SLOVENIA. – This is the northernmost of the historical regions of the Yugoslav State, in which it occupies a place of its own, given the originality of its population, which traditions and language distinguish from the neighboring South Slavs.
In its northern part, the territory consists of a series of elevations (the Caravanche, Kamniske Alpe and Slovenske Gorice) that continue our Carnic Alps: the landscape is rugged and wooded in the higher areas, well cultivated and cheerful in the zones sloping down toward the valleys of the Sava and the Drava; and of a southern zone of distinctly karstic type, in which barren plateaus alternate with wooded hills, the valley floors of the major rivers, and more or less extensive subsidence basins (Lubiana). S. is a country with a fairly varied economy, owing to the diversity of its resources. The forests (43% of the territory) supply, among other things, more than one industry (cellulose, paper, chemical products); agriculture produces, in addition to cereals, the characteristic and widespread crop of plums; the meadows and pastures support rational livestock breeding (cattle, with substantial dairy production); the mineral resources (lead, zinc, antimony and, above all, lignite) support a complex of other industries, among which the metallurgical (lead and zinc foundries), mechanical and textile industries stand out. The hydroelectric resources (Drava and Sava) are also considerable.
S., which was one of the three units composing the Yugoslav State at the time of its creation, is today one of the six federated Republics of the Yugoslav Federation (F.N.R.J.); its territory covers 20,445 sq km and has (1950) 1.5 million inhabitants (density 68 per sq km; in northern S. it exceeds 100 per sq km in various areas). Of all the regions of Yugoslavia, S. is the one closest, in appearance and customs, to Western Europe. The Slovenes, who once extended branches into Hungary, Venezia Giulia and Friuli, suffered continuous territorial losses during the long German domination; in compensation, they absorbed qualities and traits of German culture and customs. Despite S.’s considerable industrial development, its urban centers are relatively few; after Lubiana, the capital (121,000 inhabitants), Maribor (86,000 inhabitants) and Celje (22,000 inhabitants) should be mentioned, noteworthy for their industries.