SLOVENIA IN EUROPE
Population
Slovenia is a small country as regards its territory and the number of population. Of all old
and new EU Member States, only Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus (under 1 million) and Estonia
have a lower population number. At the end of 2002 there were 1,995,033 people living in
Slovenia, which is on average 98 people per square kilometre. The least densely populated
European countries are in the north of the continent where between 3 and 20 people live per
square kilometre, while the most densely populated country in Europe is Malta with close to
1,300 people per square kilometre.
Chart 1.1: Population of Slovenia and EU–25 by sex and age (proportion), 2002
Of all new EU Member States, Slovenia has the lowest share of young population. Only
15.2% of its population is under 15 years of age, which is 5.6 % less than in Cyprus, where
more than a fifth of the population is under 15 years of age. Among EU–15 only Italy, Spain
and Germany have less young population than Slovenia, while most young people live in
Ireland (21.8%).
In 2002, 14.6% of people living in Slovenia were 65 or more years old. Eleven old Member
States and four new Member States have higher shares of old people than Slovenia does.
The age structure of the population is the most worrying in Italy where in 2002 the
relationship between people under 15 and people over 65 was 0.8 : 1, i.e. only 0.8 young
person per one older person. The situation in Spain, Germany, Greece and Portugal was
only slightly better (0.9 : 1). In EU–25, Ireland had the most favourable population structure
with almost two young people per one old person. In Slovenia the ratio between young and
old people is almost even. At the end of 2002 there were barely 4,000 people under 15 more
than people over 65.
In 1990 only three European countries (Germany, Bulgaria and Hungary) had a natural
decrease, while in 2002 natural decrease was registered in 17 countries, of which eight were
new Member States. Among them, Slovenia is the worst off with a natural decrease of –0.6
per 1000 population. Among new EU Member States, the highest natural decrease was
registered among Baltic States: Latvia –5.3 per 1000 population and Estonia –3.9 per 1000
population. Three EU–15 countries had a natural decrease (Germany, Italy and Greece). The
highest natural increase among EU–15 was registered in Ireland (7.3 per 1000 population)
and among new Member States in Cyprus (3.8 per 1000 population).
Chart 1.2: Natural increase per 1000 population, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
In 1990 most transition countries had a negative net migration. Among new EU Member
States, the highest negative net migration in 1990 was registered in Latvia and Estonia and
among EU–15 in Portugal, which at that time was economically the weakest EU Member
State. In 2002 three Member States had a negative net migration (Latvia, Lithuania and
Poland). The most attractive countries in terms of immigration are located in Southern and
Western Europe (Cyprus, Portugal and Ireland), which in 2002 had a positive net migration of
more than 6 per 1000 population. Slovenia too experienced positive net migration (0.9 per
1000 population). Among new Member States, the highest positive net migration was
registered in the island countries of Cyprus and Malta.
Chart 1.3: Net migration per 1000 population, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
Births
With 8.8 live births per 1000 population, Slovenia has one of the lowest fertility rates in
Europe and the world. Low fertility is characteristic of all new EU Member States. In 2002
fewer children per 1000 population were only born in Lithuania and Latvia and among EU–15
in Germany, because of low fertility in the former German Democratic Republic. In EU–15
(except in Italy and Austria) on average more than 10 children per 1000 population were
born, the most in Ireland (15). Ireland is also the only country in which the number of live
births per 1000 population increased compared to 1992.
A better indicator to compare fertility between countries is the total fertility rate, which
indicates the average number of children per woman in her reproductive age (15–49) in the
year of observation and the population replacement rate.
In all European countries except Turkey fertility is too low for simple population replacement.
It is the lowest among new Member States. While in 1990 most of them had total fertility
rates sufficiently high to provide population replacement (over 2), Slovenia already had a
lower total fertility rate than the average of EU Member States. In 2002 the total fertility rate
was lower than in Slovenia (1.21) only in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine. Among
EU–15, low total fertility rates were registered in Southern Europe: Italy, Greece and Spain.
The highest fertility rates in Europe were registered in Ireland (2.00), Scandinavian countries
(Norway, Finland and Sweden), Iceland, France and Macedonia. Among countries of former
Yugoslavia, the highest fertility rate is in Macedonia and the lowest in Slovenia.
Chart 1.4: Total fertility rate, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
Women are deciding to have children later on in their lives. The mean age of a mother at
birth of all children is rising and in some countries (Sweden, Switzerland and the
Netherlands) it has already exceeded 30 years. Of all new Member States, the mean age of
mother at birth of her first child is the highest in Slovenia. In 2002 it was 27.2 years, which is
3 years more than in Lithuania, which has the lowest average of all these countries. Only in
two old EU Member States (Austria and Portugal) was the mean age of mother at birth of her
first child lower than in Slovenia. In Spain and the United Kingdom women who gave birth for
the first time in 2000 were already over 29 years old.
Chart 1.5: Mean age of mother at birth of first child, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
3) Data for 1995.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
In all European countries the share of children born outside marriage has been on the rise. In
Estonia, Sweden and Norway more than a half of children born in 2002 were born outside
marriage, while Iceland has the highest share in Europe with 63.3%. In Slovenia the share of
children born outside marriage is the highest of all countries of former Yugoslavia (40.2%),
while the neighbouring Croatia has the lowest share (9.6%).
Chart 1.6: Illegitimate live births (proportions), EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
3) Data for 1995.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
Deaths
In most European countries mortality is decreasing. Among EU-15 and new Member States
slight increase was registered between 1992 and 2002 only in five countries. The number of
deaths per 1000 population grew in Spain, the Netherlands and in all three Baltic States,
while in all other countries the number of deaths decreased. In recent years strong increase
of the number of deaths has been registered in Eastern European countries such as the
Russian Federation, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, Ukraine and Turkey.
