blue lines depicting seas and rivers, and
above it are three six-pointed stars arranged in an inverted
triangle, which are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of
Celje, the great Slovene dynastic house of the late 14th and early
15th centuries); the seal is located in the upper hoist side of the
flag centered in the white and blue bands

Economy Slovenia

Economy - overview:
Slovenia, with its historical ties to Western Europe, enjoys a GDP
per capita substantially higher than that of the other transitioning
economies of Central Europe. In March 2004, Slovenia became the
first transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor
partner at the World Bank. Privatization of the economy proceeded at
an accelerated pace in 2002-04. Despite lackluster performance in
Europe in 2001-04, Slovenia maintained moderate growth. Structural
reforms to improve the business environment have allowed for greater
foreign participation in Slovenia's economy and have helped to lower
unemployment. Further measures to curb inflation are still needed.
Corruption and the high degree of coordination between government,
business, and central bank policy were issues of concern in the
run-up to Slovenia's 1 May 2004 accession to the European Union. In
mid-2004 Slovenia agreed to adopt the euro by 2007 and, therefore,
must keep its debt levels, budget deficits, interest rates, and
inflation levels within the EU's Maastrict criteria.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$39.41 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.9% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $19,600 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 36%
services: 60% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
870,000 (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 6%, industry 40%, services 55% (2002)

Unemployment rate:
6.4% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 23% (1998)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
28.4 (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.3% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
24.9% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $13.36 billion
expenditures: $13.99 billion, including capital expenditures of NA
(2004 est.)

Public debt:
31.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products:
potatoes, hops, wheat, sugar