Ljubljana related
Looking through a recent report on immigration and Slovenia, we found an interesting table at the end, created using Eurostat data, showing the number of foreign citizens registered as resident in Slovenia by country of birth. The headline news was that out of total of 2,066,880 people living in Slovenia (as of January 2018), 250,226 were born in another country, with the vast majority (86%) being from other Ex-Yugoslavian nations.
Related: The places where foreigners live in Slovenia and where they come from (July 2016 data)
Since such figures are of obvious interest to our readers, we reproduce them below in two forms. First, place of birth ranked by number of residents, and second (you can jump there here) in alphabetical order. Note that continents and regions are also included in the data, and we know that Africa is not a country.
Place of birth, by number
Slovenia 1,816,654
Bosnia and Herzegovina 107,676
Croatia 44,994
Serbia 25,372
Northern Macedonia 17,128
Kosovo 17,050
Germany 7,255
Italy 4,136
Montenegro 3,344
Russia 3,009
Asia 2,966
Austria 2,641
Ukraine 2,495
Americas 2,358
Bulgaria 1,241
North America 1,140
East Asia 1,123
France 1,119
China including Hong Kong 977
Switzerland 922
South America 832
Africa 822
United States 768
United Kingdom 642
West Asia 554
Slovakia 541
South East Asia 529
South Asia 464
Hungary 429
Argentina 413
Romania 407
Poland 392
Canada 372
Oceania 372
Australia and New Zealand 368
Czech Republic 363
Moldova 361
Australia 342
Netherlands 336
North Africa 333
Sweden 324
Belgium 308
Central Asia 296
Caribbean 288
Thailand 269
West Africa 214
Syria 199
Belarus 192
Kazakhstan 187
Dominican
Republic of 185
Turkey 184
India 181
Spain 179
Brazil 165
East Africa 164
Philippines 150
Iran 143
Egypt 127
Albania 126
Greece 119
Central America 98
Iraq 93
Japan 87
Cuba 85
Mexico 78
Tunisia 78
Venezuela 75
Uzbekistan 70
Denmark 68
Nigeria 64
South Africa 62
Jordan 60
Portugal 59
Ireland 58
South Africa (Rep.) 58
Ghana 56
Indonesia 56
Peru 56
Central Africa 49
Colombia 49
Libya 47
Pakistan 46
Lithuania 46
Israel 42
Luxembourg 41
Afghanistan 38
Finland 37
Algeria 37
Chile 36
South Korea 35
Kenya 33
Morocco 31
Guinea-Bissau 31
Lebanon 30
Nepal 28
New Zealand 27
Eritrea 26
Somalia 25
Azerbaijan 25
Georgia 24
Norway 23
Cameroon 23
Estonia 22
Vietnam 22
Taiwan 22
Saudi Arabia 21
Gambia 20
Kyrgyzstan 13
Madagascar 18
Armenia 18
Sri Lanka 17
United Arab Emirates 17
Ethiopia 16
Zimbabwe 15
Yemen 15
Uruguay 14
Bangladesh 13
Kuwait 12
Sudan 12
Turkmenistan 12
Bolivia 12
Democratic Republic of Congo 11
Malaysia 11
Ecuador 11
Liberia 10
Liechtenstein 10
Singapore 9
Tajikistan 9
Congo 9
Cambodia 8
Cyprus 7
Guinea 7
Jamaica 7
Malta 7
Mauritius 7
Zambia 7
Burkina Faso 7
Iceland 6
Costa Rica 6
Sierra Leone 5
Uganda 5
Belize 5
Burundi 4
Cape Verde 4
Mali 4
Mongolia 4
Mozambique 4
Nicaragua 4
Palestine 4
Senegal 4
Trinidad and Tobago 4
Angola 4
Ivory Coast 3
Honduras 3
Laos 3
Malawi 3
Melanesia 3
Namibia 3
Paraguay 3
Tanzania 3
Barbados 3
Central African Republic 2
Guyana 2
Haiti 2
Myanmar / Burma 2
Panama 2
Papua New Guinea 2