Among European countries, in 2002 the death rate was between 6.3 per 1000 population in
Iceland and 16.2 per 1000 population in the Russian Federation. In Slovenia it was 9.3. Even
though the death rate is not the most appropriate indicator for comparing mortality, because
it depends on the age structure of the population, let us mention that similar death rates as in
Slovenia were registered in Austria, Poland, Finland and Slovakia.
Chart 1.7: Life expectancy at births by sex, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
3) Data for 1999.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
A much better indicator of mortality is the life expectancy at birth. As a rule, life expectancy is
longer in Northern, Western and Southern countries. In Iceland people can expect to live
longest. A boy born in Iceland in 2000/2001 can expect to live 78.0 years and a girl 81.4
years.
In ten of the 15 old EU Member States a boy born in 2001 or 2002 can expect to live at least
75 years and in thirteen of them a girl born in this period can expect to live at least 80 years.
Among these countries life expectancy of men is the longest in Sweden (77.7 years) while
life expectancy of women is the longest in France (82.1 years).
Life expectancy is much shorter in countries of Eastern Europe. In 2002 life expectancy for
men was the shortest in the Russian Federation (less than 59 years), while in Ukraine and
Belarus the situation was only slightly better (just over 62 years). In 2002 the shortest life
expectancy for women was registered in Turkey (70.6 years), in the Russian Federation it
was a year longer and in Ukraine and Belarus another two to three years longer.
Life expectancy at birth in Slovenia is shorter than in EU–15, but one of the longest among
new Member States. Among the latter people living in the two Mediterranean countries can
expect to live the longest. A boy born in Slovenia in 2001/2002 can expect to live 72.3 years
and a girl 79.9 years. A boy born in 2002 in Cyprus or Malta can expect to live over three
years longer than a boy born in Slovenia does. Life expectancy of a girl born in Slovenia in
2002 is 1.1 years shorter than of a girl born in Cyprus and 0.6 year shorter than of a girl born
in Malta.
Chart 1.8: Infant mortality rate per 1000 live births, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
Data on mortality of children under 1 year of age also divide Europe into Eastern and
Western. Even tough mortality of children decreased considerably in all European countries,
it still differs greatly: from 2.7 per 1000 live births in Iceland to 39.4 in Turkey.
In 2002, 67 children under age 1 died in Slovenia. The infant mortality rate was 3.8 per 1000
live births. With this coefficient Slovenia is ranked among countries with the lowest infant
mortality rates, which is characteristic of Scandinavian countries. Namely, all Scandinavian
countries had lower infant mortality rates than Slovenia. The infant mortality rate in Slovenia
was lower than the EU average (4.5 per 1000 live births).
Marriages and divorces
As in Slovenia, in other European countries the number of marriages is decreasing while the
number of consensual unions and the number of divorces are increasing.
With 3.5 marriages per 1000 population, Slovenia is a country with the lowest number of
marriages of all EU Member States. In 2002 fewer than 4 marriages per 1000 population
were registered only in Belgium. The country with the most marriages per 1000 population is
Cyprus (13.5). Cyprus is the only European country in which the number of marriages is on
the rise. In the past 20 years the number doubled.
The most frequent indicator for analysing the formation of families is the total first marriage
rate of women aged 15 to 49 or the number of first marriages per woman, taking into account
that age–specific marriage rates will not change. In most European countries the rates are
around 0.50. Slovenia with its 2002 rate of 0.44 is at the end of the European countries. Of
all EU Member States for which the data are available, the first marriage rate of women is
only lower in Estonia. In 2002 it was the highest in Cyprus (1.54) and it was over 0.60 in
Denmark, Portugal, Finland and Italy.
Chart 1.9: Marriages and divorces per 1000 population, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
The decrease of the number of marriages is accompanied by the increase in the mean age
at first marriage. In all countries in transition the mean age of the bride at first marriage was
relatively low. It started to rise at the beginning of the 1990s. Ten years ago brides in
countries in transition were on average 22–25 years old at first marriage, which was
considerably less than in Western Europe, especially in Scandinavian Countries where
already at that time brides were over 26 years old at first marriage.
In 2002 the mean age of brides at first marriage in Sweden was over 30 years. In five old EU
Member States it was over 28 years. In 2002 the mean age of brides at first marriage in new
Member States was between 24.0 and 27.4 years. On average, brides were the oldest in
Slovenia (27.4 years). The only other new Member State in which brides were more than 27
years old at first marriage is Cyprus.
Chart 1.10: Mean age of women at first marriage, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
3) Data for 1995.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003
Even though it seems that with the low number of marriages the number of divorces is high
in Slovenia (2,457 or 1.1 per 1000 population), Slovenia is actually one of the European
countries with the lowest number of divorces per 1000 population. High above the average of
1.7 is the Russian Federation with 5.3 divorces per 1000 population. The number of divorces
is also high above the European average in Baltic States.
In 2002 the total divorce rate or the number of divorces per one marriage was 0.25 in
Slovenia. Of all EU Member States it was only lower in Poland and Cyprus. Total divorce
rates of over 0.50 were registered in Western European countries such as Sweden, Belgium
and Luxembourg.
Chart 1.11: Total divorce rate, EU–25, 2002
1) Data for 2001.
2) Data for 2000.
3) Data for 1995.
Sources: for Slovenia, Statistical Office of the RS
for other european countries, Recent demographic developments in Europe 2003, Council of Europe, December 2003