ion
slowed dramatically. In 1994, real GDP rose 5.5%, tapering off to an
estimated 4.8% in 1995, while inflation and unemployment both were
down to about 8% by late 1995. The government gets good marks from
foreign observers for fiscal policy - the budget deficit has not
exceeded 1% of GDP in any year since 1991, and the current account
balance has remained in surplus throughout the transition period,
with the exception of 1995. The Slovene privatization program, which
began in 1994, involves about 1,400 firms, but only 412 have been
privatized. The rest are expected to reach private hands by
end-1996, but that does not include firms in so-called strategic
industries, such as telecommunications and energy. Foreign
investment jumped to an estimated $150 million in 1995 from $83.7
million in 1994. With inflation and unemployment expected to
continue edging down, the outlook for 1996 is generally good. A
slowdown in Western Europe - which buys 70% of Slovenia's exports -
could hurt exports, however, lowering GDP growth to about 4% and
perhaps pushing the current account into a small deficit.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $22.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 4.8% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $11,000 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.3%
industry: 39.9%
services: 54.8% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8% (December 1995 est.)

Labor force: 786,036
by occupation: agriculture 2%, manufacturing and mining 46%

Unemployment rate: 8% (December 1995 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $6.6 billion
expenditures: $6.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1993)

Industries: ferrous metallurgy and rolling mill products, aluminum
reduction and rolled products, lead and zinc smelting, electronics
(including military electronics), trucks, electric power equipment,
wood products, textiles, chemicals, machine tools

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 2,700,000 kW
production: 8.9 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 4,470 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: potatoes, hops, wheat, sugar beets, corn, grapes;
cattle, sheep, poultry

Illicit drugs: transit point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for
Western Europe

Exports: $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment 27%, intermediate
manufactured goods 26%, chemicals 9%, food 4.8%, raw materials