Qatar 2
Rwanda 2
Western Sahara 2
Aruba (NL) 2
Benin 1
Botswana 1
Chad 1
Dominica 1
Salvador 1
Fiji 1
Former Netherlands Antilles 1
Gabon 1
Guatemala 1
Maldives 1
North Korea 1
Oman 1
Polynesia 1
San Marino 1
St. Thomas and Prince 1
Togo 1
Wallis and Futuna 1
Andorra 1
In alphabetical order
Afghanistan 38
Africa 822
Albania 126
Algeria 37
Americas 2,358
Andorra 1
Angola 4
Argentina 413
Armenia 18
Aruba (NL) 2
Asia 2,966
Australia 342
Australia and New Zealand 368
Austria 2,641
Azerbaijan 25
Bangladesh 13
Barbados 3
Belarus 192
Belgium 308
Belize 5
Benin 1
Bolivia 12
Bosnia and Herzegovina 107,676
Botswana 1
Brazil 165
Bulgaria 1,241
Burkina Faso 7
Burundi 4
Cambodia 8
Cameroon 23
Canada 372
Cape Verde 4
Caribbean 288
Central Africa 49
Central African Republic 2
Central America 98
Central Asia 296
Chad 1
Chile 36
China including Hong Kong 977
Colombia 49
Congo 9
Costa Rica 6
Croatia 44,994
Cuba 85
Cyprus 7
Czech Republic 363
Democratic Republic of Congo 11
Denmark 68
Dominica 1
Dominican
East Africa 164
East Asia 1,123
Ecuador 11
Egypt 127
Eritrea 26
Estonia 22
Ethiopia 16
Fiji 1
Finland 37
Former Netherlands Antilles 1
France 1,119
Gabon 1
Gambia 20
Georgia 24
Germany 7,255
Ghana 56
Greece 119
Guatemala 1
Guinea 7
Guinea-Bissau 31
Guyana 2
Haiti 2
Honduras 3
Hungary 429
Iceland 6
India 181
Indonesia 56
Iran 143
Iraq 93
Ireland 58
Israel 42
Italy 4,136
Ivory Coast 3
Jamaica 7
Japan 87
Jordan 60
Kazakhstan 187
Kenya 33
Kosovo 17,050
Kuwait 12
Kyrgyzstan 13
Laos 3
Lebanon 30
Liberia 10
Libya 47
Liechtenstein 10
Lithuania 46
Luxembourg 41
Madagascar 18
Malawi 3
Malaysia 11
Maldives 1
Mali 4
Malta 7
Mauritius 7
Melanesia 3
Mexico 78
Moldova 361
Mongolia 4
Montenegro 3,344
Morocco 31
Mozambique 4
Myanmar / Burma 2
Namibia 3
Nepal 28
Netherlands 336
New Zealand 27
Nicaragua 4
Nigeria 64
North Africa 333
North America 1,140
North Korea 1
Northern Macedonia 17,128
Norway 23
Oceania 372
Oman 1
Pakistan 46
Palestine 4
Panama 2
Papua New Guinea 2
Paraguay 3
Peru 56
Philippines 150
Poland 392
Polynesia 1
Portugal 59
Qatar 2
Republic of 185
Romania 407
Russia 3,009
Rwanda 2
Salvador 1
San Marino 1
Saudi Arabia 21
Senegal 4
Serbia 25,372
Sierra Leone 5
Singapore 9
Slovakia 541
Slovenia 1,816,654
Somalia 25
South Africa (Rep.) 58
South Africa 62
South America 832
South Asia 464
South East Asia 529
South Korea 35
Spain 179
Sri Lanka 17
St. Thomas and Prince 1
Sudan 12
Sweden 324
Switzerland 922
Syria 199
Taiwan 22
Tajikistan 9
Tanzania 3
Thailand 269
Togo 1
Trinidad and Tobago 4
Tunisia 78
Turkey 184
Turkmenistan 12
Uganda 5
Ukraine 2,495
United Arab Emirates 17
United Kingdom 642
United States 768
Uruguay 14
Uzbekistan 70
Venezuela 75
Vietnam 22
Wallis and Futuna 1
West Africa 214
West Asia 554
Western Sahara 2
Yemen 15
Zambia 7
Zimbabwe 15
STA, 14 May 2019 - Although the general belief in Slovenia is that immigrants from the Western Balkan countries are mostly unqualified labourers, a survey presented by the charity Caritas on Tuesday suggests that most immigrants have secondary education and are often overqualified for the work they do in Slovenia.
