Europe, a strong economy, and a stable democracy have assisted in Slovenia's transformation to a modern state. Slovenia acceded to both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004; it joined the eurozone in 2007.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: Euro (ISO code: EUR)
 * Central bank discount rate: 3% (31 December 2008)
 * Commercial banks lending rate: 7.41% (31 December 2008)
 * Stock of money (M1): $10.5 billion (30 September 2009)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $15.9 billion (30 September 2009)

Notable events:

 * Banking crisis: 1993-1994

Links

 * Slovenia on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of Slovenia
 * Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
 * BBC country profile