Part 755

Economy - overview: Slovenia appears to be making a solid economic recovery, fulfilling the promise it showed at the time of Yugoslavia's breakup. Its per capita GDP is now the highest in Central and Eastern Europe and comparable to the levels in the poorer West European countries. Slovenia has benefited from strong ties to Western Europe and suffered comparatively small physical damage during Yugoslavia's breakup. The beginning was difficult, however. Real GDP fell 15% in 1991-92, while inflation soared to 200% in 1992. The turning point came in 1993, when real GDP grew 1%, unemployment leveled off, and inflation slowed dramatically. In 1994, real GDP rose 5.5%, tapering off to an estimated 3.5% in 1995 and an estimated 3% in 1996. 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 1995-96. The Slovene privatization program, which began in 1994, involves about 1,400 firms, but less than half have been privatized. Growth in the near term depends largely on economic revitalization in Western Europe which buys 70% of Slovenia's exports. Slovenia itself must press on with privatization, restructuring, the encouragement of foreign investment, and the maintenance of a stable tolar.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $24 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $12,300 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4.8% industry: 33.2% services : 62% (1996)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 8.8% (1996 est.)

Labor force: total : 857,400 by occupation: NA%

Unemployment rate: 13% (1996 est.)

Budget: revenues : $8.48 billion expenditures: $8.53 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

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: -1% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 2.361 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 12 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 5,362 kWh (1995 est.)

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

Exports: total value: $8.3 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities : machinery and transport equipment 31.4%, manufactured goods 50.7%, chemicals 10.5%, food 3.8% (1995) partners: Germany 28.9%, former Yugoslavia 16.5%, Italy 13.6%, France 8.6%, Austria 6.4%, US 3.3% (January-July 1996 est.)

Imports: total value : $9.5 billion (f.o.b., 1996) commodities: machinery and transport equipment 33.8%, manufactured goods 30.4%, chemicals 12.1%, fuels and lubricants 6.6%, food 8.4% (1995) partners: Germany 22.3%, Italy 17.1%, former Yugoslavia 7.4%, France 9.2%, Austria 9.1%, US 3.2% (January-July 1996 est.)

Debt - external: $4.3 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $5 million (1993)

Currency: 1 tolar (SlT) = 100 stotins

Exchange rates: tolars (SlT) per US$1 - 141.15 (December 1996), 135.36 (1996), 118.52 (1995), 128.81 (1994), 113.24 (1993), 81.29 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year

@Slovenia:Communications

Telephones: 527,800 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: domestic: NA international: NA

Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 0 note: there are more than 20 regional and local radio broadcast stations

Radios: 596,100 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 7 note: there are more than 20 local cable television broadcast stations