Interestingly, Slovenia also does not export only young educated people but also unqualified workers and the number of people leaving the county almost matches the number of people moving into Slovenia, says the publication Our Common Home (Naš skupni dom), funded by the European Commission and the Slovenian Foreign Ministry.
In 2017, 17,555 people moved out of the country, mostly to other EU countries, while 18,808 people moved to Slovenia.
Slovenians living abroad significantly contribute to the development of Slovenia, the authors say. "Our data show that the Slovenian diaspora contributes more (to Slovenia) than the immigrants here contribute to their source countries," a co-author of the publication, Nina Stenko Primožič, said at today's presentation.
Most migrants in Slovenia (86%) were born in one of the Western Balkan countries. According to Eurostat data from 2018, 108,000 of them were born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 45,000 in Croatia, 25,000 in Serbia, 17,000 in Kosovo, 17,000 in North Macedonia and 3,300 in Montenegro.
Most of the people moving to Slovenia have finished high school but since they could not find a job that would suit their education, they take on jobs for which they are overqualified and accept lower pay.
However, most young people from the Western Balkan countries who currently reside in Slovenia are highly qualified and often work as experts.
In 2015, 10% of female immigrants and 8% of male immigrants in Slovenia had tertiary education. Among Slovenians, the share of people with tertiary education was higher, at 25.7%. But the authors of the publication note that not all highly qualified people from the Western Balkans move to Slovenia.
Foreign students accounted for 4.5% of all students in tertiary education in Slovenia in 2017/2018, according to data by the Statistics Office. Most of them (over 90%) came from the Western Balkan countries, especially North Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, and EU countries (mostly Croatia).
Among migrants from non-EU countries, most came from Russia (3,000), China (977), the US (768), Argentina (456) and Canada (372). Migrants from Russia were highly educated (more than 50% of men and 43% of women had tertiary education). Among South Americans, 35% of men and 40% of women finished tertiary education.
Since the end of the crisis, companies and public institutions in Slovenia are trying to attract highly qualified staff from abroad, doctors in particular. In mid-2018, the government prepared legislative changes facilitating the hiring of doctors from non-EU countries.
According to data from 2016, 13% of the 7,500 doctors in Slovenia were foreigners.
The biggest share of migrants from the EU (24%) live in central Slovenia, 18% in Podravje in the north-east and 14% in the western and coastal region.
Most people from Bosnia-Herzegovina live in central Slovenia as do more than half of those from Montenegro and almost 40% of those from Serbia.
People from Albania and Kosovo are more widespread around the country, mostly because of their family businesses.
Many migrants who moved to Slovenia while it was still a part of Yugoslavia live in the areas which used to be strong industrial centres.
According to Eurostat data, just over 250,000 people living in Slovenia at the beginning of 2018 were born outside the country, which is 12.1% of the population. More than a half of them had Slovenian citizenship.
The publication is a part of the project MIND (Migration. Interconnectedness. Development.), financed by the European Commission and led by Caritas Austria with Caritas Europa in the co-lead and ten further Caritas organisations as partners.
The full report, in Slovenian, can be found here
STA, 28 April - Forty-seven people died in Slovenia in 2017 of causes related to drug abuse, seven more than in 2016, shows data from the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ).
Drug-related deaths have been rising since 2013. In 2017, one person who died was a teenager aged 15-19, four were aged 20-24, and as many as 16 were older than 45.
