Demographics of Slovenia


Demographic features of the population of Slovenia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
With 101 inhabitants per square kilometre, Slovenia ranks low among the European countries in population density for the Netherlands or 195/km2. The Littoral–Inner Carniola Statistical Region has the lowest population density, and the Central Slovenia Statistical Region has the highest.
According to the 2002 census, Slovenia's main ethnic group are Slovenes. At least 13% of the population were immigrants from other parts of former Yugoslavia, primarily ethnic Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs and their descendants. They have settled mainly in cities and suburbanised areas. Relatively small but protected by the Constitution of Slovenia are the Hungarian and the Italian national community. A special position is held by the geographically dispersed Roma ethnic community.
Slovenia is among the European countries with the most pronounced ageing of population, ascribable to a low birth rate and increasing life expectancy. Almost all Slovenian inhabitants older than 64 are retired, with no significant difference between the genders. The working-age group is diminishing in spite of immigration. The proposal to raise the retirement age from the current 57 for women and 58 for men was rejected in a referendum in 2011. Also the difference among the genders regarding life expectancy is still significant. In 2007, it was 74.6 years for men and 81.8 years for women. In addition, in 2009, the suicide rate in Slovenia was 22 per 100,000 persons per year, which places Slovenia among the highest ranked European countries in this regard.

Population

Census datePopulationPopulation density
18571,101,85454.4
18691,128,76855.7
18801,182,22358.3
18901,234,05660.9
19001,268,05562.5
19101,321,09865.2
19211,304,80064.4
19311,397,65068.9
19481,439,80071.0
19531,504,42774.2
19611,591,52378.5
19711,727,13785.2
19811,891,86493.3
19911,913,35594.4
20021,964,03696.9
20112,050,189101.1
20212,108,977104.0

