With an area of 20,273 square kilometers (7,827 square miles), Slovenia is situated on the southeastern side of the Alps in southeastern Europe, bordering Italy, Austria, Croatia, and Hungary. Its capital is Ljubljana. The population of Slovenia was estimated at 2,011,473 in July 2004; the country is ethnically homogeneous, with 92 percent of the population being Slovene. Estimated per capita income in 2003 was $18,300. Slovenia has a functional market economy.

The Slavic ancestors of modern-day Slovenes settled in the area in the sixth century. The territory of twenty-first-century Slovenia was part of the Habsburg Empire until 1918, when the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was established under the crown of the Serbian monarch. During World War II (1939–1945) Slovenia joined other constituent republics in forging a federation under the communist leadership of Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980).

After Tito's death Yugoslavia gradually disintegrated into its constituent subnational units, and on May 25, 1991, Slovenia declared its independence from Yugoslavia...