The vast majority of the casualties, or 79%, were men, according to the NIJZ's publication on illegal drugs in Slovenia in 2017 and in the first half of 2018.
The majority of the deaths from 2017 resulted from heroin and cocaine intoxication, 18 and 14, respectively.
As many as seven resulted from other synthetic opioids, and there were eight intentional intoxications, or overdoses.
Marijuana remains the most popular illegal drug
Police processed almost 2,000 criminal acts related to illegal drugs, with cannabis accounting for the majority, followed by cocaine, heroin and amphetamines.
A survey on treatment has shown 211 persons (86.4%) who sought treatment for the first time or re-entered such treatment in 2017 did so due to problems with opioids.
Fifteen persons (6%) cited problems with cannabis as the reason for treatment.
The number of people seeking treatment for cannabis rose in 2017, after falling in 2016 for the first time in several years.
Ever since 2011, cannabis (THC) has been the drug for which patients were most often treated at the Centre for Clinic Toxicology and Pharmacology in Ljubljana.
Meanwhile, results of a survey into drug abuse has shown that 42.5% of all surveyed 17-year-olds have tried cannabis at least once, boys more often than girls.
An online survey on the use of new psychoactive substances has shown that 12% of University of Ljubljana students abuse them.
According to another online survey, carried out by the Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency in 2016, 5% of almost 3,030 persons polled were involved in driving under the influence in the 12 months before the poll, again more men and women.
In 2017, the Ministry of Labour, the Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities earmarked almost 3.3 million euro for various programmes to fight addiction.
Meanwhile, the NIJZ's estimates the country earmarked a total of 10.4 million euro to deal with the issue, including for preventive programmes.
All our stories on marijuana in Slovenia (and it's changing status) and can found here, while those on recreational drugs in general are here
STA, 25 April 2019 - Figures released by the Statistics Office ahead of Labour Day reveal that of the approximately 981,000 working Slovenians, 7% live below the poverty line, and 2% receive financial or material assistance from welfare organisations.
Employment most notably affects the material aspect of life. "Households with no working family members who have to support children, are at the highest risk of poverty. Some 70% of the members of these households live below the poverty line," said Karmen Hren, deputy director of the Statistics Office, at Thursday's press conference.
Some 17% of the unemployed Slovenians are recipients of financial or material assistance from welfare organisations.
Being out of a job also affects health; some 80% of the working population would describe their health as good or very good, whereas for the unemployed that figure is lower, at 60%.
Following students, the working population is the most content with their life. Among the employed and the self-employed, over half describe themselves as very happy, and 2% as unhappy. The unemployed and other non-active Slovenians are the least happy.
All our stories on employment in Slovenia are here
STA, 17 April 2019 - Slovenians prefer to save in bank deposits, however mutual funds have seen an increase in assets and savers. At the end of 2018 Slovenian households had 1.7 billion euros invested in mutual funds, said Karmen Rejc, director of the Slovenian Investment Fund Association.
The average European invests 10% or 5,800 euros of their assets in mutual funds, whereas in Slovenia that figure is lower, namely 6% or 900 euros, Rejc said at a news conference leading up to Friday's World Mutual Fund Day.
Matjaž Lorenčič, president of the Slovenian Investment Fund Association and Infond Investment Funds chairman, said that out of the over 20 billion euros in last year's bank deposits, between 250 and 300 million euros were lost due to inflation.
Slovenian asset managers manage approximately 2.7 billion euros in 100 mutual funds. Adding the assets in alternative funds and those managed based on contracts for the sound management of operational risk, this figure amounts to approximately 3.7 billion euros. The number of investors in mutual funds is approximately 450,000.
Slovenian mutual funds are managed by six companies. Last year they recorded an inflow of approximately 540 million euros, an outflow of 550 million euros. This year, cash flow is positive, according to Lorenčič.
There are 96 foreign mutual funds operating in Slovenia. These manage 211 million euros in assets.
STA, 18 April 2019 - The level of precarious forms of employment among Slovenian youth is high, which is related to increasing fear of unemployment and stress, a study conducted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation has found.