Vital statistics

Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
Notable events in Slovenian demographics:
Yugoslavia
Mid-year populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Total fertility rateFemale fertile population
19501,466,88135,99217,33518,65724.511.812.73.12389,726
19511,480,24534,81918,49716,32223.512.511.02.98391,462
19521,493,55034,16515,61718,54822.910.512.42.91393,199
19531,508,42833,75414,94818,80622.49.912.52.80394,935
19541,521,48531,82814,89716,93120.99.811.12.58395,721
19551,533,99832,09615,10916,98720.99.811.12.58396,506
19561,545,59131,46616,35115,11520.410.69.82.51397,292
19571,556,52130,08614,54515,54119.39.310.02.38398,077
19581,566,97928,28414,08214,20218.19.09.12.22398,863
19591,576,20428,42915,35713,07218.09.78.32.23399,648
19601,580,14527,82515,14512,68017.69.68.02.18400,434
19611,595,45028,95514,01314,94218.18.89.42.26401,219
19621,604,98029,03515,86613,16918.19.98.22.27406,216
19631,614,41429,17415,10214,07218.19.48.72.28411,214
19641,630,55329,18416,72912,45517.910.37.62.32416,211
19651,650,41330,58715,98714,60018.59.78.82.45421,209
19661,669,60630,94115,24815,69318.59.19.42.48426,206
19671,690,93929,82416,35313,47117.69.78.02.38431,203
19681,703,70828,58017,44611,13416.810.26.52.28436,201
19691,714,02227,88318,5649,31916.310.85.42.17441,198
19701,726,51327,43217,35410,07815.910.15.82.21446,196
19711,738,10128,27817,42510,85316.310.06.22.16451,193
19721,751,50628,71318,15310,56016.410.46.02.14453,763
19731,766,12529,54817,61411,93416.710.06.82.18456,332
19741,782,47028,62517,20611,41916.19.76.42.10458,902
19751,800,02229,78618,18011,60616.510.16.42.16461,471
19761,819,27630,33918,15712,18216.710.06.72.17464,041
19771,839,35829,90417,63312,27116.39.66.72.16466,610
19781,862,62030,35418,35711,99716.39.96.42.19469,180
19791,882,30430,60418,14812,45616.39.66.62.22471,749
19801,901,20829,90218,82011,08215.79.95.82.11474,319
19811,917,46929,22018,73310,48715.29.85.51.96476,888
19821,924,87728,89419,6479,24715.010.24.81.93480,333
19831,933,10427,20020,7036,49714.110.73.41.82482,847
19841,942,80226,27420,2146,06013.510.43.11.75484,847
19851,973,15125,93319,8546,07913.110.13.11.72486,852
19861,980,71825,57019,4996,07112.99.83.11.65489,508
19871,989,46225,59219,8375,75512.910.02.91.64503,828
19881,999,98825,20919,1266,08312.69.63.01.63506,828
19891,999,40423,44718,6694,77811.79.32.41.52508,310
19901,998,09022,36818,5553,81311.29.31.91.46509,166
19912,001,76821,58319,3242,25910.89.71.11.42511,191
19921,995,83219,98219,33364910.09.70.31.34512,506
19931,990,62319,79320,012-2199.910.1-0.11.33511,866
19941,988,85019,46319,3591049.89.70.11.32511,534
19951,987,50518,98018,968129.59.50.01.29514,298
19961,991,16918,78818,6201689.49.40.11.28516,690
19971,986,84818,16518,928-7639.19.5-0.41.25516,585
19981,982,60317,85619,039-1,1839.09.6-0.61.23516,296
19991,985,55717,53318,885-1,3528.89.5-0.71.21516,261
20001,990,27218,18018,588-4089.19.3-0.21.26515,258
20011,992,03517,47718,508-1,0318.89.3-0.51.21512,358
20021,995,71817,50118,701-1,2008.89.4-0.61.21510,692
20031,996,77317,32119,451-2,1308.79.7-1.11.20507,713
20041,997,00417,96118,523-5629.09.3-0.31.25504,530
20052,001,11418,15718,825-6689.19.4-0.31.26500,449
20062,008,51618,93218,1807529.49.10.41.31496,853
20072,019,40619,82318,5841,2399.89.20.61.31491,536
20082,022,62921,81718,3083,50910.89.11.71.53486,506
20092,042,33521,85618,7503,10610.79.21.51.53483,681
20102,049,26122,34318,6093,73410.99.11.81.57479,815
20112,052,49621,94718,6993,24810.79.11.61.56474,646
20122,056,26221,93819,2572,68110.79.41.31.58469,442
20132,059,11421,11119,3341,77710.39.40.91.55463,138
20142,061,62321,16518,8862,27910.39.21.11.58456,811
20152,063,07720,64119,83480710.09.60.41.57450,224
20162,064,24120,34519,6896569.99.50.31.58443,390
20172,066,16120,24120,509-2689.89.9-0.11.62436,478
20182,070,05019,58520,485-9009.59.9-0.41.61430,225
20192,089,31019,32820,588-1,2609.39.9-0.61.61428,255
20202,100,12618,76724,016-5,2498.911.4-2.51.60426,155
20212,107,00718,98423,261-4,2779.011.0-2.01.64425,310
20222,108,73217,62722,492-4,8658.410.7-2.31.55423,301
20232,120,93716,98921,540-4,5518.010.2-2.21.51423,982
20242,126,32416,87521,506-4,6317.910.1-2.21.52424,055
20252,130,986--------

Structure of the population

Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total1 059 9381 049 0392 108 977100
0–451 23048 11999 3494.71
5–956 15552 767108 9225.16
10–1456 28553 175109 4605.19
15–1948 45045 49793 9474.45
20–2455 50048 158103 6584.92
25–2960 66052 345113 0055.36
30–3471 30962 333133 6426.34
35–3979 85570 219150 0747.12
40–4485 95275 862161 8147.67
45–4980 25072 516152 7667.24
50–5476 91372 888149 8017.10
55–5976 79975 553152 3527.22
60–6471 99872 474144 4726.85
65-6966 49570 032136 5276.47
70-7450 20057 623107 8235.11
75-7932 46543 27375 7383.59
80-8423 62137 43161 0522.89
85-8911 65624 98636 6421.74
90-943 56911 12914 6980.70
95-995252 4292 9540.14
100+512302810.01
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–14163 670154 061317 73115.07
15–64707 686647 8451 355 53164.27
65+188 582247 133435 71520.66