Youth Study Slovenia 2018/2019, is the product of a broad survey conducted last year among 1,000 young people aged between 14 and 29, and is part of a project carried out in ten SE European countries (see more here).
"Individualism is increasingly prevalent among the youth, which is being manifested in many areas, from greater care for personal health to getting independent from parents faster, and increasingly individualist values," research manager Andrej Naterer from the University of Maribor said in presenting the study on Wednesday.
One of the findings is that in the period between 2010 and 2016 the number of young people leaving the country increased almost four-fold. It is the youth from wealthier families who tend to move out more often, which shows the pull factors are more important than the push factors.
Naterer said that at the same time youth immigration was increasing as well, with trends indicating circular migration.
When it comes to their values and opinions, young people are increasingly pro-European. Compared to their peers in other countries, they have very liberal values, but they are very supportive of the idea of a strong welfare state.
Researcher Miran Lavrič said that young people were worried about their health, had higher level of stress, which induced them to be active in sports.
"We are by far the most active in this respect, we have very active youth. Alcohol consumption has declined substantially as well so that Slovenian youth is increasingly responsible, in particular in the individualistic sense, because they feel they must take care of themselves in a very precarious labour market," said Lavrič.
The most surprising finding as pointed out by him was that among youth surveyed in all SE European countries, young Albanians are the happiest with their lives, whereas Slovenian youth are the least happy with their lives and with their physical appearance.
This is the second major youth study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the Centre for the Study of the Post-Yugoslav Societies at the Maribor Faculty of Arts after the one in 2013.
A PDF of the full study on Slovenia, in English, can be found here
STA, 16 April 2019 - Slovenia is one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world, according to the Good Country Index, compiled by analyst and professor Simon Anholt from the University of East Anglia. It ranks fourth among 153 countries in terms of its positive contribution to the planet and climate, preceded only by Norway, Switzerland and Portugal.
Slovenia did particularly well in the implementation of environmental agreements and reducing the use of substances that cause ozone depletion.
It also got good scores for ecological footprint and exports of dangerous pesticides, and it was close to average in terms of the share of renewable energy sources.
The photo at the top of the page shows the River Soča, a great destination for outdoor sports - read more about it here
The Good Country Index measures how much a country contributes to the planet and the human race, through their policies and behaviours.
Slovenia ranked 16th in terms of its contribution to culture and 21st for its contribution to the global science and technology. It is 45th in terms of its global contribution to the world order and the 47th most important advocate of prosperity and equality.
Slovenia is also 65th in efforts towards health and well-being, and 128th when it comes to promotion of international peace and security.
You can see Slovenia’s results, in more detail, here
STA, 4 April 2019 - Slovenia recorded the biggest drop in the number of road casualties among all EU member states, with the number decreasing by 13% compared to 2017 and by 34% compared to 2010, European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc noted on Thursday as she presented the latest EU transport statistics.
The number of road casualties in Slovenia dropping below 100 for the first time last year is encouraging data, said Bulc, adding that Slovenia's statistics were specific, as many accidents happen due to driving in the wrong direction.
The positive trend has not continued this year, unfortunately, with as many as 26 persons in Slovenia being killed on the roads in the first three months, compared to 14 in the same period last year.
While recording the biggest drop in the number of casualties in the whole EU last year, Slovenia is still far behind the leading countries in terms of the number of casualties per million people, recording a ratio of 44.
The most successful EU country in this respect is the United Kingdom with 28 casualties per million people, followed by Denmark (30). Faring the worst are Romania with 96 and Bulgaria 88 casualties per million people.
With 49 casualties per million people, European roads are the safest in the world, but 25,100 casualties is a horrific number and no one should be satisfied with it, said the Slovenian commissioner.
This is 1% less than in 2017 and 21% less than in 2010, Bulc said, adding that safety-related measures should be stepped up for the EU to reach the set goals in road transport.
STA, 2 April 2019 - Slovenian prisons are slightly overcrowded, shows a report on the state of European prison systems released by the Council of Europe (CoE) on Tuesday. The country's incarceration rate remains one of the lowest in Europe, with an increase of foreign prisoners recorded last year.