Life expectancy at birth

PeriodLife expectancy in
Years
1950–195565.60
1955–1960 67.88
1960–1965 69.15
1965–1970 69.17
1970–1975 69.81
1975–1980 70.97
1980–1985 71.21
1985–1990 72.69
1990–1995 73.74
1995–2000 75.26
2000–2005 76.66
2005–2010 78.55
2010–2015 80.31

Marriages and divorces

Mid-year populationMarriagesDivorcesCrude marriage rate Crude divorce rate Divorces per 1000 marriages
19501,466,88114,81792410.10.662.4
19511,480,24513,3328459.00.663.4
19521,493,55012,8738358.60.664.9
19531,508,42813,3689738.90.672.8
19541,521,48514,1267479.30.552.9
19551,533,99814,1051,1559.20.881.9
19561,545,59113,7401,3678.90.999.5
19571,556,52113,1241,3938.40.9106.1
19581,566,97912,9981,4038.30.9107.9
19591,576,20413,6181,4548.60.9106.8
19601,580,14514,0131,5408.91.0109.9
19611,595,45014,4421,5629.11.0108.2
19621,604,98014,5351,5329.11.0105.4
19631,614,41414,2771,5508.81.0108.6
19641,630,55314,6221,6719.01.0114.3
19651,650,41315,1211,8419.21.1121.8
19661,669,60614,3481,8538.61.1129.1
19671,690,93913,9841,9738.31.2141.1
19681,703,70814,0102,0238.21.2144.4
19691,714,02214,1132,0088.21.2142.3
19701,726,51314,2811,9138.31.1134.0
19711,738,10114,1861,9578.21.1138.0
19721,751,50615,7921,8409.01.1116.5
19731,766,12515,6812,0938.91.2133.5
19741,782,47015,4082,1028.61.2136.4
19751,800,02215,3792,2058.51.2143.4
19761,819,27615,0482,1988.31.2146.1
19771,839,35815,0262,4068.21.3160.1
19781,862,62014,6952,5157.91.4171.1
19791,882,30414,2302,2207.61.2156.0
19801,901,20812,3772,3096.51.2186.6
19811,917,46912,1532,4436.31.3201.0
19821,924,87711,6892,5376.11.3217.0
19831,933,10411,8782,7106.11.4228.2
19841,942,80211,3862,5385.91.3222.9
19851,973,15110,5792,5475.41.3240.8
19861,980,71810,6212,2815.41.2214.8
19871,989,46210,3072,1635.21.1209.9
19881,999,9889,2172,0754.61.0225.1
19891,999,4049,7762,1614.91.1221.1
19901,998,0908,5171,8584.30.9218.2
19912,001,7688,1731,8284.10.9223.7
19921,995,8329,1191,9664.61.0215.6
19931,990,6239,0221,9624.51.0217.5
19941,988,8508,3141,9234.21.0231.3
19951,987,5058,2451,5854.10.8192.2
19961,991,1697,5552,0043.81.0265.3
19971,986,8487,5001,9963.81.0266.1
19981,982,6037,5282,0743.81.0275.5
19991,985,5577,7162,0743.91.0268.8
20001,990,2727,2012,1253.61.1295.1
20011,992,0356,9352,2743.51.1327.9
20021,995,7187,0642,4573.51.2347.8
20031,996,7736,7562,4613.41.2364.3
20041,997,0046,5582,4113.31.2367.6
20052,001,1145,7692,6472.91.3458.8
20062,008,5166,3682,3343.21.2366.5
20072,019,4066,3732,6173.21.3410.6
20082,022,6296,7032,2463.31.1335.1
20092,042,3356,5422,2973.21.1351.1
20102,049,2616,5282,4303.21.2372.2
20112,052,4966,6712,2983.31.1344.5
20122,056,2627,0572,5093.41.2355.5
20132,059,1146,2542,3513.01.1375.9
20142,061,6236,5712,4693.21.2375.7
20152,063,0776,4492,4323.11.2377.1
20162,064,2416,6672,5313.21.2379.6
20172,066,1616,4812,3873.11.2368.3
20182,070,0507,2562,3473.51.1323.5
20192,089,3106,6722,4763.21.2371.1
20202,100,1265,2141,7742.50.8340.2
20212,107,0075,9162,3222.81.1392.5
20222,108,7326,7682,1493.21.0317.5
20232,120,9376,3882,1653.01.0338.9
20242,126,3246,3532,0643.01.0324.9

Immigration

Net Migration

YearImmigrants from AbroadEmigrants to AbroadNet Migration from Abroad
19616,5375,707830
19627,3735,3572,016
19638,8506,0562,794
19649,3645,9993,365
196510,5136,2504,263
19669,4575,0464,411
19679,2725,6863,586
19687,0516,112939
19697,8346,7051,129
19707,1685,6651,503
19717,4424,9132,529
19727,8324,4753,357
19738,2714,9563,315
19749,6465,2814,365
197511,3254,4796,846
197612,6824,5708,112
197713,1325,1138,019
197812,7705,4327,338
197913,8775,7808,097
198011,9836,7105,273
198111,4827,2204,262
198210,6446,2074,437
19839,7815,9773,804
19849,2245,9103,314
19858,9125,3863,526
19869,1945,2943,900
19878,5804,1244,456
19887,7824,0893,693
19897,1514,7302,421
19907,0754,9082,167
19915,9899,060-3,071
19923,4613,848-387
19932,7451,3901,355
19941,919983936
19955,8793,3722,507
19969,4952,9856,510
19977,8895,4472,442
19984,6036,708-2,105
19994,9412,6062,335
20006,1853,5702,615
20017,8034,8112,992
20029,1347,2691,865
20039,2795,8673,412
200410,1718,2691,902
200515,0418,6056,436
200620,01613,7496,267
200729,19314,94314,250
200830,69312,10918,584
200930,29618,78811,508
201015,41615,937-521
201114,08312,0242,059
201215,02214,378644
201313,87113,384487
201413,84614,336-490
201515,42014,913507
201616,62315,5721,051
201718,80817,5551,253
201828,45513,52714,928
201931,31915,10616,213
202036,11017,74518,365
202123,62421,1442,480
202235,61320,95614,657
202333,93922,41111,528
202433,02321,49111,532

Ethnic groups

The majority of Slovenia's population are ethnic Slovenes. Hungarians and Istrian Italians have the status of indigenous minorities under the Constitution of Slovenia, which guarantees them seats in the National Assembly. Most other minority groups, particularly those from other parts of the former Yugoslavia, relocated after World War II for economic reasons. Istrian Italians were more than 50% of the total population of Istria for centuries, while making up about a third of the population in 1900. while making up about a third of the population in 1900. The Istrian–Dalmatian exodus was the post-World War II exodus and departure of local ethnic Italians as well as ethnic Croats from Yugoslavia. The emigrants, who had lived in the now Yugoslav territories of the Julian March, Kvarner and Dalmatia, largely went to Italy, but some joined the Italian diaspora in the Americas, Australia and South Africa. According to various sources, the exodus is estimated to have amounted to between 230,000 and 350,000 Italians leaving the areas in the aftermath of the conflict. According to the census organized in Croatia in 2001 and that organized in Slovenia in 2002, the Italians who remained in the former Yugoslavia amounted to 21,894 people. The number of speakers of Italian is larger if taking into account non-Italians who speak it as a second language.
Around 12.4% of the inhabitants of Slovenia were born abroad.
According to data from 2008, there were around 100,000 non-EU citizens living in Slovenia, or around 5% of the overall population of the country. The highest number came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by immigrants from Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and Kosovo. In April 2019, there were 143,192 foreign citizens living in Slovenia, representing 6.87% of Slovenia's population. The number of people migrating to Slovenia has been steadily rising from 1995; and the rate of immigration itself has been increasing year-on-year, reaching its peak in 2016. Since Slovenia joined the EU in 2004, the yearly inflow of immigrants has doubled by 2006 and tripled by 2009. In 2007, Slovenia was one of the countries with the fastest growth of net migration rate in the European Union.