The number of inmates in Slovenia slightly exceeded the number of places available in 2018. Slovenia had an average 100.5 inmates per 100 places available, while the European average was 91.4.
Responding to the report, the Slovenian Prison Administration said it was trying to solve the problem by means of organisational measures, however the only long-term solution would be building a new prison.
Slovenia has been grappling with the problem for years. It culminated in 2014 when the prison population peaked. It was declining in the coming years, but the prison population trend turned up again in 2018.
The administration said the current occupancy rate was 104%. Due to an increase in remand prisoners, some facilities are overcrowded. There were an average 319 remand prisoners in 2018, an eight-year high.
The CoE report highlights eight countries dealing with severe prison overcrowding, including North Macedonia (122.3 inmates/100 capacity), Romania (120.5/100) and France (116.3/100).
Slovenia is below the EU average regarding the share of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants (61.1/100,000), with Iceland being the country with the lowest share - 46.8. The CoE did not take into account countries with less than 300,000 inhabitants.
Countries where the number of inmates is among the highest include Russia (418.3 inmates per 100,000 people), Georgia (252.2/100,000) and Azerbaijan (235/100,000).
The number of foreign prisoners grew significantly in Slovenia last year. They accounted for 14% of the prison population, compared to 9% in 2017.
The Prison Administration said the trend was related to illegal migration. A total of 874 foreigners were incarcerated in Slovenia in 2018, most of them (565) were remand prisoners.
According to the administration's data, the percentage of foreigners among all of those incarcerated in Slovenia rose from 18% in 2017 to 23.5% in 2018.
Switzerland had the highest share of imprisoned foreigners, 71.4%.
Slovenia was also listed among the countries which notably increased the prison budget in 2018, having earmarked an additional 17.5% in funding for the purpose.
The Prison Administration said its expenditure in 2018 amounted to EUR 39.9m, about 2% more than in 2017, whereby it realised all key planned activities and provided basic living and working conditions for the staff and inmates.
The priority going forward will be to secure funding to increase staff numbers, provide investment maintenance, purchase new equipment and uniforms, and to modernise security systems.
The report included 44 prison administrations and 47 CoE member states, indicating that the share of prisoners in Europe between 2016 and 2018 dropped by 6.6%. On the other hand, the share of detainees increased to 22.4%, compared to 17.4% in 2016.
A PDF of the full report can be found here
http://wp.unil.ch/space/files/2019/04/FinalReportSPACEI2018_190402.pdf
STA, 21 March 2019 - The latest World Happiness Report, an annual publication of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, lists Slovenia as 44th among 156 countries ranked according to various categories meant to reflect happiness levels. The happiest country in the world for the second year running is Finland.
The 7th World Happiness Report, measuring happiness in the 2016-2018 period, gives Slovenia 6.118 points compared to Finland's 7.769 and to 2.853 for last-placed South Sudan.
Slovenia gained seven places compared to the 2018 report, placing behind Uzbekistan, Lithuania and Colombia, and right in front of Nicaragua, Kosovo and Argentina.
Slovenia did particularly well in two of the eight categories used as indicative for happiness; it is ranked 13 when it comes to freedom to make life choices and 14 in the social support category.
The latter had individuals responding to the question "If you were in trouble, do you have relatives or friends you can count on to help you whenever you need them, or not?".
Slovenia did the poorest - ranking only 114th - in the "positive affect" category, which comprises the average frequency of happiness, laughter and enjoyment on the day prior the the survey.
In the negative affect category, recording worry, sadness and anger on the previous day, Slovenia ranks 71st.
It also performed poorly, ranking 97th, in corruption perceptions, while it fared better in the categories generosity (54th), GDP per capita (34th) and healthy life expectancy (29th).
The report, first published in 2012, was released on Monday to mark 20 March, the International Day of Happiness.
You can get a PDF of the full report here, while some other statistics about Slovenia are here