Religion

Traditionally, Slovenes are predominantly Roman Catholic. Before World War II, 97% of Slovenes declared as Roman Catholics, around 2.5% were Lutheran, and only around 0.5% belonged to other denominations. Catholicism was an important feature of both social and political life in pre-communist Slovenia. After 1945, the country underwent a process of gradual but steady secularization. After a decade of severe persecution of religions, the communist regime adopted a policy of relative tolerance towards the churches, but limited their social functioning. After 1990, the Roman Catholic Church regained some of its former influence, but Slovenia remains a largely secularized society. According to the 2002 census, 57.8% of the population is Roman Catholic. As elsewhere in Europe, affiliation with Roman Catholicism is dropping: in 1991, 71.6% were self-declared Catholics, which means a drop of more than 1% annually. The vast majority of Slovenian Catholics belong to the Latin Church. A small number of Eastern Catholics live in the White Carniola region.
Despite a relatively small number of Protestants, the Protestant legacy is important because of its historical significance, since the bases of Slovene standard language and Slovene literature were established by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Nowadays, a significant Lutheran minority lives in the easternmost region of Prekmurje, where they represent around a fifth of the population and are headed by a bishop with the seat in Murska Sobota.
Besides these two Christian denominations, a small Jewish community has also been historically present. After the losses during the Holocaust in Slovenia, Judaism has a few hundred adherents, mostly living in Ljubljana, site of the sole remaining active synagogue in the country.
According to the 2002 census, Islam is the second largest religious denomination with around 2.4% of the population. Most Slovenian Muslims came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. The third largest denomination, with around 2.2% of the population, is Orthodox Christianity, with most adherents belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church, whereas a minority belong to the Macedonian Orthodox Church and other Orthodox churches.
In the 2002, around 10% of Slovenes declared themselves as atheists, another 10% professed no specific denomination, and around 16% decided not to answer the question about their religious affiliation. According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 37% of Slovenian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 46% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
The distribution of the residents of Slovenia by religion is the following: Roman Catholic 57.8%, atheist 10.1%, Muslim 2.4%, Orthodox Christian 2.3%, Protestant 0.9%, other and unknown 26.5%.
According to the published data from the 2002 Slovenian census, out of a total of 47,488 Muslims 2,804 Muslims declared themselves as ethnic Slovenian Muslims.

Language

The official language in Slovenia is Slovene, which is a member of the South Slavic language group. In 2002, Slovene was the native language of around 88% of Slovenia's population according to the census, with more than 92% of the Slovenian population speaking it in their home environment. This places Slovenia among the most homogeneous countries in the EU in terms of the share of speakers of predominant mother tongue. Slovene is sometimes characterized as the most diverse Slavic language in terms of dialects, with different degrees of mutual intelligibility. Accounts of the number of dialects range from as few as seven dialects, often considered dialect groups or dialect bases that are further subdivided into as many as 50 dialects. Other sources characterize the number of dialects as nine or eight.
The distribution of speakers by language is the following: Slovene 87.7%, Serbo-Croatian 8%, Hungarian 0.4%, Albanian 0.4%, Macedonian 0.2%, Romani 0.2%, Italian 0.2%, German 0.1%, other 0.1%, unknown 2.7%

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

2,102,678

Age structure

0–14 years:
13.4%

15–64 years:
69.8%

65 years and over:
16.8%

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.07 male/female

under 15 years:
1.06 male/female

15–64 years:
1.01 male/female

65 years and over:
0.66 male/female

total population:
0.95 male/female

Infant mortality rate

4.12 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population:
80 years

male:
77 years

female:
83 years